Becky is one of the participants on our fourth BFI Film Academy. Here she shares her experiences so far…
Over the past two months I’ve personally learnt an incredible amount. I really doubt I would ever had encountered this much support and professional encouragement if I hadn’t signed up for the academy. I’ve encountered new skills and interests in areas where my knowledge was previously lacking, for example, in sound. Before the academy I had no knowledge of what it meant to be a sound designer or sound mixer, but by encountering these roles firsthand on set, I’ve gained a real understanding and appreciation of this role.
I’d never considered myself a technical person before and been slow to comprehend jargon, but through this unique atmosphere of learners and professionals I can now understand how to operate a broader range of things such as particular camera settings, different lighting techniques and camera rigs.
The actual shoot itself was the best part of the academy so far; I went into it quite nervous but keen to do a good job. As the week came to a close it was clear we’d all learnt very practical new skills, had an amazing experience and had an all-round great time doing so!
As a group, each of us had our preferred roles and had different levels of experience on set, but if anybody was ever confused or in need of help they were never short of a helping hand. It truly is such an amazing experience to learn and work with others with the same interests, I now have a useful network of skilled crew members I can collaborate with in the future.
I would advise anybody even remotely thinking of applying for next year’s academy to take advantage of this opportunity. You would be amazed with the amount of doors this could open for you and there’s nothing to lose in applying!