Emerging: How to Eventually Make it in Film & TV

One final last 20 minute dive into the mind of fantastic filmmaker Yuan Hu, as we take him through the Last Call and he takes us through his best and worst creative advice, how to find motivation as a writer with inspiration from David Lynch, and why Paul Thomas Anderson is the GOAT. You can find Yuan on Instagram as @yuanwho, and watch his incredible work on his website yuan-hu[dot]com. Look out for the rest of our chat next week! 📬 Get In Touch:Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @theemergingpodBen is @bmlrobinsMartin is @bananabreadfilmTray is @ByTrayepps✨ Support the Show:If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The second part of our long, wisdom-filled chat with filmmaker Yuan Hu leaves Spike Lee behind in favour of going deep into the development process. After nailing his first short and scoring an agent, Yuan soon found himself developing a feature film with Film4, so here he is explaining how it works. From that first meeting with the Film4 execs, to how long it took to build out the film's treatment, attaching a production company, and how it feels receiving round after round of notes. As always with Yuan, this is a super fascinating and to the point chat that covers a lot of ground - if you've ever been interested in the UK film development process, this is the episode for you. And do not miss Part 1 of this chat, which has some frankly ludicrous showbiz experiences. You can find Yuan on Instagram as @yuanwho, and watch his incredible work on his website yuan-hu[dot]com. Look out for the rest of our chat next week! 📬 Get In Touch:Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @theemergingpodBen is @bmlrobinsMartin is @bananabreadfilmTray is @ByTrayepps✨ Support the Show:If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I know we always say it, but this week you really are in for a treat - celebrated director and reluctant writer Yuan Hu joins us for a fun deep dive into what's quickly become a very exciting career for him. First making commercial films for huge fashion brands and musicians like Little Simz, before a swift handbrake turn into narrative with short Sticks of Fury, which was immediately swiped up by BFI's London Film Festival, nabbing Yuan an agent in the process.But it all started when he took a chance on a trip to New York, and what soon became a blossoming mentorship from the legendary Spike Lee. As you'll soon find, this is only Part 1 of our chat with Yuan - there was so much good stuff, cutting it back felt mad! But in this chunk we're talking more specifically about mentors and early opportunities, and how Yuan certainly made the most out of working for big names like Spike Lee and Rankin. You can find Yuan on Instagram as @yuanwho, and watch his incredible work on his website yuan-hu[dot]com. Look out for the rest of our chat next week! 📬 Get In Touch:Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @theemergingpodBen is @bmlrobinsMartin is @bananabreadfilmTray is @ByTrayepps✨ Support the Show:If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In maybe our most meta episode to date, this week we start procrastinating while talking about every writer's worst enemy - procrastination. It happens to us all, and sometimes it is unavoidable. So let's talk ways to not only understand why it's happening, but how to embrace procrastination too. Distractions are everywhere, and controversially, sometimes you need them (except when a deadline is literally staring you in the face obvs.)And ultimately remember that often procrastination is a sign of something bigger - a really big project that you care a lot about, or the exact inverse, a sign that what you're writing isn't really where your heart is. All of this and more in a shorter, messier, equally as fun little episode!And as always, if you have any insight, any questions, or just want to yell at us and tell us we're wrong, get in touch!📬 Get In Touch:Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @theemergingpodBen is @bmlrobinsMartin is @bananabreadfilmTray is @ByTrayepps✨ Support the Show:If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are so many screenwriting and industry terms, sometimes it feels like people are just messing with us. But why does a one pager need to be one page? And where does an outline become a treatment? And when does THAT become a bible? And does any of it really matter?Ultimately, not really. But it's important to know what someone's asking for, and the right way to communicate. Especially if it turns out a producer might be asking you for a very very long document, without offering to pay you first. So get clued up as best you can, and never be afraid to ask about exactly what you're expected to deliver!BBC's scriptwriting glossary is a very useful resource (though as we mention, not entirely fool-proof): https://www.bbc.co.uk/writers/resources/scriptwriting-glossary/ And as always, if you have any insight, any questions, or just want to yell at us and tell us we're wrong, get in touch!📬 Get In Touch:Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @theemergingpodBen is @bmlrobinsMartin is @bananabreadfilmTray is @ByTrayepps✨ Support the Show:If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We still don't have a little bell sound effect for The Last Call, but we DO have a whole extra 25 minutes with brilliant screenwriter Sophie Park, delving into the very nature of taking advice and how Kill Bill Vol. 2 can change your life.If you haven't caught up with our longer chat with Sophie yet, it's well worth a listen, and if you want to follow her wider journey, Sophie's @sophiejanepark on Instagram, and all of her films are available on her website sophiejanepark[dot]com📬 Get In Touch:Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @theemergingpodBen is @bmlrobinsMartin is @bananabreadfilmTray is @ByTrayepps✨ Support the Show:If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Look! Another guest! This week we're joined by filmmaker turned editor turned screenwriter and fellow New Writers Collective alum Sophie Park, to talk through not only her own journey into writing, but also that overhanging anxiety we all feel about identifying as a writer. Like many of us, Sophie's had a bunch of different day jobs, from working in advertising scripting big budget social adverts, to cutting trailers and short films for MUBI, all of which have given her a pretty unique perspective on writing. If you want to follow Sophie's journey she's @sophiejanepark on Instagram, and all of her films are available on her website sophiejanepark[dot]com. The book we talk about is Jeff Hiller's incredible autobiography Actress of a Certain Age.