The National Film and Television School (NFTS) was established in 1971 and is based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, and it is located to close to Pinewood Studios.
History
The National Film School (the original name) was opened in 1971, the work of four years of planning to create an institution to train new talent for the British film industry. Department of Education and Science had in 1967 recommended the creation of a national film school for the UK, and in 1969 an inquiry led by Lord Lloyd of Hampstead began to develop plans.
In 1970, a Scot named Colin Young (then chairing the University of California's Department of Theater Arts), was appointed as the School's first director. The NFS bought the old Beaconsfield Film Studios in Buckinghamshire and set about refitting it to professional industry standards. Young established four permanent departments - production, camera, editing and sound - and in 1971 the first intake of 25 students passed through the studio gates.
The curriculum in the early days was loosely structured; sporadic seminars and workshops were secondary to production, with students spending most of their time doing exactly what they had come to the School to do - making films. But by the early 1980s, Young felt this system no longer served the students' best interests and a more structured curriculum was introduced. Links with the Industry were strengthened, allowing students' idealism and creative talent to be matched with collaborative, financial and production expertise.
In 1982, the School changed its name to The National Film and Television School, as many of its graduates went on to make their careers in TV. That same year it launched a pilot project for re-training freelance industry professionals. This led to the establishment of the National Short Course Training Programme (now ShortCourses@NFTS), which has been running courses ever since on all areas of film and television production. By the early 1990s, the school had modified its original stance on course structure, deciding to provide specialisation at the time of entry. The first year still offered a general course, followed in the next two years by focused training in one of the ten specialist areas (direction, writing, editing, camera, sound, animation, design, producing, documentary and composing).
Colin Young retired in 1992 and was succeeded by Henning Camre, formerly Head of the Danish Film School. Camre aimed for more balanced numbers in each of the ten specialist areas, creating separate departments with their own head tutors and curricula. He was also successful in securing a Lottery grant to install state of the art new equipment, positioning the School to take full advantage of new production methods offered by innovations in technology and ensuring that graduating students could compete with the best as they embarked on their careers.
Camre was succeeded in 1998 by Stephen Bayly, an NFTS graduate and film producer (Richard III, Mrs Dalloway). His first move was to reorganise the curriculum to run over two years, instead of three. Recognising a growing trend towards a requirement for academic qualifications, he sought to achieve this. Eventually, The Royal College of Art agreed to validate the School's courses and 2000 saw the first intake of students who would graduate with an MA. In 2002, Bayly introduced the first of the shorter Diploma courses, established to meet an urgent Industry need for properly trained sound recordists.
September 2003 saw Nik Powell, one of the UK's leading producers, to take over from Bayly. Powell has rapidly expanded the programme of new courses, introducing Diplomas in Producing & Directing Television Entertainment (now an MA), Digital Post-Production, SFX/VFX, Directing Fiction, and Script Development (a partnership venture with The Script Factory). Powell has reinvigorated the programme of visiting filmmakers, and set up a programme of masterclasses run at London cinemas for NFTS students and the public. He has also introduced a range of development deals with broadcasters and independent production companies to help new NFTS graduates get started and, in 2005, joined forces with NESTA (The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) to launch NFTS Inc, a Creative Pioneer programme supporting graduates of any UK film school develop start-up businesses in the motion picture industry.
Today, the NFTS has around 160 full-time students, with a further two dozen part-timers on the Script Development course and about a thousand a year on its short courses. It is the only film school in the UK which boasts its own film and television studios, and post-production facilities rivalling those of professional companies. Its talented community of students makes around a hundred films a year on courses that are still over 90% practical and unlike anything offered at any other UK film school.
