A UNIVERSITY VIEW
the aim was to bring together a range of existing film and television courses and a new industrylinked set of postgraduate degrees.
Based at USW’s Cardiff Campus – home to our Faculty of Creative Industries (FCI) – Film & TV School Wales is designed to form a focal point for students who want to work in those sectors in Wales, the wider UK and across the world.
Students at USW partner colleges – including Bridgend College, Cardiff and Vale College, Coleg y Cymoedd, Coleg Gwent and the College Merthyr Tydfil – have also been able to access the expertise available.
By working closely with all the major industry partners, the school has started to build closer connections between education, government and industry.
It is also building on more than 50 years of film educational provision at USW, previously taught at the university’s Newport Film School.
Relocating this provision to the heart of Wales’ film and television industry in Cardiff was part of a rationalisation process that is building much closer links between education and industry to select, support and promote future talent.
Film & TV School Wales will involve more than 700 USW students from a range of current undergraduate courses, including film, media production, film and TV set design, animation and VFX.
Skills-specific postgraduate courses are also being developed with, and sponsored by, major industry employers, and are aimed at extending opportunities available to students aiming to find their feet in the sector.
The move was welcomed by Ken Skates AM, Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport, who said “it will help us to build the worldclass workforce that our industry needs”, while Rhodri Talfan Davies, director of BBC Cymru Wales, said the corporation “looks forward to working with USW to ensure this new initiative makes a lasting impact”.
Although in its early days, Film & TV School Wales has already had some major successes.
In January we hosted a TV and film industry day that combined masterclasses from key indie producers, a panel discussion featuring commissioners from BBC, S4C and Channel 4, and a screening of new documentaries from BBC Wales’ It’s My Shout strand. The event culminated in the RTS Wales Student Awards.
We also played host to two Channel 4 commissioning events for more than 100 TV producers.
This spring, through the Film & TV School’s network of partners, a number of our students have already found graduate opportunities in a range of factual and drama series currently being made in Wales, including projects produced by Bad Wolf, Vox Pictures and Eleven Films.
We’re delighted by the success that the Film & TV School has already secured, and plan to ensure that the industry links are strengthened further so that our students can leave us with the skills needed to realise their potential.
Tom Ware is director of production and performance in the Faculty of Creative Industries at the University of South Wales.