COURSE OVERVIEW
Build your creative colour grading skills to make your mark in the film, television and games industry.
This one year MA gets you Industry ready as you work through the post-production process honing your skills from grading, finishing, through to delivery. You'll leave with a cross-genre showreel of films with your credit on.
With a high employment rate, the NFTS is ready to help launch your career!
Content Tabs
The NFTS has recently made some exciting changes to this course. Our A Fresh Take page tells you all you need to know!
On this course, you’ll work with the latest available software and will be taught by current industry artists, technicians and supervisors. You will work on major NFTS film and TV productions, across the genres of fiction, science and natural history, documentary, TV entertainment, and animation, plus the opportunity to collaborate with games.
COURSE FACILITIES
You will have access to industry-standard facilities, such as calibrated grading suites and Baselight and Resolve software.
The course is dedicated to learning and practising the crafts of colour grading and finishing, from conforming right through to delivery. You will learn to colour grade with expert Industry tutors using the latest colour grading suites. You will also learn to finish projects using AVID, as well as having a module in Resolve.
You will graduate from the School having studied the full NFTS post production pipeline, armed with a production-ready showreel as well as bona fide credits on your IMDb page.
The course covers such a diverse range of subjects that there is no typical candidate. Your background may be in the arts or other media, or you may be a recent graduate or industry professional looking to fast-track or switch your career. Colour graders need to have a good eye for aesthetics and consistency, have a good understanding of story, and be great collaborators.
Although not strictly necessary, you are likely to have some industry experience or training in your chosen field and you must already understand the basic technical and operational use of computers. An ideal candidate should have a mixture of creative and technical skills. Communication, people and management skills are also desirable.
While many applicants will have a degree from a British or overseas university, we will consider applicants who do not have a degree if they have an impressive portfolio, a creative track record (for instance, in theatre or other arts) or an alternative qualification.
If you have any questions, please email info@nfts.co.uk
The following item(s) should accompany your online application:
- Please submit a critical analysis of the use of colour grading in a film or television programme of your choice, no more than two sides A4 typed.
- Please submit a brief outline of your particular interests in the Colour Grading and Finishing field including any relevant experience, either academic or practical.
- Please supply a digital portfolio containing samples of your work. This need not demonstrate experience in effects. For applicants not from a film or television background, this item is optional.
Applications will close at 23:59 on the day of the deadline, shown at the top of this page.
Funding Available
The NFTS awards more scholarships and bursaries to British students, relative to the size of our student body, than almost any other educational institution in the UK. If you’re successful at gaining a place on the course, you will be contacted by our funding team with details on how to apply for one of these scholarships.
Tutors
Showcase
Introducing the NEW NFTS Colour Grading and Finishing Diploma!
The Leper (trailer)
2022 graduate fiction film
Director - Hugh Mulhern
Producer - Alexander Handschuh
Colourist/Online Editor - Nathaniel Skeels
Colour Grading and Finishing students work on a number of projects each year including fiction films, documentaries, animations, science and natural history and television shows.
The Violence Between Us (trailer)
2022 graduate documentary
Director - Camila Guerreiro
Producer - Alexander Handschuh
Colourist/Online Editor - Mara Ciorba
The Violence Between Us was nominated for the Best Student Film at the One World Media Awards.
Spring Roll Dream (trailer)
2022 graduate animation
Director/Lead Animator - Mai Vu
Producer - Thijme Grol
Colourist/Online Editor - Karolina Matela
Spring Roll Dream had its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
Sagebrush Gold (trailer)
2022 graduate science and natural history film
Director/Producer/Camera/Sound/Foley Artist - Marcus Widger
Colourist/Online Editor - Aiden Tobin
Sagebrush Gold was shortlisted for the 2022 Yugo BAFTA Student Awards.
Graduate Success
NFTS graduates are in demand internationally, and end up working as colourists on feature films, high-end television, music videos and commercials.
Recent credits include...
NIKE - Beyond BHM: How Black Athletes Shape the Future | FM Broadcast
Colourist Nigel Tadyanehondo
Nigel has also worked with clients including British Vogue, ASUS and EA Sports and has worked on music videos for Stormzy and Sam Ryder.
Graduate Success
NFTS graduates are in demand internationally, and end up working as colourists on feature films, high-end television, music videos and commercials.
Recent credits include...
The Princess
Colourist Sara Buxton
Other credits include: The Northman, Belfast, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
Graduate Success
NFTS graduates are in demand internationally, and end up working as colourists on feature films, high-end television, music videos and commercials.
Recent credits include...
The Capture
Colourist Carl Thompson
Carl was nominated for Excellence in Grading (Scripted) at the Broadcast Tech Innovation Awards for his work on The Capture.
Other credits include: Call The Midwife, Breeders, Trigger Point