The NFTS also holds yearly graduation shows at the BFI Southbank (formerly known as the National Film Theatre). These are highly selective and invite-only events which showcase the student's projects to scounts and industry professionals, ensuring that the students receive maximum exposure.[1]
Distinction
The BBC stated that the NFTS was the "leading centre of excellence for education in film and television programme making", and noted that it was "relevant to the industry's present and future needs."[2] British Film Magazine once described the NFTS as being one of the few schools to come "very, very close" to guaranteeing a job in the film industry, and named its leader (Powell) a "maverick"[3]; Filmmaking.net named it one of two films schools outside the US which had such a high international reputation[4].
Funding
Until its repeal in 1986, the school was funded partly through a tax on cinema ticket sales known as the Eady Levy, named after then UK Treasury official Sir Wilfred Eady. The NFTS has since been funded by the UK Government, via (today) the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and the television and film industries.
Key Partner Sponsors include main UK terrestrial and satellite broadcasting companies BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Five, BSkyB, S4C, Discovery Networks Europe and the Film Distributors' Association. In addition, a large number of public and private donors fund scholarships to assist (chiefly British and EU) students.
Courses of studies
Full-time courses
The NFTS offers the following two-year MA courses validated by the Royal College of Art:
- Animation Direction
- Cinematography
- Composing for Film and Television
- Digital Post-Production
- Directing Fiction
- Documentary Direction
- Editing
- Producing
- Producing and Directing Television Entertainment
- Production Design
- Screenwriting
- SFX/VFX
- Sound Design for Film and Television
and the following one-year Diploma courses:
- Production Management
- Script Development (in association with The Script Factory)
- Sound Recording for Film and Television
The NFTS also runs a Documentary Summer School - summerdocs - every year.
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Short courses
Shortcourses at NFTS regularly run short courses for professionals working in the film and television industries - covering the following areas:
- Documentary
- Drama
- Business Skills
- Camera & Sound
- Editing
- Art & Design
- Craft & Technical
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Members
The school has around 100 full-time staff as well as many top tutors from within the industry.
The Board
- President: Lord Attenborough, CBE
- Chairman: Michael Kuhn (Qwerty Films)
- Deputy Chairman: Peter Bazalgette
- Director: Nik Powell
- Other Board Members:
- Peter Barron, Google UK
- Floella Benjamin, OBE (Floella Benjamin Productions)
- Tom Betts, ITV
- Tim Bevan, CBE (Working Title Films)
- Dan Brooke (Discovery)
- Colin Brown (British Film Commissioner)
- Sally Debonnaire, (BBC)
- Clive Jones, CBE (ITV)
- Iona Jones (S4C)
- Duncan Kenworthy, OBE (Toledo Productions)
- Stephen Louis (Enable Partners)
- John McVay (PACT)
- Steve Mertz (Warner Bros.)
- Lisa Opie (five)
- Caroline Prendergast, (BBC)
- Simon Relph, CBE (Skreba Creon Films Ltd)
- Angela Roberts, (BBC)
- Tessa Ross (FilmFour/Channel 4)
- David Sproxton, CBE (Aardman)
- Sophie Turner-Laing (BSkyB)
- Colin Young
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Partners
- Key Partner Sponsors
- British Broadcasting Corporation
- Channel 4
- Film Distributors' Association
- S4C
- Sky
- Key Partner Funders
- Department for Culture, Media and Sport
- HEFCE
- PACT via the Independent Production Training Fund
- Skillset Film Skills Fund
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Key Tutors
- Helen Nabarro - Head of Animation Direction
- Brian Tufano BSC - Head of Cinematography
- John Rowe - Head of Digital Post Production and SFX/VFX
- Stephen Frears - David Lean Chair in Fiction Direction
