Creatives and crew from award-winning UK film, animation and television are using the Covid-19 production hiatus to support training in universities and colleges.
Industry professionals who have worked on titles including The Favourite, Quantum of Solace, Game of Thrones, Top of the Lake and a string of Wallace and Gromit hits are taking part in online industry insight seminars for students on university and college courses which have achieved ScreenSkills Select endorsement.
ScreenSkills Select endorses courses that have been recognised by practitioners as relevant to working in the screen industries, a process designed to answer industry criticisms that courses were producing students without appropriate knowledge and experience for the workplace.
Five special online industry insight events with experienced professionals as well as more recent entrants to the sector have been designed to give students, tutors and course leaders valuable insights into key job roles in screen, highlighting early career roles where possible, and relevant resources to support entry into job roles.
They also aim to help universities and colleges maintain strong employer engagement despite the ongoing challenges of the Covid-19 crisis. Running from the end of this month into June, they will cover the production office, art department, animation and VFX, technical and post-production.
They are complemented by a series of online employability events targeted at final-year students. These offer insight on how to find job opportunities, what to expect from a first job, how to identify and demonstrate strengths and what to expect on entering the workforce.
The first round of employability events are taking place at Edinburgh Napier University, Liverpool John Moores University, Northern Film School, Norwich University of the Arts, Teesside University, University of Portsmouth, University of Westminster, UWE, Bristol, and the University of the West of Scotland.
Tim Weiss, ScreenSkills director of vocational skills, said: “Part of our commitment is to bring the industry and education closer together to the benefit of both. Although this is harder at a time of social distancing, it felt important to continue our work in sharing insight and expertise and help ready the next generation of screen workers to prepare to enter the industry.”
Industry experts that will be taking part in the insights events include:
- William Hughes, production assistant and Trainee Finder alumnus (Black Widow, Jack Ryan, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)
- Emma Mallett, production manager (Quantum of Solace, Rush, Maleficent)
- Charlotte Hutchings, assistant art director and draughts preson, and Trainee Finder alumna (Death of Stalin, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Aeronauts)
- Tristan Oliver, director of photography (Fantastic Mr Fox, Isle of Dogs, The Wrong Trousers)
- Fiona Crombie, production designer (The Favourite, Macbeth, Cruella)
- Bimpe Alliu, junior concept artist
- Emma Bayat, assistant editor/VFX editor (Pennyworth, Fate: The Winx Saga)
- Alice Felton, art director (The Favourite, The King, Cruella)
- Paul Austin, post-production
- Domizia Salusest, director of photography