Ed Vaizey MP, the long-serving former Minister of State for Digital and Culture, has opened two new facilities at the National Film and Television School (NFTS).
A naming ceremony also took place at the the opening of the School’s new facilities, attended by leading executives from the film, TV and games industries.
Film producer and educationalist (Lord) David Puttnam was also unveiled as the School’s new Life President.
The new buildings are called the Channel 4 Rose Building – named after the late Senior Commissioning Editor for Fiction at Channel 4, David Rose – and Sky Studios at the NFTS.
The two buildings have been built with financial support and investment from the DCMS, Channel 4, Sky and the Buckinghamshire Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership (BTVLEP).
The buildings are part of a £20 million development of the School comprising a 4K Digital Content Studio and two teaching buildings covering over 20,000 square feet in total. The new facilities incorporate a second cinema and supplementary teaching space.
Additional funding has been provided by a number of partners including the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the British Film Institute (BFI), Creative Skillset, the Broccoli Foundation/NFTS Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, Fidelity UK, Wolfson Foundation, NBC Universal, the David Lean Foundation and others.
The new 4K Digital Content Studio benefits from the donation of professional equipment from Sony including a vision mixer, cameras, server, recorder and studio hub. The gallery will be named after Sony. Other equipment providers who have given discounts to the School include Vizarte; Ridel; Studer; Canon and BlackMagic.
Vaizey said: “I’m thrilled to be opening these new buildings. The NFTS is one of the world’s leading film schools, and these new facilities will ensure it continues to provide an unrivalled film education to students from all around the world, as well as maintaining the UK’s justified reputation for film making.”
Staff Reporter
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