With Bradford 2025 kicking off over the weekend, Bradford School of Art (BSoA) students are being immersed in an exciting cultural project of their own this week.
Supported by Screen Yorkshire, students will have the week to plan, film, edit, and present their very own film ready to be privately screened and compete at Bradford’s Light Cinema this Friday. All films will be put on show, with students voting for their favourite and the ultimate winner featuring at ‘Spirit of Independence Festival’, Sheffield this September.
Screen Yorkshire’s Richard Knight and Dan Shaw will be on hand to offer expertise to students involved in the process, being joined by a selection of fellow industry experts over the coming days.
Richard said: “We (Screen Yorkshire) deliver a range of education and training across Yorkshire, with the main reason behind this being our remit to champion the screen industries in the region and attract incoming productions. There’s a misconception that when a production comes to an area, the crew always comes with it – this isn’t true. Companies often want to hire talented, knowledgeable local people, meaning it’s very much in our interest to find and support the potential crews of the future in Yorkshire.
“The industry is a fast-changing environment, with mass movements to online content, and the days of scheduled TV are limited. The way content is made and consumed is changing completely, and if you’re a college wanting to teach this, you have to keep up to date with the changes. That’s where we attempt to break down the gap between education and industry, trying to keep everyone as current as possible.”
The brief put to students asks for a short group-made film, which moves from one emotional state to the other, with aspects such as set design, costume & make-up, or randomly-chosen props telling some of the story. The film must be no longer than three minutes, and there will be bonus points on offer for the use of visuals instead of dialogue and the contribution of music or sound design to storytelling.
Each group, consisting of students from a range of courses across BSoA, will receive support from a variety of industry mentors between now and the end of the week.
The wider project forms part of the 16-18 creative arts teaching curriculum, and was offered to all Higher Education students studying at BSoA. It has been designed to ensure students collaborate and work together with team members from other disciplines, just as they will be required to do in the industry post-study.
“We want to reassure students that if they don’t yet know their specific career path in the industry, that’s perfectly fine”, Richard continued.
“This sector has a job for everyone, it isn’t just about shouting ‘action’ and ‘cut’. Filmmaking is a hugely collaborative process, requiring the skills of all different types of specialities, so hopefully we can open students’ eyes to all the different opportunities available. As industry professionals, we’re here to tell them that no decision is forever and give insight into what it’s really like to work in this specialist industry.”
Following its launch today, students have dived straight into a range of tutorials and workshops in preparation for the big finale at the end of the week.
Screen Yorkshire itself is a public body supporting film and TV production across Yorkshire and the Humber. They launched their first production fund in 2003 and have gone on to invest in iconic British media, such as the BAFTA-award-winning ‘This is England’. The organisation is the engine that drives the film and TV sector in the region, offer funding, training, location scouting, and permitting services to the screen industries.
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