Rock Up Ready! TV and Film Career Launchpad Skills Accelerator

Overview

Rock Up Ready! provides graduates with an understanding of the principles and processes of modern screen media production. It is designed to equip you with new skills and knowledge – or refresh your previous experience - and prepare you to work in the industry. Take accredited industry-recognised training courses in Health & Safety and Sustainability, learn ‘setiquette’ on a 2-day studio training course, learn production roles and responsibilities, and improve your employability with support from the course experts.

The training is jointly delivered by Birmingham City University and the University of Wolverhampton, and aims to give both unemployed and employed Graduates, including those from under-represented groups, an opportunity to gain a comprehensive understanding of the requirements for key entry-level and early career production roles, as well as the opportunity to develop the higher-level, sector-specific skills that creative industry companies demand of their workforce and prospective hires.

This intensive short-term training course provides an invaluable opportunity to gain sought-after sector-specific production skills.

Filming on location on a misty cobblestoned street

Rock Up Ready! TV And Film Career Launchpad Skills Accelerator training funded by BFI and The National Lottery

This course is not open to International students.

What's covered in this course?

Sector-specific course content, designed to support both your personal and professional development, delivered in short blocks to fit around work and other commitments.

All course content is delivered by academics and production/screen sector industry professionals.

15 days of tailored course content, focused on key areas including:

Introduction to Skills Accelerator: Personal Skills Needs Assessment, professional development plan, CV review, enrolment with ScreenSkills to access additional learning resources.
Introduction to Production: Increase your understanding of scripted and unscripted production.
Production roles: Explore the key attributes and responsibilities of roles on set and behind the scenes.
The Employability Toolkit: 5 steps to successful employment. Develop an understanding of the process of how to search, find, apply and gain employment.
Production Office: Familiarisation of Production paperwork pack, what it is, how to use it.
Building resilience: Tackling Imposter Syndrome and maintaining health and wellbeing; tools and techniques you can utilise to support your personal development.
Health & Safety: You will gain an accredited H&S qualification.
Guide to Freelancing: Essential advice and guidance to support you in developing your freelance career and portfolio, including practicalities like understanding contracts, negotiation skills, tax, NI, PAYE.
BAFTA /Albert Sustainability Training: You will receive a practical introduction to sustainable production techniques. Complete the assessment to become an accredited BAFTA Albert Graduate.
Access to state-of-the-art production studio facilities for ‘Set Ready’ – a 2-day practical production studio workshop, delivered by University of Wolverhampton at their new Screen School TV Studio setting.

Rock Up Ready! Programme Delivery Team have a wide range of professional industry expertise, including award-winning television production and extensive studio and location production expertise, across editorial, production and crew roles, that will underpin the course content.

You will be encouraged to apply for job roles during your time on Rock Up Ready! and will be supported throughout the process with ongoing advice and guidance.

At the beginning of the Skills Accelerator, you will be encouraged to connect across the learning group. Building connectivity, community and peer-to-peer support will enable you to construct a robust network to engage with as you begin to develop your production career.

Equipping you with the tools and understanding to navigate the sector is embedded into every session, this will build confidence and ensure you feel supported in the process.

Why Choose Us?

Course delivery is designed to support your personal development and professional expertise, delivered over 15 days, plus post-programme support, this will be a combination of in-person and online sessions, scheduled across 1-3 days per week, to fit it around work and other commitments.
Develop a tailored individual professional development plan and skills audit to help you to identify your skillset and areas where you may need additional support. Through one-to-one sessions you will create an sector-aligned CV and supporting documents, gain a clear understanding of the process of identifying job opportunities and how to achieve successful outcomes.
Gain essential, industry recognised, accredited Skills Training Certificates for Health & Safety and the BAFTA/Albert Sustainability.
You will receive advice and guidance from industry experts drawn from the region’s production sector, helping you to understand the media landscape and navigate your way to the next step in your career.
Following completion of the programme, you will have up to 2 hours of advice and support via online sessions with the Course Leader to help you to implement your new skills into your job role or career journey.

Fees & How to Apply

Rock Up Ready! is funded by the British Film Institute National Lottery Skills Cluster Fund UK: Skills Clusters initiative led by Create Central through its Skills Accelerator Programme, supporting screen production workforce development and training in the West Midlands region. Rock Up Ready! is free to eligible participants.

Essential Entry Requirements

Be a recent university graduate (with a degree or above) in Arts & Humanities subjects such as Film, TV, Radio, Animation, Communication, Journalism, Visual Communications, Production Design etc. Applicants from other disciplines who can demonstrate interest or experience in the Film, TV or Screen industries are also welcomed.
Be a resident within the West Midlands region (counties of West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, and Herefordshire).
Be committed to fully attend all sessions for Rock up Ready!

What's included

On-campus classroom and online sessions. Practical, immersive workshops. Guest speaker sessions with industry professionals from both scripted and unscripted production. Independent study.
Key resources will be available via Microsoft Teams.
Access to state-of-the-art production studio facilities for ‘Set Ready’ – a 2-day immersive practical workshop.
Following completion of the programme, you will have up to 2 hours of advice and support via online sessions with the Course Leader to help you to implement your new skills into your job role or career journey.

