When the global pandemic struck the UK, lockdown meant that people and organisations had to adapt…and quickly.
One of the first outcomes for academies, was to think about how their students could successfully complete their studies and, for many, their film/tv productions. We quickly organised regular zoom calls between academics from HEIs that were already part of our network, to discuss common issues and share ideas and best practice.
One of the areas that we soon identified as needing action, were guidelines for student film/tv productions filming under Covid-19 conditions. The British Film Commission, ITV, Sky, the UK Screen Alliance, Pact and others were leading the way. They were producing guidelines for industry professionals, that allowed professional productions to carry on throughout lockdowns. If HE/FE students were to be able to do the same, it was important they had similar guidelines, specific to student films. In the summer of 2020, several universities, FE colleges, in partnership with ScreenSkills, co-wrote a comprehensive set of Covid-19 guidelines for student productions. These guidelines, supported by BFC, UK Screen Alliance, Pact, BFI and Nahemi, were published on the ScreenSkills website and is free for all students in HE/FE to use.
Student Covid-19 Supervision Training
Having published the guidelines, we also recognised that students would need additional ‘training’ for ‘Covid Supervision’ roles. In the autumn of 2020, we worked with First Option, the top UK industry Health & Safety consultants, to design and build an online, on-demand certified training programme, open to all HE/FE students, for a competitive price of £500 per institution.
This training is still available here.
