Shifting Gears: Inside One Graduate’s Mission to Amplify Women's Voices in Sport

Last year, Heloise Revel graduated from the National Film and Television School Sports Production course, and now she's working as an assistant producer at one of the leading producers of sports programming in the world, IMG. 

A year on from graduating with her stellar graduation film Race to F1: Chloe Chong, we caught up with Heloise to see how she has been getting on, and to hear about how this unique course has helped her fast-track her career in sports broadcasting.
 

Trailer for Race to F1: Chloe Chong 
 

What were you doing before starting the Sports Production course at the NFTS and what led you to apply?

Before undertaking the Sports Production course, I had a career in documentaries. I took a break to start a family and then there was Covid which made it difficult to meet up with anyone and make new contacts for work. Despite it being frustrating, it actually really made me assess what I really wanted to do and that was to move into Sports Production. I have always wanted to work in that industry and had applied in the past but it had always felt like a closed space for women to break into. It was a friend on a group WhatsApp who forwarded a short course run by the NFTS. I had a nosey around the website and came across the Sports Production course. It listed everything I needed to brush up on to get into sports, plus the IMG link up and internship which was invaluable.
 

Your graduation film was about Chloe Chong, the youngest driver to compete in F1 Academy in the inaugural 2023 season, what made you choose her as your subject?

I have always had a passion for Formula 1 so I knew I wanted to make a film in that field. I am a member of the Women’s Sports Collective. I sent out a message to the community asking if there were any interesting stories that should be told with a particular interest in motorsport. I was overwhelmed by the response. So many different women working in the industry doing fascinating things but there was one that really stood out, a woman called Beatrice who represented Chloe Chong. Chloe had just completed a year in F1 Academy and had secured a seat to race in F4.

I had a call with Chloe and then met up with her when she was racing at Silverstone. I took a camera with me and just on that recce day I was filming inside the garage, the pit lane, in the stands with her parents and filming Chloe meeting potential sponsors. It was really thrilling. Chloe is just incredible and wise beyond her 17 years and I just became so excited for the project as I knew there was a real story that needed to be shouted about. A lot of that initial footage made it into my final film.
 

What key skills did you learn at NFTS and how did they help you during the process and experience of filming your graduation project Race to F1: Chloe Chong?

The course creates building blocks that lead you up to produce your final film. Camera techniques, editing, interviewing, working with others, exposing you to either working in live or non-live sport and lectures with industry professionals. Personally, I learnt more about storytelling. Telling a story in sports is very different from documentaries. You can start at the middle and that’s ok. I shot a lot for my final film and when it came to the edit, I had learned to see the bigger picture and was fine about chopping out large chunks that weren’t needed. At the beginning of the course I would have had a heart attack to have seen my hard earned footage on the floor but through my learning journey, I was at peace with it. I was also encouraged to push out of my comfort zone and work with other students. I ended up with a super team for two racing weekends helping with filming, sound and project managing. I learnt so much about the process but also myself and overcoming challenges. 
 

How important is it to you to give a platform to women working in historically male-dominated sports like F1 and sports production itself?

Hugely. It’s really important to have more women working in Sports and F1. 40% of F1 viewers are female. The rise of F1 Academy and drivers like Jamie Chadwick, Abbi Pulling and Chloe Chong are planting seeds for younger girls but also parents, that it is possible to pursue a career as a racing driver and in the sports industry. So much of Chloe’s work is done off the track promoting herself, the sport and sponsorship work. To make it to F1, it's estimated you need up to £18m. To race in F1 Academy it costs £1 million but it is heavily subsidised. They just ask you to contribute a minimum of £100k, still an extraordinary amount of money, so I really felt passionate whilst filming to showcase the barriers women face in racing. That it’s harder for them to get sponsorship because they are female and companies don’t always feel they will have as much exposure hence not investing.

How did the NFTS partnership with IMG help you?

The link up with IMG provided aspiration. Our second week in we visited IMG’s studios and we were all blown away by how amazing it was. Seeing the studios, the galleries, the fun break out rooms and talks from different personnel, I left that day feeling fired up knowing that this is where I wanted to be when I finished my course.

Over the year we went back to do odd training days, we also had a visiting IMG tutor, Chris Downham. Despite being a Millwall fan, he was very insightful and friendly! But the big one was the one-month internship over the summer. Aside from providing a foot in the door, just spending time with a team and really understanding what they did and work processes I found invaluable. Everyone was so friendly and you could just go up to other teams and ask if they wanted any help. On Fridays I would work in the audio studios with the F1 podcast team whilst they recorded the Chequered Flag podcast, a show I listen to every week. It was wild then sitting in the canteen having lunch with the presenters, people I idolised, chatting everything F1. I managed to extend my internship into another week because I was helping out a different department for a big golf tournament. We filmed Tom Holland and his brothers trying to hit a hole in one. A surreal day filming him along with his puppy Daphne!

"Had I not done the Sports Production course, I wouldn’t have this job. Everyday I’m implementing skills learnt and honed from the course." 

 

What are you up to now and how did the NFTS help prepare you?

I’m now working full time for IMG as an Assistant Producer in their Royal & Ancient Studios team. For sure, had I not done the Sports Production course, I wouldn’t have this job. Everyday I’m implementing skills learnt and honed from the course but I felt having built up that relationship with IMG got me over the line. When it came to my final interview, the content leader was one of the speakers I had met at that initial meet and greet at IMG when I started the course. I absolutely love what I’m doing now and my team. Every day is different. I may be out shooting or editing back in the office. Championship weeks are just epic. It is all hands to the pump working with brilliant people, in the rain, in the sunshine. It’s a wild ride! Next month I’m filming in Mexico for a week. Then January I’m in Peru and the following month I’m filming in South Africa whilst the other half of the team are in New Zealand.
 

Do you have any advice for people who are thinking about applying to the NFTS Sports Production course?

Honestly, I really recommend it. If you are passionate about sports and struggling to break into the industry or feeling you need to develop your skills, then definitely take up this course. It gives you time to create and learn. I valued that space to think through my projects the most and build up a personal portfolio. There is also help at hand through CV workshops, visiting professors, all the talks, film screenings and just being amongst other NFTS students and knowing that these are the future stars of the film industry makes it a really exciting and inspiring place to be. The graduation showcase week has to be mentioned as well. It was a very proud moment to have my film screened at the BFI with friends and family in attendance followed by the graduation ceremony a few days later at the iconic Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square.

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Our Sports Production MA prepares you a successful future career in the sports television industry. In just one year, this full-time program immerses students in every aspect of sports programming, preparing students to produce cutting-edge coverage of live sports events across all disciplines. It is designed to give you a good understanding of sports television programming and to develop the skills, knowledge and behaviours needed to enable you to work effectively in any sports production environment.

Now open for applications to start in January 2026! Apply today: nfts.co.uk/sports