An intensive two-day course in afro hair for film and television hair and make-up artists has been adapted to run as free remote learning.
Funded by the ScreenSkills Film Skills Fund with contributions from productions, the afro hair essentials course is being presented in association with Creative Media Skills, who are normally based at Pinewood Studios, Bucks.
Emma Turner, ScreenSkills’ Film CPD (continuing professional development) Lead, said: “We know there is a huge demand for learning in this area and the lockdown has provided time for people to acquire or improve their skills. We are really excited to have co-developed this training and been able to provide funding for it to be reconfigured to run remotely.”
An expert hair tutor, Tifanny Pierre, will teach a class of 25 participants via Zoom. In advance, students will receive an information pack and a kit of equipment including a training head that will allow them to undertake the practical learning and to practise in their own time after the class.
The course aims to provide participants with an introduction to a range of practical skills and techniques used to style and care for afro hair, which has been identified as a skills gap across the industry. It will cover braiding, styling, plaits and cornrows, theory of different hair types, product orientations, dressing out curly hair and how to wash, blow dry and straighten hair.
The ScreenSkills Afro Hair Essentials course was devised in collaboration with Creative Media Skills and will be tutored by Tifanny Pierre, who is an experienced trainer and salon entrepreneur.
The course is targeted at professionals with at least two years’ of experience with hair in film or television. Those without appropriate experience are urged not to apply for this particular training.
Creative Media Skills commented: “This course has been developed with the aim to upskill and support established hair artists to build on their current skillset, as well as to address the skills gap in the industry. To make the course as accessible as possible, ScreenSkills has funded an essential kit, to prevent any barriers to participating during the global Covid crisis.
“The first steps of our practical hair courses are always taught on a training heads before participants start styling on a real person’s hair, so we believe that this will continue to offer participants a great standard of learning. To promote continued learning and development, participants will be able to keep their funded kits, including their training head, which will empower them to practice in their own time.”
Click here for more details and to register