- Lynda Myles - Head of Fiction Direction
- Dick Fontaine - Head of Documentary Direction
- Annabelle Pangborn - Head of Post Production
- Karin Bamborough - Head of Producing
- Caroline Amies / Moira Tait - Joint Heads of Screen Design
- David G Croft - Head of Television
- Corinne Cartier - Head of Screenwriting
- Andrew Boulton - Head of Sound Recording
- Caroline Leaf
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Recent awards & nominations
The students regularly get nominated (and sometimes win) international awards, even Oscars.[5]
2009
- Bill's Visitors (2008 animation dir. Simon Deshon)
- Platinum Remi, Best Animation - WorldFest International Film Festival, Houston
- Blackwater (2009 fiction dir. Konstantinos Fragkopoulos)
- Platinum Remi, Best Film - WorldFest International Film Festival, Houston
- Cherry on the Cake (2009 animation dir. Hyebin Lee)
- Best Animation - Shanghai International Film Festival
- Commission Impossible (2008 TV dir/prod. FernandoR Gutierrez de Jesus/Luke Oliver Ritchie)
- Nominated, Best Postgraduate Entertainment award - Royal Television Society Student Television Awards
- Elephants (2008 animation dir. Sally Pearce)
- Out of Sight award - Ffresh - Student Moving Image Festival of Wales
- Nominated, Verna Fields Award for Best Sound Editing in a Student Film - MPSE Golden Reels Awards
- Nominated, Best Short Film - BAFTA CYMRU
- Most Creative Idea - Shanghai International Film Festival
- Goleshovo (2008 documentary dir. Ilian Metev)
- Nominated, Best Short Documentary - New Zealand Documentary Film Festival
- Best Director and Audience Award - Timishort, Timisoara Short Film Festival, Romania
- Veneto Award and Young Director Award - Lessinia Film Festival, Italy
- Best Documentary Film - Sehsüchte International Student Film Festival, Germany
- Best Debut and Award of the Bulgarian National Television - Golden Rhyton Film Festival, Bulgaria
- Best Short Film - Valdivia Film Festival, Chile
- Don Quichote Award - Krakow Film Festival, Poland
- Love Letters (2008 fiction dir.Samantha Harrie)
- Nominated, Best Postgraduate Drama award - Royal Television Society Student Television Awards
- Madrugada (2008 fiction dir Michael Pearce)
- Nominated, Best Postgraduate Drama award - Royal Television Society Student Television Awards
- Mummy's Boy (2009 animation dir. Chris Gooch)
- Verna Fields Award for Sound Editing, MPSE Golden Reels Awards
- Outcasts (2008 fiction dir. Ian Clark)
- Best Short Film - Fujifilm Shorts Competition
- Nominated, Best Postgraduate Drama award - Royal Television Society Student Television Awards
- Sounds Like A Laugh (2008 TV prod. Ikram El-Amriti)
- Nominated, Best Postgraduate Entertainment award - Royal Television Society Student Television Awards
- Spilt Milk (2008 TV dir/prod. Aneil Karia)
- Best Student Production - Learning On Screen Awards, UK
- Nominated, Best Postgraduate Entertainment award - Royal Television Society Student Television Awards
- Sprinters (2007 documentary dir. Sam Blair)
- Nominated, Best Postgraduate Documentary award - Royal Television Society Student Television Awards
- Stand Up (2008 animation dir. Joseph Pierce)
- Nominated, Best Postgraduate Animation award - Royal Television Society Student Television Awards
- Nominated, Best Student Production - Learning On Screen Awards, UK
- The Incredible Story of my Great Grandmother Olive (2009 animation dir. Alberto Rodríguez)
- 2nd Place, Best Student Animation Award - Palms Springs International Short Film Festival, USA
- Valley of the Goats (2008 documentary dir. Leon Dean)
- Nominated, Best Postgraduate Documentary award - Royal Television Society Student Television Awards
- Waiting for Women (2009 documentary dir. Estephan Wagner)
- Best Documentary - Festival La Fila, Valladolid
- Special Jury Mention - International Documentary Film Festival, Uruguay
- Best Student Documentary Award - Palm Springs International Short Film Festival, USA
2008
- 1977 (2007 animation dir. Peque Varela)
