Upon first appearances - OR seemed to be a high-end documentary production company with some decent productions under its belt. I joined OR in a project that had been going for some time, with the promise that the production had now changed direction somewhat but had a clear path to completion. It quickly became apparent to me that the series we were trying to make had no clear progression path in sight, and we were strung along for months on end.
It soon became clear that this is a company led by someone who is constantly churning out ideas, and then scrambling together a team to see this idea come to fruition. He then moves on to another idea, and that original team is either asked to change their production so drastically or abandon the original idea completely (often with weeks or months of work already under their belts which amounts to nothing).
In normal circumstances, (certainly every other place I've worked), every production has a clear schedule. I didn't see one version of a schedule in over a year of working at OR. Goalposts changed constantly, communication from the top was extremely poor, and morale was driven into the ground. All the while, the pace and intensity of work was kept high, with regular hours of overtime and expectations to drop everything outside of working hours to complete complex tasks. I don't mind working outside hours when it is necessary and the schedule is up against it - that is part of working in TV. But sacrificing my personal life for a production that essentially didn't exist was an immense toll.
Contracts were vague, and at one point during renewal I worked weeks without seeing a new contract issued. This is unacceptable. Many of my peers were having to quibble over payment - not seeing the salary they either deserved or had been promised, all while being asked to dedicate huge amounts of time to an employer that didn't show them the same loyalty. Disgruntled colleagues were leaving weekly.
I'd strongly advise avoiding OR Media. I will never work there again, and I know that all my former colleagues echo that sentiment. The company is very quickly gaining a bad reputation in the industry, and with good reason.
