B&T’s Women in Media Awards are only one away! And in the spirit of celebrating the amazing women in this industry, we’ve paired up with the Australian Directors’ Guild (ADG) to showcase the fabulous recipients of their Commercial & Content Directing Mentorship program.

This program perfectly aligns with what the Women in Media Awards is all about – and supports the promotion of female directors in a male-dominated industry by pairing them up with mentor companies.

For 2018, eight up-and-coming female directors were paired with top commercial production companies. Read more on that here.

Our last profile featured the lovely Vanessa Gazy, and this week it’s time for you to meet Eugenie Muggleton!

How did you become involved with the program?

I applied and had my heart set on Otto and was lucky enough to get my spot there.

I’d been living in New York somewhat optimistically trying to get into commercials and I kept hitting walls. I thought ‘if only there was some kind of mentorship program for emerging commercial directors….’

Which company/who have you been mentored with?

I’m at The Otto Empire.

What are you most looking forward to about the mentoring program?

It’s about the little things you can’t know before you experience them, it builds confidence. Directors so rarely get to see other directors work, so I’m really looking forward to seeing the different ways different directors work.

I’ve started the mentorship already and invaluable things like watching a director handle themselves in situations I’ve never been in, or completely diffuse a stressful situation has been incredibly valuable. Also it’s just really fun to hang out with all the legends at Otto.

What are you excited to gain from having a mentor?

I love commercials. Some of my favourite short form storytelling comes from commercials, whether funny, weird or sincere drama.

It’s an amazing skill to be able to command a story in 30 secs. I’m excited to be a sponge and soak that up, and at the same time

I’m really excited to hone my own skills not only for commercials but other projects as well.

Do you think the program will help your career? Why?

Definitely. I’m looking at it like boot camp, I’m training to be a commercial director by seeing how it’s done.

And also meeting more people in the industry. I’m hoping to get the opportunity to show the industry what I’ve got.

What was the best advice you’ve ever received?

“Don’t be afraid of not having all the answers.”

What advice would you give to young, aspiring women?

Just do it. You never stop learning, and confidence and experience will keep coming, so in the meantime just do it.

B&T‘s Women in Media Awards 2018 will be held on Friday 17 August 2018 at Doltone House – Jones Bay Wharf. Grab early bird tickets to the event here and find all other info on the website.