Ever wanted to work on a James Bond film or Harry Potter?
Well, as long as youre 16 or under, now is your chance, as film producers Barbara Broccoli and David Heyman are among those who have launched a brand new college for 16-19-year-olds, the London Screen Academy (LSA).
And if youre among their first cohort of students, starting in September 2019 you could be working in a few short years on Bond 26 or Fantastic Beasts 3.
What will be exciting is [the students] will be set-ready, they will have worked on a set and have made little shorts and programming so will know whats involved and necessary, said Harry Potter producer Heyman told Metro.co.uk, so coming on set, that will be a gift for us as producers and everyone involved in production.
Its about getting young people and then getting them to find out about themselves, find out about what skills they are good at and get them ready so when they are given opportunities – whether on Bond or on Fantastic Beasts – that they are ready for the opportunity and prepared, added Broccoli.
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The school has been created to teach a vocational curriculum comprising behind the camera skills and the background knowledge needed to join the screen industries and founders include Broccoli and Heyman, as well as Working Titles Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan (Bridget Jones Diary, Notting Hill, Fargo), Michael G. Wilson and Lisa Bryer.
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A skills shortage in key areas will hit the UK in the next five to ten years, and the founders hope LSA will be able to bridge that gap – a gap that may also be affected by Brexit.
The industry is growing exponentially and were struggling to keep up with making all of those films and long form boxsets and reality TV series and sports shows and documentaries, said Fellner.
The UK is the centre of production for a myriad of reasons and now we can fill those gaps.
And as Heyman adds, what is exciting about Netflix and Amazon is they are producing so much content and will need these students.
Jobs after college? Winning.
LSA will be based in Islington, north London, and as well as a curriculum that focuses on eight core pods of learning – including production, VFX, script development and directing, and core art skills, students will also have access to key figures in the film and TV industries for masterclasses and mentoring.
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Fellner revealed that he was keen to stress how many of the shortages are in areas no one considers such as accountancy where you can often be put in charge of handling hundreds of millionds of pounds in months.
The shortages are in specific areas so accountancy – no one think about accountancy! – but on every movie we nee eight to 10 accountants and they are seeing 50, 100, 150 million dollars go through their hands in the space of six to nine months. That is a very very very important job.
No kidding.
Students can apply at https://www.LSA.ac.uk/APPLY. Applications will close on Thursday 31 January 2019 for the 2019 school year.
MORE: Barbara Broccoli brushes off Bond 25 concerns after months of production issues
MORE: Fantastic Beasts backlash over Dumbledores sexuality is not justified, claims producer
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