New students get a taste of Craven College at Bootcamps!

Students joining Craven College in September to study Performing Arts and Media joined us this week alongside industry professionals to share their skills and meet their new classmates and tutors on our first Media and Performing Arts Bootcamps. 

These three-day intensive bootcamps were designed to build the skills and knowledge new students need to start their courses in September. 

Working closely with industry experts, new Media students took the opportunity to be theatre directors, film directors, screenwriters, and freelance production crew! 

From using cameras to modelling with plasticine, using stop motion techniques in front of a green screen to composing a piece using Adobe software, students finished the bootcamp with the opportunity to share their film with other students at an official screening! 

Dr Terry Hall, Lecturer in Creative Media said, “we are looking to add variety to our courses and offer experience in a range of skills. We are working with traditional filming skills but wanted to open up our portfolio to add to our curriculum. It was a nice task for future students to experience filming and to work with industry experts on three days of very different skills. 

It was a successful event, with engaged students, and we enjoyed pushing ourselves! A huge thank you to Ben Pearson for all his help in setting up and supporting us throughout the bootcamp.” 

Louise Grimshaw from Hijinks Studios commented, “it has been really fun, and we’ve enjoyed being part of our very first experience of leading a workshop! It was great to pass on the skills we have learned to young people and motivate them to get into animation earlier and hopefully to start their careers in the industry.” 

One of our prospective students Rebecca said, “it’s been great fun and I’ve really enjoyed the variety of experiences in a short time. It was good hearing from industry experts. I applied to Craven College because of the focus on radio in the course, but I surprised myself and really enjoyed the animation!” 

Our new cohort of Performing Arts students received specialist training from industry professionals and College tutors, all with a wealth of experience including West End theatre, regional repertory, experimental, and fringe theatre and many of whom have worked and studied with the country’s leading drama schools. 

Students had the opportunity to improve vocal technique and skills to the great musical Hamilton, released bodily tension through a hip-hop workshop, developed storytelling through improvisation, learned puppetry and circus skills, and developed processes and performances through physical theatre. 

Abi Bailey, Performing Arts Lecturer commented, “it was great to be able to deliver a variety of workshops from industry professionals from puppetry to improv, from musical theatre to special effects make-up. The students have really enjoyed their time and have thrown themselves into the sessions!” 

Prospective Craven College student Freya added, “the people were really nice, and the teachers are up for anything and really got us involved. Everyone was really considerate – I loved the improv session because everyone got involved without feeing embarrassed!” 

We were excited to see what our future students achieved and hope they enjoyed their first experiences at Craven College.