Lucy Frazer, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Visits NFTS
On Thursday 25 May the National Film and Television School welcomed Lucy Frazer, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to take a look behind the scenes at the inner workings of one of the world's top film schools.
NFTS Director Jon Wardle and NFTS Chair, Sophie Turner Laing greeted Lucy and led her on a tour of the NFTS main campus in Beaconsfield.
Lucy was first welcomed onto the sets of two of Disney Imagine productions on our rehearsal and 7,000sq foot main stage. The NFTS main stage was part of the original Beaconsfield Studios built in 1921 and has since been fully refurbished to house some incredible student productions.
In the Model Making workshop, Lucy met some busy students who have started work on models and props for our graduation films that will premiere at our annual showcase early next year. Lucy was able to get hands-on with a range of student made models including Wallace and Gromit inspired puppets, miniature pieces of furniture from iconic films and full scale props too! Head of Model Making John Lee and his students talked Lucy through the industry-standard techniques and processes that they practise on the course, which is the only one of its kind in the UK!
On our cutting-edge TV stage, which facilitates our Virtual Production facilities, our Visual Effects students were working on their showcase film. While a sunset glowed on the volume behind them, Lucy spoke to the producer Cody Updegrave, Head of VFX Ian Murphy and Head of Games Alan Thorn about the project. Lucy was also introduced to the StoryFutures team; Head of Immersive, Becky Gregory-Clarke and Co-Director of StoryFutures Academy James Bennett, who lead on immersive research, development and training programmes.
As part of the visit Lucy also got the opportunity to sit down with some of our students and graduates from a range of courses to get their unique insights into how we can continue to inspire, encourage and nurture future film, TV and games talent.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said: “This school has helped thousands of young people learn specialist skills for half a century and go on to achieve BAFTAs, Oscars and selection at Cannes. In the coming weeks I will be setting out a vision for how Government and industry can work together to replicate this success and give more young people the opportunity to realise their potential and fulfil their dreams of a creative career.”
The National Film and Television School would like to thank Lucy and the Department for Culture, Media & Sport for all they do to support the School and our students.
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Find out more about the NFTS and explore our courses!
Visit nfts.co.uk/courses