A studio is to open at the University of Hertfordshire, with the aim of creating a space for student training, as well as being hireable for film and TV productions.
The Propeller Stage One project will offer a working, commercial film studio for independent production companies to hire at a significantly reduced rate if opportunities for students studying at the university are facilitated.
The studio aims to help address the UK’s skills gap, with an additional 21,000 full-time jobs required in the creative and screen industry by 2025 according to the BFI Skills Review, through building expertise in production design, set build, studio and location-based production, catering, sound design, visual effects, editing and post-production, film finance, business planning, promotion and sales and distribution.
The £500,000 project will see an architecture studio transformed into a working film studio, with construction set to be completed by early next year, and funded by the University of Hertfordshire. The project is the brainchild of Stephen Partridge, dean of creative arts at the university, and has been developed alongside Hertfordshire County Council and the Hertfordshire Film Office, with industry support from the likes of Lauren Christy, talent manager at Sky Studios Elstree; Kris Green, a BBC training executive and producer; and Rico Johnson-Sinclair, director of training and skills at Crew HQ.
The project will be run as a collaboration between Partridge and Adam Morley at the Hertfordshire Film Office, with support from industry.
Further Propeller Stages are under consultation to be built across the country within the next three years, to provide skills training under the ethos of ‘learning-by-doing’.
“The breadth and depth of talent is being aligned across many different curriculum areas to meet a need for more than 21,000 jobs to be filled over the coming years, concentrated in this region, adding terrific value for those seeking careers in the film and television industries,” said Partridge.
Hertfordshire has been home to such productions as Barbie, The Crown, Jurassic World and the Harry Potter franchise. There are five major film studios in the county: Elstree, Warner Brothers, Leavesden, Sky and BBC Studioworks.
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