Havant & South Downs College Media students take part in university summer school

Taking place from 24 June, the Level 3 Extended Diploma in Film & TV students had the chance to use state-of-the-art equipment at the university’s esteemed Tech Park.

Over the four days, the students got involved with everything from using the green screen and motion capture equipment to working on editing software and learning analysis. The students also used their skills to put together a short video of their week at the university.

The budding media stars also had the opportunity to be taught by VFX university lecturer, Matt Jacques, who is best known for his prized work on hit sci-fi films Interstellar and Inception, which have received Oscar and BAFTA awards.

Director of Curriculum at HSDC, Paul Carter, said: “It is so great to see how successful this week has been for our Film & TV Production students. The summer school project has been something Mike Holley at the university and I have been working on for some time, it is all about showcasing the progression opportunities for our students and to engage them in the exciting world of film technology.

“They have gained so much from this week which they can now apply to their final year studies and beyond. We look forward to building on this with new exciting projects with our partners at the university in the future.”

Student Jay Hearn said: “This week we have been learning about different types of cameras and about resolution and colour. They have really good facilities here, it’s amazing if you want to go into working on big budget films in the future.

“It’s good to see options for after college and to have this experience outside of the classroom. I have especially been looking forward to the screenwriting and VFX parts of the week. It’s been good to have a taste of loads of different areas of the industry.”

Lecturer Dave Edwards said: “The point of all this is that these are students who want to go into the industry, but we can only show them the entry level. Here they can see what it is like to work with real kit that is used of blockbuster films. This is the largest soundstage in the south east outside of London, so it’s a really big deal.

“It’s also brilliant to forge these links with the University of Chichester, it gives out students the chance to use industry-standard equipment without having to go to London. The students have worked brilliantly this week and we’re looking forward to working with the university again in the future.”