ScreenSkills Select Congress

This page provides further information about ScreenSkills Select Congress 2021 including the programme, speakers, the dedicated platform and contact information.

The content of the programme and the choice of award-winning sector-leading industry experts has been deliberately designed to feature the latest intelligence on current technical, production and employability challenges facing UK screen industries. This includes the impact of the on-going pandemic on working practice.

The Congress is hosted on a dedicated online event platform, and, features keynote addresses, case studies (academic and industry), panel discussions and breakout sessions.

Due to popular demand, we have now extended the booking deadline for the Congress to Monday 22 March. You can make a booking here.

Congress Programme:

The following sets out the latest programme* for the Congress.

9:30 - 9:40: Congress welcome: Meet your hosts

Speakers:

• Tim Weiss, Director of Vocational Skills, ScreenSkills
• Seetha Kumar, Chief Executive, ScreenSkills
• Ria Hebden, TV Presenter & founder of production company, Carpe Diem Media Productions.

9:40 - 9:50: Opening keynote: Skills for storytelling in an age of disruption

Speaker: Alex Hope, ScreenSkills’ Vice-Chair, and, co-founder and former managing director of DNEG, one of the world’s leading visual effects and animation studios.

Alex sets out his views on the current and future operating environment for UK screen industries including how to meet and take advantage of the latest challenges and opportunities.

10:00 - 10:45: Production case study 1: Crewing up in 2021 (Scripted - HBO series 'Avenue 5')

Speakers: Steve Clark-Hall (Producer), Kevin Loader (Executive Producer) and Simon Bowles (Production Designer)

Session Facilitator: Duncan Howell, senior lecturer, Nottingham Trent University.

This scripted production case study explores the on-set challenges and innovation of a big-budget studio drama, and considers where new skills needs are emerging, the breadth of roles on offer and the key career entry points.

10:50 - 11:30: Production case study 2: Crewing up in 2021 (Unscripted 'Little Mix - The Search')

Session Facilitator: Kirsten MacLeod, course leader, Edinburgh Napier University.

Speakers: Andrea Hamilton, Managing Director at ModestTV, leaders in entertainment production.

Jai Cave, Technical Operations Director at ENVY Post-Production, the award winning full service post-production House.

This unscripted production case study looks behind the scenes of a hit reality show meeting the challenges of shooting and editing during the pandemic, and considers where new skills needs are emerging, the breadth of roles needed and the key career entry points.

11:40 - 12:20: Industry panel: Entry-level essentials

The panel members are:

• Nicky Ball, High-end TV Senior New Entrant Manager, ScreenSkills.
• Sara Putt, managing director, Sara Putt Associates, leading independent UK agency for film and television.
• Steve Dorrance, producer, Gutsy Animations, Emmy-nominated animation studio and producers of Moominvalley.
• Charanprite Dhami, assistant director.
• Jay Kishan, first assistant editor.
• Facilitator: Ria Hebden, TV Presenter & founder of production company, Carpe Diem Media Productions.

This session discusses in more detail on how to boost student employability and manage student expectations.

12:30 – 13:00: Academic case study: Lessons We Learned - How Gobelins stays in demand with industry

Speaker: Cecile Blondel, International Development Director, Gobelins, the world-leading school of visual communication and arts.
Interviewer: Tom Box, Managing Director, Blue Zoo, BAFTA award winning London animation production company.

How this world-leading education institution has stayed relevant, in-demand, and how they overcome challenges to achieve excellence in industry-linked teaching.

This will be followed by a break between 13:00-13:45.

13:45 - 14:45: Industry insights: Spotlight on emerging trends

From a choice of four specialist breakouts, delegates can register to hear about recent technical, process and production changes, and, what it means for new entrants into these specialisms.

The four breakouts are as follows:

Games

Speaker - Mark Flanagan, EMEA Education Partner Manager, Epic Games. Epic Games is a hugely successful video game and software developer and publisher which includes Fortnite amongst its titles.
Session Facilitator - Mark Wickham, course leader, Norwich University for the Arts.

Production

Speaker - Faraz Osman, Managing Director and Head of Creative, Gold Wala. Gold Wala is the mould-breaking visual production company currently working across a range of BBC platforms. 
Speaker - Tom Currie, Executive Producer, Dragonfly, the award-winning factual TV production house.
Speaker: Cameron Roach, Outgoing Director of Drama, Sky
Session Facilitator - Paul Tucker, senior lecturer, University of the West of Scotland. 

VFX

Speaker: Victor Wade, Global Head of Training, DNEG, one of the world’s leading visual effects and animation studios.
Session Facilitator - Richard Jones, course leader, University of Bolton.

Post

Speaker - Natascha Cadle, Co-founder and Creative Director, ENVY Post-Production, the award winning full service post-production house.
Tom Morgan, Head of Client Services, ENVY Post-Production, the award winning full service post-production house.
Session Facilitator - Trish Morris, course leader, Solent University.

15:00 - 15:15: Closing keynote: We're in this together, plus review of polls

Speaker: Alex Hope

A reflection on the views of speakers and delegates from the day.

15:20 – 15:30: Closing remarks: What's next for Select Select?

Speaker: Tim Weiss, director of vocational skills, ScreenSkills.

Closing remarks and an update on ScreenSkills Select’s plans for 2021 and 2022

15:40 – 16:45: Break-out rooms: Opening pathways through industry/education partnerships

An opportunity to discuss best practice in educator/industry partnerships and how to marry course-based learning with entry-level training.

* The programme may be subject to change