Location Manager Training

Bodyguard · Photo by Sophie Mutevelian · © World Productions 2018

Location Manager Training

ScreenSkills Location Manager Training in association with Creative Media Skills & BFBS Academy

Whether it’s Killing Eve, Black Mirror, Game of Thrones, or Bodyguard, the UK makes some of the best, most talked-about TV in the world. We’re world famous for our great studios, crew expertise, and of course wonderful locations.

But did you know that a lot of people coming out of the Armed Forces already have skills that are in demand by high-end TV production, particularly in Location and Unit Management?

The Location and Unit Management Training for ex-Armed Forces is an exciting new programme designed to help those leaving the Armed Forces to recognise the potential career opportunities in Location and Unit Management for high-end TV. This is an area the industry has identified as a skills shortage.

This programme is supported by the ScreenSkills High-end TV Skills Fund with contributions from UK high-end TV productions. This means that the cost of the training has been vastly subsidised. Find out more about the bursaries available that my help you cover the costs.

The Location Department

Ask any location manager and they’ll tell you that Locations is the most important department. But what do they actually do? What skills do you need?

This half-hour BBC Radio programme gives you an idea of what to expect

ABC Murders · © Agatha Christie Productions Limited 2018

The Programme

Information Evening

Hosted at historic Pinewood Studios, the information evening will be a chance to hear from location managers at the sharp end of the industry about the challenges and rewards of working in the department. There will be a chance to hear more about the online modules, the application process for the two day intensive course, and to network with location managers, assistant directors, and other key decision makers from industry.

There is a nominal fee of £25 per person. Find out more about the bursaries available that may help you cover the costs.

Everyone who attends the information evening will have the chance to complete the following modules:

What is High End TV?
Pitch to Transmission: The lifecycle of a show
The Departments: An overview
What does a location manager do?
What does a unit manager do?
Introduction to Script Breakdown
Introduction to location briefs
Taking good photos #1
Set etiquette

These modules are designed to provide everyone who completes them with an overview of the long and complex process of getting a TV show into production, and to understand and practice some of the skills you’ll need for a career in locations.

If you would like to be considered for one of the 12 places on the two-day intensive course, you need to complete an application form, available after the Information Evening. The 12 participants will be selected by a panel of industry experts.

How do I sign up?

If you would like to sign up to the Information Evening please click here.

Two-day intensive course

The two-day intensive course is designed to give you all the knowledge you need to become a valuable member of the location team. Taught by two immensely experienced location managers, day one is delivered at Pinewood Studios, with day two located just fifteen minutes away at BFBS HQ in Chalfont St Peter.

You can download the course outline in PDF format here.

The fee for this training is £250. Find out more about the bursaries available that my help you cover the costs.

Everyone who attends the two-day intensive course will have the chance to complete the following modules:

Intermediate Script breakdown
Intermediate location briefs
Taking good photos #2
Finding work
Networking
Effective Freelancing
Useful Resources

These modules are designed to help everyone who completes them understand and practice more of the skills you’ll need for a career in locations.

Six-week Paid Work Placement

Following the intensive course, six of the participants will be selected to undertake six-week paid work placements on high-end TV shows. This will be a chance to put all the knowledge gained from the courses into practice, along with your existing skills from your time in service.

The payments are paid at £600 per week gross, so your tax, NI and any other payments you make, such as student loans will have to come out of that. The hours in production are long: expect to be working sixty hours a week as standard.

We’re working to identify productions, and secure the placements on some of the most exciting productions shooting over the summer.

Who Is Delivering This?

We're a charity who champion the British Armed Forces. Historically we've provided entertainment and news for servicemen and women and their families serving abroad, but in the last few years we've expanded into training, technology and digital communications.

You may be familiar with BFBS Radio, our entertainment channel Forces TV, our news service Forces News or our website Forces.net.

For the last few years we've trained a huge variety of people, from army generals and Foreign Office ambassadors to PR and media teams, first time users who've not used social media to experienced users looking to develop their skills further.

We've trained the British Ambassadors on how to join the #instafam, we've interviewed Prime Ministers and we employ a fantastic staff with a huge range of experience, from commercial television to the Royal Marines and even The X-Factor (sorry about that).

Creative Media Skills (CMS) work hand in hand with the industry and the companies that support it, to facilitate their specific and targeted training requirements at the highest level.

Since incorporation in 2012, CMS have provided over 4000 Film and TV professionals with targeted CPD training and seen over half go onto work at the top level on over 50 of the largest scale films made in the UK such as: Star Wars Episode 7 The Force Awakens, Spectre, Pan, Exodus, Mission Impossible, Jurassic Park, Mary Poppins, Dumbo and Murder on the Orient Express to name just a few (figures relate to the period January 2012 to December 2017).

Bursaries and Support

We appreciate that the costs for this training may put you off, but the good news is there is a variety of funding out there to help you meet the costs.

You should contact your service charity and benevolent fund to see what support they can offer. Your resettlement co-ordinator will also be able to tell you about other support that’s on offer.

Royal British Legion Employment Grants