COURSE OVERVIEW
The NFTS Certificate in Intimacy Coordination is a rigorous, industry facing programme designed for those who want to work professionally as Intimacy Coordinators in the UK film and television sector.
This is not a theoretical overview of intimacy work. It is practical, production led training, grounded in current UK set practice and union frameworks. This will prepare you for the realities of working with cast and crew under pressure.
Delivered part time, via in-person intensive practical workshops at our base in Leeds, online specialist sessions and one to one mentoring, the course develops the skills required to operate as a professional intimacy coordinator. You will learn how to choreograph intimate content safely and creatively, collaborate across departments, assess and document risk, communicate boundaries clearly and support performer wellbeing without compromising the storytelling.
By the end of the programme, you will understand not only what intimacy coordination is, but how it is implemented responsibly, legally and professionally within the UK industry
Content Tabs
This six month, part-time programme is structured around professional practice, applied training and industry facing assessment.
Intimacy coordination is not limited to staging intimate moments. It is a Head of Department role requiring leadership, consent-based practice, safeguarding awareness, legal literacy and advanced communication and diplomatic skills. A significant part of the work involves managing competing pressures, holding boundaries, working quickly yet safely, developing paperwork and maintaining trust across cast, production and crew. The programme prepares you to operate within that full professional remit in the UK screen industries.
Across 90 contact hours and approximately 150 hours in total, you will develop the skills required to choreograph intimate content with clarity and consent, conduct and document risk assessments, understand relevant UK legal frameworks and duty of care, communicate effectively across departments, and support performers while maintaining production workflow. Emphasis is placed on professional judgement, clear documentation and calm decision making under pressure. The programme runs through three integrated strands:
• Applied professional training in collaboration with above the line and below the line crew, production management, actors and established intimacy coordinators
• A structured learning journal completed throughout the course
• A sustained research project developed over six months, enabling participants to investigate a specialist area of intimacy practice in depth and share learning across the cohort
Students undertake a filmed assessment working alongside a professional television director, actors and DOP, reflecting the communication structures and expectations of a working set. This is assessed by an external, BECTU registered intimacy coordinator providing detailed professional feedback.
Successful completion provides the documented training and assessment required for application to the BECTU Intimacy Coordinators Registry as it stands in February 2026. Please note that the course does not contribute to the on-set hours requirement.
The emphasis throughout is on developing professional authority, ethical clarity, choreographic expertise and the capacity to function responsibly as a Head of Department within the UK film and television industry.
Sign up for our Online information Session taking place on Monday, 30th March. For more information and to register, please click here.
MODULE 1 - FUNDAMENTALS
- Mental Health First Aid
- The IC on Set
- Keeping a Learning Journal
- Research Methodology in an Evolving Crew Role
- Choreographic Language Fundamentals
- Trauma Informed Practice
- Somatic Practice
- Quick Techniques to Build Rapport
- The Psychology of Acting
- Consent in Practice
- EDI Training
- Unconscious Bias Training
- Anti-Racism Training
- LGBTQIA+ Considerations
- Bystander Intervention Training
- Conflict Resolution
- On Set Conduct and Communication
- Disability and Access Awareness
- Children’s Regulations in Film and Television
- BECTU Creative Industries Safety Passport
MODULE 2 – PRACTICE
- The Fundamentals of Intimate Movement
- Anchoring techniques
- HOD Paperwork
- Script Breakdowns
- Actor Intakes
- Nudity Rider and Simulated Sex Waiver Language
- Production Reports
- Closed Set Protocols
- Building Your Business
- Your First Year
- BECTU
- Masking Techniques
- Modesty Garments
- Barriers
- Reality Choreography
- Theatricality Choreography
- Disaster 101
- Working in Unscripted
- VFX and Green Screen
- Working on Medical Scenes
- Working on Birthing Scenes
- Cinematography and The Actor Process
- Media Training for Intimacy Professionals
- Estill Technique for Embodied Vocal Work
- Working on Crowd Scenes
- Supporting Artists
- Stand Ins and Body Doubles
- Working with Fight Directors
MODULE 3 – ASSESSMENT
- Completion of Learning Journal
- Academic Poster Presentation of Research Project
- Independently Assessed Production Process and Choreography.
This course is open to UK applicants and EU/EEA Nationals with UK pre-settled/settled status (subject to meeting residency requirements) and applicants who are currently in the UK on a valid visa for the full duration of the course.
This course is aimed at those with experience in movement directing and teaching, choreography or directing. Applications will be considered from candidates working in other departments in film, television or theatre. Choreography, teaching or directing knowledge will be necessary to complete the course and to gain access to the registry. First and foremost, we are looking for candidates who are able to work collaboratively with departments to problem solve through their choreographic knowledge.
Read all the course dates and ensure you are available for all sessions. Online sessions are interactive, and the expectation is for you to attend all dates as part of the programme.
Applications are now open.
