Time for a close-up on getting big break in film business
ANYONE WHO has lived or worked in Yorkshire knows what a stunning and diverse place it is. And now the rest of the world is cottoning on to this fact too, with the Broad Acres an increasingly sought-after location for film and TV programmes, thanks to its breathtaking scenery, stately homes and rich industrial heritage.
Since Screen Yorkshire launched its Yorkshire Content Fund in 2012, it has invested in more than 40 film and TV projects including: and
The spy thriller – which stars Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Matthew Goode and Matt Smith – is the latest blockbuster being shot in Yorkshire, and there are more big productions in the pipeline.
As well as seeking out film locations, Screen Yorkshire is also providing help to people who want a career in TV and film through its Bootcamp training schemes.
Set up in 2016, the intensive threeday courses, backed by Creative Skillset, bring in industry professionals – from producers and costume designers, to sound recordists and special effects experts – to talk about what they do and their route into what can be a highly competitive industry.
Screen Yorkshire’s Head of Production, Richard Knight, says the training scheme is about forging closer links with the growing number of production companies filming and working in Yorkshire.
“The aim is to bridge that gap between education and industry and give an overview of the different departments, like production, costume design and make-up, and show the different ways into the industry.
”Every production attracted to the region through Screen Yorkshire’s investment comes with wider opportunities for work placements, employment or career development for local crew. Thanks to some generous productions happy to engage and provide opportunities, and a high calibre of participants coming through the bootcamp schemes, we’ve been able to link training directly to opportunities for a number of local people.”
Knight says the trainees come from a variety of backgrounds. “We’ve had people in their 50s. We had someone who’d worked for English Heritage for 20 years and wanted to get into the film business, we’ve had a department store manager and several teachers.”
More than 150 people have been on the courses so far, with some using it to get their foot on the ladder. Joe Gradwell is one of the former Screen Yorkshire trainees who landed a job in the locations department on
“Following an extended break from the film industry to raise a family, it’s been an incredible twelve months of getting back into it which started with the bootcamp,” he says.
“I saw an opportunity in locations and I was able to find work last year on several commercials, a low-budget feature film and when it filmed briefly in Sheffield over the winter months. Landing the
role is the icing on the cake, and should help cement my place back into the industry full-time.”
Ben Reid from York, is another person who has benefitted from the experience. Since attending a bootcamp in 2016, he now has VFX credits on Andy Serkis’ directorial debut and David Bruckner’s to his name. “Screen Yorkshire’s Bootcamp was a fantastic opportunity to galvanise my career transition into the film business,” says Reid.
“It was very useful in opening my eyes to all the various jobs that are available, and the skills that you need to be successful in each. The scheme gave me access to people in the industry and an opportunity to grill them about their job.”