- Best Student Film - Stuttgart International Animation Festival
- Best Animation - Festival de Curtmetratges de Manlleu
- Best Animation - Festival de Cans
- Best Digital Shortfilm - Arcipielago
- Best Debut Film - Montecatini Shortfilm Festival
- Ela (2007 fiction - personal project - dir. Silvana Aguirre)
- Shortlisted for Best Short Film (Live Action)
- 80th Academy Awards (Oscars)
- Nominated, Best Drama - Royal Television Society Student Television Awards
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- For the Love of God (2007 animation dir. Joe Tucker)
- Nominated - Verna Fields Award for Sound Editing -
- Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) Golden Reel Awards
- Bruce Corwin Award for Best Animation -
- Santa Barbara International Film Festival
- Nominated, Best Animation - Royal Television Society Student Television Awards
- Friends Forever (2007 fiction dir Marçal Forés)
- Prix MikroCine/Canal+ Cinema Award, Premier Plans Festival d'Angers
- Best Drama Award - Royal Television Society Student Television Awards
- Goleshovo (2008 documentary dir. Ilian Metev)
- Talent Dove, DOK Leipzig, International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film
- Best Student Film, Molodist, Kyiv International Film Festival
- Milk Teeth (2007 animation dir. Tibor Banozcki)
- Special Mention (Best Graduation Film) - Stuttgart International Animation Festival
- Special Distinction (Graduation Film) - Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival
- Nominated, Best Animation - Cartoon d'Or
- Stand Up (2008 animation dir. Joseph Pierce)
- Second Prize, McLaren Award for Animation - Edinburgh International Film Festival
- Nominated, Best Animation - Rushes Soho Shorts Festival
2007
- Badgered (2005 animation dir. Sharon Colman)
- Best Animated Film, Telluride Mountainfilm Festival
- 1977 (2007 animation dir. Peque Varela)
- Audience Award, London International Animation Festival
- Ela (2007 fiction - personal project - dir. Silvana Aguirre)
- 2nd Prize, Cine Gear Expo, Los Angeles
- For the Love of God (2007 animation dir. Joe Tucker)
- Grand Prize, Best Animation, Rhode Island International Film Festival
- Silver Hugo, Chicago International Film Festival
- Friends Forever (2007 fiction dir Marçal Forés)
- Best Short Film, Dinard Festival of British Cinema
- Listen To Bradford (2007 documentary dir. Piers Sanderson)
- Nominated - Short Film Award, Satyajit Ray Foundation
- Londres-London (2006 fiction dir. Eva Tang)
- Best 10 Short Film Finalist, Hawaii International Film Festival
- Jury Recommendation, Hong Kong Independent Short Film & Video Awards
- Mad World (2006 animation dir. Leevi Lemmetty)
- Nominated - Best Animation, Royal Television Society Student Television Awards
- Milk Teeth (2007 animation dir. Tibor Banozcki)
- Jury's Special Award, Annecy International Animation Festival
- Theatre Optique Award for Best Animated Film, Karlovy Vary Fresh Films Festival
- Vision Prize, Puchon International Student Animation Festival
- A Moment (2006 fiction dir. Valeria Ruiz)
- Audience Award for Best Short Film, Brooklyn International Film Festival
- Oxford Circus (2006 animation dir. Esteban Gitton)
- Visual Effects Award, Animex International Festival of Animation and Computer Games
- Synchronoff (2006 animation dir. Catia Peres)
- Nominated - Verna Fields Award for Sound Editing, MPSE Golden Reels Awards
- Tanju Miah (2006 documentary dir. Sadik Ahmed)
- Best Factual Film, Royal Television Society Student Television Awards
- Temerario (2006 animation dir. Carl Zitelmann
- Verna Fields Award for Sound Editing, MPSE Golden Reels Awards
- Best Postgraduate Animation, Royal Television Society Student Television Awards
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Facilities
The school's facilities are to be expanded with the addition of new teaching spaces, public spaces and a new cinema, designed by Glenn Howells Architects and Buro Happold.
Notable alumni (selection)
References
External links