Course Duration

Start date: January 2025
Part time; 15 days over 3 months duration
Access to on campus labs and support
Most of the course delivery will take place at Birmingham City University (Parkside Campus). University of Wolverhampton (Wulfrun Campus) will be the location for the 2 day ‘Set Ready’ production studio sessions.
End date: March 2025

View the upcoming course delivery dates

For more information please contact the Rock Up Ready! Team by emailing us at: rockupready@bcu.ac.uk.

How to apply

Rock up Ready! will run from January to March 2025. You can apply by filling out the application form. Shortlisted applicants will be invited for a short interview.

Apply Now

Apply now

Application deadline date: Monday 2 December 2024 (12pm)

To register your interest for the Summer 2025 training, please email rockupready@bcu.ac.uk and you will be contacted when the next application round is live.

Course in Depth

How you learn

The programme will include classroom and online sessions, practical, immersive workshops, guest speaker sessions with industry professionals from both scripted and unscripted production, as well as independent study.

Programme Content will cover the following roles and skill sets:

Production Coordinator Role: Basic finance, booking travel/hotels, working with production management teams.
Researcher Role: Spotting a story, developing an angle, finding contributors and locations, writing briefs, scripting questions, interviewing.
Production Paperwork for Researchers and Coordinators: Scheduling, contributor/location permissions, call sheets, travel/accommodation, insurance, copyright.
Understanding the workplace: Hierarchy of production teams, professional etiquette, interaction with actors/presenters/celebrities, teamworking, following instructions, building resilience, identifying/addressing bullying and harassment, the importance of Equality Diversity & Inclusivity (EDI).
Communication: Making phone calls, writing emails, handling difficult conversations, negotiation.
BAFTA Albert Sustainability (certified): BCU delivers the Albert sustainability scheme, enhancing learner awareness of the importance of sustainable production, and use of the BAFTA calculator. Trainees will become ‘Albert Graduates’.
Health & Safety training (certified): H&S assessment, risk assessment paperwork, reporting near-misses.
2-Day 'Set Ready' on set/studio experience (UoW): Learners will gain real insight and relevant experience into what it means to be ‘set ready’ and put into practice learning from preceding RUR workshops. Learn about cutting edge techniques that underpin modern filmmaking, such as motion capture technology. Create a studio set-up for a scene from a well-known film, and undertake specific roles required to make a production happen, including; production management, set and lighting design, camera and boom operation, props /costume/ make-up, etc, casting, scheduling and filming.

Post-Programme

Scheduled 2-hour online sessions for learners to check progress and discuss challenges and successes.

Enhancing employability skills

A tailored individual professional development plan will be at the heart of the programme, including a comprehensive skills audit and one-to-one sessions to enable you to gain an increased comprehensive understanding of the requirements for key entry-level and early career production roles and the opportunity to develop the higher-level, sector-specific skills creative industry companies demand of their workforce and prospective hires.

You will create a sector-aligned CV and supporting documents and be encouraged to apply for job roles during your time on Rock Up Ready! and you will be supported throughout the process with ongoing advice and guidance. You will gain a clear understanding of the process of identifying job opportunities and how to achieve successful outcomes.

Gain essential industry recognised, accredited Skills Training Certificates for Health & Safety and the BAFTA/Albert Sustainability.

Facilities & Staff

Our Facilities

Course delivery will take place at Birmingham City University (Parkside Campus) and University of Wolverhampton (Wulfrun Campus) for the 2 day ‘Set Ready’ production studio sessions. Both campus are located in city centres and easily accessed by public transport.

During your time on campus you will have access to state-of-the-art production studio facilities (Wolverhampton) as well as other onsite facilities such as the library, teaching spaces, breakout areas, café’s and communal study spaces.

Course Leader

Caroline Officer
Freelance trainer
Caroline has extensive experience in delivering Bootcamps and Skills Training provision for the creative sector, including delivering skills courses independently for local providers, including Solihull FE College. She will lead programme delivery and has co-designed the programme content with BCU and UoW colleagues. Caroline has an impressive record as an award winning producer of factual series for the BBC and Independent production companies.

Our staff

Vanessa Jackson

Associate Professor and Deputy Head of the College of English and Media (interim)

Vanessa Jackson is a former BBC series producer and now an associate professor in the College of Media and English at Birmingham City University. She teaches television production as well as working on employability activities and external partnerships.

More about Vanessa

Hilary Weston Jones

Lecturer in Professional and Academic Development

Hilary specialises in embedding employability within modules across all years and supporting students with securing work placements. Having spent 24 years working as a Television Production Manager (BBC and Independents), Hilary teaches and mentors students within this area.

More about Hilary

University of Wolverhampton staff

Neil Hughes
Senior lecturer, Production Design
Neil has 20 years professional experience in the sector, working on a range of films and TV production series. He is renowned for producing high-end events for international and British Royalty, celebrities and private individuals, delivering a full production from concept to execution. Neil will lead RUR’s ‘Set Ready’ production activity.

Dr Sarah McCourt
Director, Senior Lecturer and professional actor/ director
Sarah is passionate about championing, directing, and working with underrepresented individuals and revels in projects that promote and enable social mobility. They are adept at creating work across all settings, from Shakespeare to Soaps, coaching actors on set/stage/studio. As Artistic Director of a disabled-led theatre company, and co-led a project on Anti Racist Pedagogy.

Enquiries