You may well have heard of Elstree Studios. Like Pinewood, it is a classic old English film production studio complex, but it has recently undergone a huge revamp in conjunction with Sky to create state-of-the art production facilities. How state-of-the-art? Well, this was where ‘Wicked’ and ‘Paddington 3’ were recently filmed. Now, I know this is something of a spoiler, but the former film was not actually filmed in Oz (not a real place), whilst Paddington was not filmed in Peru. That’s the ‘magic’ of cinema for you. Its all 'make-believe'.

The tour was split into three distinct sections. The first was a tour of the lot, although much of it was out of bounds as there was a huge Hollywood tentpole film being shot there, along with A list acting talent, but we did get to sit in one of the jeeps used in the Jurassic Park films. The second part of the tour was a film highlighting the many ways in which young people can realistically pursue a career in the Creative Media industries, maybe not as a director or actor, but possibly a runner, a camera operator, a special effects whizz, a set designer, part of the props department etc. Finaly, the group was split into three teams who each planned and filmed a pitch for a film to Sky staff using their amazing Virtual Studio. It seemed unlikely that they could do it in such a short space of time, but with a little help and the creative use of props and pre-programmed backdrops for locations, each group produced a pretty impressive short film.  

As ever, the students were great, especially once they had loosened up a bit and got stuck into their designated roles.

To paraphrase a famous film quote, we’ll be back!