Sara - "I was forced to re-evaluate"

Sara Hamilton's career path to becoming a Screen Sustainability Manager with Culture for Climate Scotland. Sara talks about switching from acting to life behind the camera and how she became the first person ever to have her role in Scotland.

Current Job

Tell us about your current role     line drawing of a location pin

I work as a Screen Sustainability Manager helping film & TV productions decarbonise their sets and donate props & costumes when they're no longer required. I'm also involved in conversations nationwide to help determine what crew need to work more sustainably, including training.

Career Beginnings

A film camera on a tripod outdoors in front of loose rock
Image from Pixabay

When you were 15, what job did you want and who did you ask for advice?

I wanted to become an actor and I spoke with my guidance councillor at school

Did you have an interest in the environment at this time?

Not at all because I wasn't paying attention to the world around me. When I graduated university and started supporting myself, I began noticing injustices in the world. 

What were your first steps in starting your career?

I needed to get into a crew role first and after taking a film course and doing a few small shoots, I was hired as a production office runner and advocated for sustainable alternatives whenever possible. This was not easy to do and having savings and a supportive family were the only reason I could do the small shoots to build up my CV & experience. 

Career path and skills

What does your career path look like?     line drawing of a walker with a backpack at a sign. a dotted arrow from the sign points back the way they came from

My path wasn't linear because I didn't plan on becoming a crew member when I was at university and I was working towards a career as an actor, but chronic pain thwarted that path and I was forced to re-evaluate. I realised I still wanted to be involved in the industry somehow, so looked into becoming a crew member and getting onto sets. I worked my way up in production and when sustainability roles started to become more common, I was recommended for the role and became the first sustainability coordinator in Scotland. Within 2 years, I worked my way up to Screen Sustainability Manager at Culture for Climate Scotland and have been helping shape the wider sector and their environmental policies ever since.

I became the first sustainability coordinator in Scotland

What skills were important for you to develop in your career?     line drawing of a spanner

Digital skills have become the most important thing to me, working with so much data in spreadsheets but networking has also been invaluable and a big reason my career has progressed too.

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