Free Film and TV Careers drop-in sessions for Northamptonshire residents.

From Tuesday the 8th to Saturday the 12th of August, Screen Northants will be holding drop-in sessions in the Gather Space of the Grosvenor Shopping Centre in Northampton. The sessions will run from 10am-6pm.

Screen Northants Director, Paul Mills says “These sessions are really important. There are a lot of really talented young people in Northamptonshire whose abilities are going to waste. There are young people who don’t even realise that the skills they have are skills our industry needs. The example I use most often is that somewhere in Northants, there is a young person who is sitting in their bedroom, in front of a computer, making music, recording vocals and digitally manipulating the vocals to enhance or alter them to fit the track. The skillset that young person has is appropriate for a number of different roles in the Film and TV industry, but there is a specific role called a Dialogue Editor, who records and manipulates vocals (dialogue) to fit the needs of film. A dialogue editor requires the exact skills the young person has. At Screen Northants we want to expose local young people to the breadth of opportunities our industry has, provide skills development and experience and support them on their career journey”

The Film and TV industry is growing and recent BFI research shows there are a number of departments which will not have enough trained people to fill positions in the coming years. UK film studios are busy and there are more being built to meet requirement. Most recently announced was Digbeth Studios in Birmingham and HOP Studios in Bedford. Screen Northants and its industry partners have objectives to make sure young people have the skills and experience to meet the needs of the growing industry. We are particularly interested if you are from a demographic currently underrepresented in the industry. If you are classed as any one or more of the following: are from an area of social depravation, are classed as pupil premium at school, are non-white, non-male or have a disability then you are from demographic underrepresented in our industry. If you are not sure if you meet the criteria, email any queries you may have to [email protected] or attend the drop-in session where someone will be happy to talk to you.

Screen Northants Director, Paul Mills “We want to see young people with a spark. We are much less concerned about school grades and behavioral/discipline issues. We have seen firsthand that when a young person finds something they are good at, has hope for a future and consistent support in an environment where their input is valued and they can see the positive outcomes of their efforts, young people thrive.”