Employee Spotlight: Brandon McCann, Researcher
Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes when we create our videos? This month, we spoke to Researcher, Brandon McCann who has been at the company for over a year. He talked about how he got his role at Makematic, his responsibilities as a researcher, and much more.
How did you get your job at Makematic?
The story is a little bit more long-term than you may think! When I was in university, I worked as a volunteer at the CultureTech Festival that was led by Makematic’s Co-Founder, Mark. Through the event, I discovered Makematic and loved their educational focus which later on, would mirror my own work employment at BBC N.I’s Digital & Learning department, working on their online, factual programming and educational resources e.g. GCSE Bitesize.
In 2020, I returned back to Belfast from Brighton where I had been working as a Researcher on a BBC1 Factual documentary series - this is where the story culminates with me seeing the Researcher job posting. The timing was perfect, so I applied. I got called in for an interview and then started work two weeks earlier than planned. The rest is history!
On a day-to day-basis, what are your responsibilities and priorities?
Similar to most jobs in productions, no two days are ever the same! My job roles have expanded alongside our company’s content production. For our Untold collection, I aid our Producers in stock and archive collection, while providing in-depth, factual accuracy analysis of our initial scripts and videos before they head fully into production.
I work within development, to come up with initial video concepts and co-provide learning design checks to keep the educational focus and our target audience at the forefront. I also work on sourcing potential contributors and on-screen talent for our numerous factual and casting-based series.
How does a Researcher collaborate with other teams within the company?
Research at Makematic grants the opportunity to work across numerous projects and departments; from Production, to Licensing, to Marketing, to Commercial and more!
Whenever a staff member is in need of specialist research, they are welcome to contact our department at Insights and Innovation, if they feel a Researcher would be ideal for the assignment, then hopefully I’ll get to work alongside them on their task.
Are you working on any big projects?
My mantra is to see every project as big, no matter the scope, that way assures I uphold my responsibility to deliver the best research possible. However, I’m currently working on a potential new series that is very exciting to work on - that’s all I can say about that currently!
Also, of course the Untold collection which I’ve been fortunate to work on since the early days of the first series. I’ve loved seeing the collection grow and evolve from then to now and we’re currently in-production on a new, amazing batch of videos that we hope you enjoy watching.
What’s an important lesson you’ve learned while working at Makematic?
Working at Makematic, has provided me the opportunity to develop my Leadership skills, thanks in large part to the supportive, inspirational staff that make up this Company. Through their mutual trust, I have been able to challenge myself like never before and showcase my skills throughout projects such as our factual accuracy process which I created.
I look forward more than ever before to what the future holds at Makematic. Each day is a blessing, with new challenges and problems to overcome and solve.
Since joining Makematic over a year ago, Brandon has had his hand in several projects. Most notably this includes our large collection of American history and civics - Untold. As well as the Adobe ACE & Making Impactful series, and Teaching Online Masterclass.