Common questions
Please look through here, if your question remains unanswered, contact us on 020 7607 8660 and we will be happy to help.
What happens during the Saturday sessions? – There will be 4 Saturday sessions, these will be about 4-5 hours long and will cover the following;
1. Help with creating your film pitch and publishing it, creating a biography, group activities, animation training and animation screening.
2. Voting for films and assembly into groups (4 per group) and editing training.
3. Group production meeting, after effects and green screen training, industry speaker and screening.
4. Filming any live action, storyboarding, animate training and screening.
What happens during the main week? – The days will vary but basically you will be working in groups on your film or vfx sequence. A variety of industry professionals will talk about aspects of the film industry giving you a better overview of the sector. There will be some specific skills training and you will be able to choose from a wide menu. Areas include; After effects advanced, sound design, drawn animation etc. You will also have a 1-2-1 career session, learn how to develop your online portfolio and will develop your next steps into the industry.
How is the course going to run online? We will using either zoom or google meet as our video conferencing as well as a series of shared google drives. We will also use discord as a sharing platform. You will have large group events, film group activities, self selected events and 1-2-1s’.
What have past students got out of the scheme?
All past students become a BFI alumni and they get some fantastic help and exclusive opportunities, for example 30 alumni have been offered work at Lucas films for the past 2 years! See our progression page
What equipment can we borrow? – Each student can borrow an apple laptop, a graphics tablet and pen, and if needed a broadband dongle. Cameras, tripods and sound gear will also be sent out when required. These will be sent and collected by courier.
How much will it cost? – The fee is from £0 to £50 depending on your family/carers income. Joint income above £29,927 (less £1,865 per dependent child) will mean that you pay the full amount see here for details. There a bursary available.
Bursary? – Once you have been allocated a place you can apply for a bursary to cover your fee, your travel expenses, child care or any part of these. There are two bursary schemes with different ways of calculating if you are eligible. It is important that no student, wherever they live, should feel excluded because they can’t afford the costs.
Bursary for fees
Bursary for travel, childcare etc
Deposit? – If you have qualified for a bursary and are not going to pay any fees you will still need to pay a £25 deposit. This needs to be paid at the time of acceptance and will be returned after the course. If you do not attend the majority of the sessions you will loose the deposit (unless you have a reasonable excuse).
Early bird advantage? – By applying early you will increase your chance of getting on the course. Good applications will still beat mediocre ones, applying early gives you a few more additional points and will make the difference between similar applicants. We will assess the students by their application form and the examples of work they show us.
How competitive is it to get in? – last year we received 107 applications for the 40 places. We want to work with people who have made some definite steps towards a career in this industry. This means experimenting on their own, taking relevant courses, researching, work experience and practicing their skills. You will need to prove this by sending us your work and detailing your development.
Long term support? – We will keep in touch for at least 6 months and provide you with a range of opportunities. This will include festival dates, training schemes, bursaries, competitions, networking events etc. This will be done through FaceBook and email.
Careers support? – Each student will have a 1-2-1 session with our career advisor who will help you clarify your education, training and career goals. They will then research your particular needs and wishes and meet with you again to present their plan for you and discuss the next steps.
Special needs? – We encourage applications from people who have a variety of needs and have catered in the past for people in wheelchairs, hearing impaired, autism and a range of other common issues.
What is the BFI Academy? – It is an amazing opportunity for young people, have a look at this Infographic
Child protection? – All staff have been trained in child protection and hold a current dbs (A check that they have not had a serious criminal conviction). We will be monitoring all the zoom calls and have strict guidelines about passing on personal details.
