The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is a
film, television and games school established in 1971 and based at
Beaconsfield Studios in
Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. It is featured in the 2021 ranking by ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...
'' of the top 15 International film schools.
Its community of students makes around a hundred and fifty films a year on courses that are over 90% practical and unlike courses offered at other UK film schools. As of 2021 it had over 500 students and about a fifteen hundred a year on its short courses delivered in Beaconsfield and at its hubs in Glasgow, Leeds and Cardiff. Beaconsfield Studios consists of film and television stages; animation and production design studios; edit suites; sound post-production facilities; a music recording studio and four dubbing theatres. The school completed an expansion and modernisation programme in early 2017 with new teaching facilities, a third cinema and a new 4K Television Studio.
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." 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"; Filmmaking.net named it one of two films schools outside the US which had such a high international reputation.
NFTS student films have been nominated for an Oscar three times in the last six years. Additionally, in 2017 NFTS graduation film, ''A Love Story'', directed and co-written by Anushka Naanayakkara, won the British Short Animation BAFTA at the EE British Academy Film Awards, making it the fourth year in a row that NFTS students have picked up this accolade. This is the second consecutive year that two of NFTS students' graduation films competed for the same prize, with ''A Love Story'' up against ''The Alan Dimension'' directed and co-written by Jac Clinch. NFTS student films are regularly selected for the top film festivals around the world. In 2016–17 highlights included selections at
Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ...
and
Annecy Animation Festival
The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (french: Festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of J ...
and top prizes in nearly all the
Royal Television Society categories for which they are eligible.
In 2018, the school was the recipient of the ''"
BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award"'' at the
71st British Academy Film Awards.
History
The National Film School opened in 1971, the work of four years of planning to create an institution to train personnel 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.
Colin Young
Colin Young (born 12 September 1944, Barbados) is a singer known for being a member of the British soul band the Foundations.
Biography
In the mid-1960s, Young came to England for a holiday with his father and decided to stay. He was a former ...
CBE became the founding director in 1971, a post he held for more than 2 decades, at a time when the school produced alumni including
Bill Forsyth,
Terence Davies,
Julien Temple
Julien Temple (born 26 November 1953) is a British film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including '' The Great Rock 'n' Rol ...
,
Beeban Kidron, and
Nick Park.
In 2016, the NFTS announced it had received funding to increase the capacity of its site in Beaconsfield including a '4K Digital Content Production Training Studio' (a refit of the 1960s TV studio) and the addition of a number of new MA and diploma courses including Directing & Producing Natural History & Science; Production Technology; Marketing for Film, TV & Games; Graphics & Titles for Television & Film and Creative Business for Entrepreneurs & Executives. In April 2017, it was announced that Nik Powell was to step down as Director of the school, with Jon Wardle succeeding him in the role.
The NFTS holds yearly graduation shows at the
Picturehouse Central in Soho, and they were previously held at the
BFI Southbank (formerly known as the National Film Theatre). These are highly selective and invite-only events which showcase the students' projects to scouts and industry professionals, ensuring that the students receive maximum exposure.
Awards and nominations
Alumni of the National Film and Television School have gone on to win
Oscars,
BAFTAs
The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...
and
Emmys as well as film festival prizes from around the world. In the last 6 years student films ''The Confession'' (2011), ''
Head Over Heels'' (2013), ''
The Bigger Picture'' (2015) have gone on to be nominated for three
Oscars, and the graduation film ''A Love Story'' won the 2017
BAFTA for
Best Short Animation, the fourth year in a row an NFTS animation has won the category.
In 2013 the NFTS graduation film "Miss Todd" won the
Student Academy Award for Best Foreign Film presented by
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...
. This marked the sixth time the NFTS had won in this category, more than any other Film School outside of the United States. In 2016, The National Film and Television School once again affirmed its place as the number one international film school by winning accolades in all three categories in the CILECT Prize, the global film school awards. The NFTS won "Best Documentary" for ''The Archipelago'', "Best Animation" for ''Edmond'' and was awarded second prize in the "Fiction" category for ''Patriot''.
Facilities
The school's facilities were expanded in 2008 with the addition of new teaching spaces, public spaces and a new cinema, designed by Glenn Howells Architects. Upon its completion in 2008, the strikingly modern three-story building (see photo above) won a coveted
RIBA prize. In June 2009 it was formally named The Oswald Morris Building in honour of veteran cinematographer
Ossie Morris.
Two new buildings and one refurbished building opened in January 2017. This included the refurbishment of the 4K Digital Content Production Training Studio, located in the original 1960s TV studio which was completely refurbished with state-of-the-art equipment. In July 2017 this building was named the ''"Sky Studios at the NFTS"'' building,
with the Production Galleries named ''"The
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
Gallery"''. This studio is primarily used by the ''Camera, Sound & Vision Mixing for Television Production'' diploma course and the ''Directing and Producing Television Entertainment'' MA course.
Inside the ''"
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
Rose Building"'',
there are new facilities for the ''Games Design and Development'' and ''Digital Effects'' MA courses, as well as an extra cinema, café and incubation space to enable graduates to start new businesses and accommodate new ground-breaking courses, enhancing the NFTS' already diverse programme.
A new teaching block on the north of the site houses a new studio, edit suites, dedicated suites for the ''Sound Design'' MA and ''Graphics and Titles for Film and Television'' diploma courses, as well as multi-purpose teaching spaces.
