This year we arranged a special visit for our members to Beaconsfield’s very own prestigious National Film and Television School. The School is world famous and this year was honoured for outstanding British contribution to cinema at the BAFTAs. At our last AGM in 2017 NFTS won our award for their new buildings and this was a chance to have a guided tour of the whole site.
It was a privilege to be shown round by Mark Tugwell Director of Operations. As we were divided into two groups, Mark took one and his colleague Betty guided the other. A total of 26 of our members came on the day and we had been limited to 30. The tour gave us a fascinating insight into the incredible work and expertise that goes into the Film and Television industry. We saw inside all the new buildings and were taken behind the scenes.
Areas that we saw included a TV studio where entertainment shows are made, a film studio, an animation studio, a model-making workshop plus a dubbing theatre and an editing suite. The feedback from our members was particularly enthusiastic about the model-making and animation departments where we actually saw the students at work.
At the end of the guided tour lasting approximately an hour the two groups met up again for a very pleasant questions session with tea /coffee and biscuits. At this point there was even a chance to try a virtual reality headset, a weird experience!
Mark Tugwell proved to be a great ambassador for the School with his professional knowledge of the Film and TV industry. At the end he spent a great deal of time answering all our questions in a very friendly and relaxed way. It was a most interesting and enjoyable event, and gave us an opportunity to strengthen the contact and the ties between the town and the NFTS.
Kari Dorme (Committee member and event organiser)