📬 Get In Touch:Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @theemergingpodBen is @bmlrobinsMartin is @bananabreadfilmTray is @ByTrayepps✨ Support the Show:If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It doesn't matter how established a writer you are, at some point you'll find yourself in a meeting being asked the immortal question "Yeah, but who is it for?". Audience doesn't always mean demographics (age, gender, location), it can run so much deeper - so this week we're digging into just how we figure out who our projects are for, and how involved they need to be in the writing process. Do you write for your audience directly? Or do you write from the heart and figure out who you're selling it to after? Which genres attract which audiences? And at what stage in the process do you need to have a really, super tight idea of exactly who's going to watch your film or TV show? All of this and more in a slightly shorter, but even punchier episode!📬 Get In Touch:Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @theemergingpodBen is @bmlrobinsMartin is @bananabreadfilmTray is @ByTrayepps✨ Support the Show:If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you loved our chat with fascinating producer and entrepreneur Emma Kyung Mi Sheldrick, you're in luck - here's a whole extra 30 minutes of chat, as we take Emma through our (updated) Last Call, and accidentally go quite deep on AI and it's many uses in the film industry.As you'll soon find, Emma has a hand in a production start-up looking to use AI tools in a sensible and human-friendly way, and there's a very different and informative little section all about it buried in here. So dive in!If you want to follow what Emma's up to, she's @emma.kyungmi on Instagram, or check out her production company PLUS EIGHT TWO at plus-82[dot]com.📬 Get In Touch:Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @theemergingpodBen is @bmlrobinsMartin is @bananabreadfilmTray is @ByTrayepps✨ Support the Show:If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're very very lucky to be joined by another killer guest this week in producer extraordinare Emma Kyung Mi Sheldrick, whose work (including famed short Tamagoyaki) has been split across the UK, South Korea and the US. Emma's as much an entrepreneur as she is a producer, and we go deep on not just the ways producers and writers overlap creatively, but how her many different side hustles factor into her filmmaking too.We also chat quite a bit about AI and vertical dramas too (Emerging gets topical!) so enjoy a slightly longer, but thanks to Emma - even more informed - episode than usual!If you want to follow what Emma's up to, she's @emma.kyungmi on Instagram, or check out her production company PLUS EIGHT TWO at plus-82[dot]com.📬 Get In Touch:Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @theemergingpodBen is @bmlrobinsMartin is @bananabreadfilmTray is @ByTrayepps✨ Support the Show:If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's January, we're hitting the refresh button and with it, comes 2026's new year's resolutions - but with a twist. Rather than just looking at ourselves and where we think we should be, we're zooming out and asking our friends. So what're our resolutions for each other? How do we think we can help each other improve? Cue a surprisingly emotional and heartfelt episode about not only getting the most out of our writing practise, but how we can be kinder to ourselves too. How to back ourselves, and where we think we should be pushing each other. So why not get together with your writing community and lean on each other's insight a little more in 2026. 📬 Get In Touch:Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @theemergingpodBen is @bmlrobinsMartin is @bananabreadfilmTray is @ByTrayepps✨ Support the Show:If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Xmas and the festive mess is over, so let's get writing! (if only it was that easy). This week we're back at our desks after 2 weeks of monstrous overeating, relentless childcare, and otherwise doing very little, so we're talking not only 2026 resolutions and our goals for the year ahead, but how we get back into the swing of things too. Taking time off is important, but getting back to work can feel incredibly daunting after the fact. So let's go slow, plan big, but be realistic. Use that January energy to try new things and new routines, but not completely reinvent the wheel either. What're your big plans for 2026?📬 Get In Touch:Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @theemergingpodBen is @bmlrobinsMartin is @bananabreadfilmTray is @ByTrayepps✨ Support the Show:If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Another year's nearly in the can, so we're looking back at 2025, and our professional wins and lessons learned from 12 months of continuing to emerge as a screenwriter in film and TV. Where did we succeed? What did we wish we did more of? And why is Tray still upset with Joe Barton? And to top things off, we're also looking back at our favourite movies and TV shows from 2025, and what we learned from them - not just about writing, but the industry too. See you in 2026!📬 Get In Touch:Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @theemergingpodBen is @bmlrobinsMartin is @bananabreadfilmTray is @ByTrayepps✨ Support the Show:If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us at Emerging - and to celebrate, we figured we'd open a few presents, toss a few insults and unwrap our 4 favourite films and TV shows in this extra long special festive-themed episode!Yes, Tray breaks all of the formats, but we wouldn't have him any other way. Have a safe and relaxing festive break!