Dene McLeod

Background

About Dene McLeod

I have worked professionally in the film and television industry since 2003, starting out as a film extra, before moving into production. I studied at UCT where I earned an Honours degree in Film Theory & Practice (BA), winning the Robyn Cohen Award for Best Student. Upon completion of my studies, I secured a position as Assistant Editor at Clockwork Zoo (CWZ), the biggest 2D animation studio in the Southern Hemisphere at the time, & worked on the shows 'Caillou' & 'Florrie's Dragons', for Disney. I was also Assistant Editor on 'Glitterboys & Ganglands', Lauren Beukes' award-winning debut documentary feature. Upon the closure of Clockwork Zoo, I freelanced, working on a myriad of projects: episodes of 'ZA News' & 'Supa Strikas' as an Editor, to name a few. I also worked with Purple Pear Productions on an amazing documentary,'Saying Goodbye', doing both camera & editing work. I joined Bubblegum Educational Design as Senior Editor in 2011, where I was reunited with former Clockwork Zoo colleagues & we began setting up a working animation production pipeline using Bubblegum’s existing print and digital IP; 8 years later we had produced over 150 hours of original broadcast content, encompassing everything from Early Childhood Development 2D edutainment animated series to Live Action reality TV shows & 'made for TV' feature films. In August 2016, I was promoted to Chief Operating Officer of Bubblegum & its sister foundation, Future Thinking Foundation NPC. My duties in this role included, but were not limited to:*Recruiting staff & drafting contracts *Project management & planning *Budgeting *Drafting of content-licensing contracts *Design & development *Marketing & advertising *Social Media management *Running complete pipeline: Pre-production / Production / Post Production *Development of operating systems and protocols In March 2020, I left Bubblegum & Future Thinking Foundation. I joined Construct Education as Project Manager, where a highlight was working with Oxford University on their implementation of Flexible & Inclusive Teaching protocols in their online courses. I left Construct Education in May 2021, & worked as a freelance Producer & Editor, before joining Mindset Network NPC as a full-time Producer, where I oversaw content development & live show broadcasts. In November 2022 I joined Bearfish Strategic Services as Producer/Production Manager & in-house Editor. Particular highlights in this role to date include producing the highly successful second season of 'Western Cape Highway Patrol' and the music video 'Ndizijongile'