There are four dedicated stages on site:
* Stage 1 (Main Stage) – (approx.) – traditional wooden floor
film stage with permanent scenic cloth
* Studio 2 (TV Studio) – (approx.) – concrete resin floor
television studio
A television studio, also called a television production studio, is an installation room in which video productions take place, either for the production of live television and its recording onto video tape or other media such as SSDs, or for ...
* Stage 3 (Rehearsal Stage) – (approx.) – traditional wooden floor film stage
* Stage 4 (Teaching Block Stage) – (approx.) – resin floor multi-purpose stage
There are also a number of dedicated spaces for animation and music recording.
Funding
Until its repeal in 1986, the school was funded partly through a tax on cinema ticket sales known as the
Eady Levy
The Eady Levy was a tax on box-office receipts in the United Kingdom, intended to support the British film industry. It was introduced in 1950 as a voluntary levy as part of the Eady plan, named after Sir Wilfred Eady, a Treasury official. The lev ...
, 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 the Film Distributors' Association and the UK Cinema Association in addition to the main UK
terrestrial and
satellite broadcasting
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...
companies
BBC,
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
,
Sky, and
ITV. In addition, a large number of public and private donors fund scholarships to assist British students.
Postgraduate students from the UK can now apply for a loan to help with their studies at any UK university including the NFTS via the
Student Loans Company.
Courses of studies
Full-time MA courses
validated by the
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It ...
:
*Cinematography
*Composing for Film and television
*Creative Business for Entrepreneurs and Executives
*Digital Effects
*Directing Animation
*Directing Documentary
*Directing Fiction
*Directing and Producing Science and Natural History
*Directing and Producing Television Entertainment
*Editing
*Film Studies, Programming and Curation
*Games Design and Development
*Marketing, Distribution, Sales and Exhibition
*Producing
*Production Design
*Production Technology
*Screenwriting
*Sound Design for Film and television
Diploma courses
*Assistant Directing and Floor Managing
*Assistant Camera (Focus Pulling and Loading)
*Camera, Sound & Vision Mixing for Television Production
*Creative Digital Producing
*Directing Commercials and Promos
*Factual Development and Production
*Graphics and Titles for Film and television
*Model Making for Animation
*Production Accounting
*Production Management for Film and television
*Location Sound Recording for Film and Television
*Script Development
*Sports Production
*Writing and Producing Comedy
Certificate courses
*Filmmaking
*Character Animation
*Virtual Production
*Casting
*Producing Your First Feature
*Script Supervision and Continuity
*Screenwriting: Finding Your Voice
*Location Management for Film & TV
Short courses
Shortcourses@NFTS regularly run short courses for professionals working in the film and television industries – covering the following areas:
*Factual
*Drama
*Business Skills
*Camera & Sound
*Editing
*Craft & Technical
*Multiplatform
Members
The school has around 110 full-time staff as well as many top tutors from within the industry.
Board
*President:
Lord Puttnam CBE
*Chairman:
Patrick McKenna
*Director: Dr Jon Wardle
*Governors:
**Professor Geoffrey Crossick,
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...
**Patrick Fueller
**Sara Geater, All3Media
**Caroline Hollick,
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
**Oli Hyatt,
Blue-Zoo Productions
Blue Zoo Animation Studio is a British animation studio known for producing children's television series, commercials and, short films. Founded in 2000 by Oli Hyatt, Adam Shaw, and Tom Box from Bournemouth University, the studio has gone on to w ...
**Ian Lewis,
Sky Cinema
**
Andrew McDonald,
DNA Films
**Steve Mertz,
Warner Bros.
**Pukar Mehta,
ITV Studios
**
Adil Ray
Adil Ray ( ur, عادل رے, born 26 April 1974) is a British actor, comedian and radio/television presenter. Ray stars in the BBC One comedy '' Citizen Khan'', which he created and co-writes, as well as presenting on various BBC radio statio ...
OBE
**Laurent Samara, Google, UK
**Bal Samra
**Rose Garnatt,
BBC
**
Sue Vertue
Susan Nicola Vertue (born 21 September 1960) is an English television producer, mainly of comedy shows, including ''Mr. Bean'' and ''Coupling''. She is the daughter of producer Beryl Vertue.
Vertue worked for Tiger Aspect, a production company ...
,
Hartswood Films
**Joe Bradbury-Walters, NFTS Staff governor
Partners
*Platinum Partner Sponsor
**
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
*Key Partner Sponsors
**
British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
*Brian Gilbert – Co-Head of Fiction
*Lesley Manning – Co-Head of Fiction
*Ian Sellar – Co-Head of Fiction
*Peter Dale – Head of Documentary
*Robert Bradbrook – Head of Animation
*Brian Ward – Head of Screenwriting
*Stuart Harris
– Co-Head of Cinematography
*Sandra Hebron – Head of Screen Arts
*Bex Hopkins – Head of Production Management
*John Keane – Head of Composing
*John Lee – Head of Model Making
*John Rowe – Head of Digital Effects
*Richard Cox – Head of Editing
*Alan Thorn – Head of Games Design and Development
*
– Head of Producing
*Caroline Amies – Head of Production Design
*David G. Croft – Head of Television Entertainment
*Simon Clark – Head of Location Sound Recording
*Chris Pow – Head of Sound Design
*John Rowe – Head of Digital Effects
*Clare Crean – Head of Marketing, Distribution, Sales and Exhibition
*Alan Thorn – Head of Games
The National Film and Television School has named more than 30 honorary fellows.
The programme was founded in 1981, and ceremonies take place at the NTFS graduation ceremony each year. Honorary Fellows are recognised for their "outstanding contribution to the British film and television industry."