📬 Get In Touch:Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @theemergingpodBen is @bmlrobinsMartin is @bananabreadfilmTray is @ByTrayepps✨ Support the Show:If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Another extra 15 mins with the brilliant Chloë Mi Lin Ewart as she takes on the all-important Last Call! So what's the best and worst writing advice she's ever received? What's the TV show that most deserves to be erased from existence forever? And why is E.T. the best movie ever made? And if you didn't catch our full episode with Chloe, all about her emerging journey, have a listen - it's a real fun time. 📬 Get In Touch:Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @theemergingpodBen is @bmlrobinsMartin is @bananabreadfilmTray is @ByTrayepps✨ Support the Show:If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever wondered what happens on the fabled Channel 4 Screenwriting scheme? Or how one goes straight from that to signing with Mr Casarotto himself? This week's guest Chloë Mi Lin Ewart is not only full of answers, but great chat too. A veteran of SO MANY schemes, from 4Screenwriting, to The Residency and the BBC, Chloë's now a very successful writer with credits on Beyond Paradise, All Creatues Great and Small, and her own series very nearly on the horizon. So it's safe to say she's become a total expert at seizing every opportunity that's come her way!So join us for another long and winding chat through Chloë's emerging journey, from her start as a working class, Eurasian actor on soaps like Coronation Street, to breaking through with her first few pilot spec scripts. And if you want to follow Chloë's career, she's coincidentally found under @chloeewart on Instagram too! 📬 Get In Touch:Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @theemergingpodBen is @bmlrobinsMartin is @bananabreadfilmTray is @ByTrayepps✨ Support the Show:If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BAFTA-nominated screenwriter Joe Barton, creator of Black Doves, The Lazarus Project and the upcoming Amadeus (among so many others) is back with us to answer the all-important Last Call. So what's the best and worst writing advice he's ever received? What's the first story he ever wrote? And why does he love Love Actually so much?And if you didn't catch our even fuller chat with Joe, all about his emerging journey, from when and how he signed with his agent, to how he found success writing movies like The Ritual and shows like Giri-Haji, listen back! It's genuinely a great chat. 📬 Get In Touch:Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @theemergingpodBen is @bmlrobinsMartin is @bananabreadfilmTray is @ByTrayepps✨ Support the Show:If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a fun one - we convinced BAFTA-nominated screenwriter Joe Barton, creator of Black Doves, Giri/Haji and Sky's upcoming Amadeus (among so many others) to join us for a chat about his own emerging journey!From his first few jobs on McFly's long forgotten vampire movie and a MySpace original series (yes, MySpace once made TV), to how he signed with his agent, his experiences in LA, and how his work on films like The Ritual hit differently to writing for TV, there're A LOT of great insights from Joe's career buried in here. Join us later in the week for his answers to The Last Call too... With thanks again to Joe for joining us the night before the Black Doves Season 2 shoot kicked off(!), if you want to follow his career and support a plucky young upstart, he's @joebarton_ on Instagram, and his new show AMADEUS lands on Sky on 21st December. 📬 Get In Touch:Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @theemergingpodBen is @bmlrobinsMartin is @bananabreadfilmTray is @ByTrayepps✨ Support the Show:If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A special bonus chat this week - inspiring producer, filmmaker, production co-ordinator and all-round multi-hyphenate Sonia Wargacka sits down with Ben to talk about her very new, very different talent agency Powerhouse and how she hopes to change the world of agenting for the better. If you want to follow Sonia's progress, she's @leaveitwithsonia on Instagram, and her agency is @this.is.powerhouse!📬 Get In Touch:Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @theemergingpodBen is @bmlrobinsMartin is @bananabreadfilmTray is @ByTrayepps✨ Support the Show:If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of our favourite parts of every guest episode is The Last 10, (ironically) 12 quickfire questions that help us get to know other writers on a far more personal level. So it felt only fair that we take the challenge ourselves too.As a bit of a disclaimer, this episode was recorded way back in March 2025, just as the show was starting to take shape, so we might sound a little more youthful / a little less jaded. Or the opposite, listen and find out!And here are the fabled Last 10 questions if you want to try them at home yourself:1. **What was the first story you ever wrote?**2. **What film or TV show made you say, "I want to be a writer"?**3. **What’s the best and worst piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?**4. **What’s a common mistake you see emerging writers make?**5. **If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice when starting out, what would it be?**6. **What’s the most life-changing film or TV show you’ve ever watched?** 7. **What’s the worst film or TV show you secretly love?** 8. **What’s a film or TV show that perfectly captures how you feel about life?** 9. **What film haven’t you seen that you tell everyone that you have?**10. **If you could erase one film or TV show from existence, what would it be and why?**11. **If your life were a film, what would it be called and who would direct it?** 12. **What does ‘making it’ as a writer mean to you?**Why not send us your answers as a voice note!📬 Get In Touch:Email us: TheEmergingPodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram: @theemergingpodBen is @bmlrobinsMartin is @bananabreadfilmTray is @ByTrayepps✨ Support the Show:If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.