MANTIS DISCUSSION on Women in Film with Thomas Popp, Carrie Sheldon, and Mary Jo Devenny

Join Thomas Popp as he talked to Carrie Sheldon and Mary Jo Devenny in the Video Mantis Post Studio. We talk all things women in film and how they have moved up in the industry!

Video summery

The discussion begins with general set safety, then moves to focus on Carrie Sheldon and Mary Jo Devenny’s perspectives on the way the Me Too movement has impacted film sets. We discuss the way women in film are often listened to less. Then we talk about how this effects women in the sound department. This group discusses how women in film have been treated in the past. They also speculate about ways to continue improving the culture in how our industry treats women.

They made the comparison between misogyny and not being listened to because you are in the sound department. “I realized: am I being persecuted because I am a sound person, because I am a woman, or is it me? … Sound people are the women of the on set departments. you can be brushed aside, you may not get all the information, I”m just saying if guys want to emphasize with us” – Mary Jo Devenny

This discussion brings some real problems about respect on the set to light. It also creates a few ways we can work to improve how we respect everyone as equals on set. They bring up the analogy of a hospital. The Janitor and the surgeon both require the same amount of respect because both have jobs that are crucial to save lives. One does the operations and the other keeps the space for the operations clean. Likewise, every crew position from director to PA deserves respect.

Join our discussion as we continue to learn.

Keep the questions coming and we will continue to keep the education coming!

Hear more from Carrie Sheldon in our Utility Sound Technician Panel Discussion and Masterclass