Centre of Excellence for the Screen Based Industries to be created at Pinewood Studios

Pinewood Studios and Amersham & Wycombe College have today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create a centre of excellence designed to develop qualifications in screen based industries, including video games.

The centre will also deliver qualifications for film, television and animation. Building on the Next Gen report led by Ian Livingston OBE, Alex Hope OBE and Nesta, the Pinewood Studio Development Framework aims to expand upon a number of areas outlined for improvement.

These include the creation of various visual effects (2D/3D, FX, animation and rigging, pipeline and compositing), video games (applications development, design and production management, technology, games programming and graphical user interfaces) and high-performance/large scale support services.

Most students on site will range between 16-24 years old. Pinewood are considering an Apprenticeship Training Agency to give attendees a better chance of finding work. Talented students could easily be made available to for project work on the tenant network based at the studio, which is made up of over 200 individual media businesses.

"We are thrilled to be announcing these plans today to develop a centre of excellence for the screen based industries here at Pinewood," said Andrew Smith, Director of Strategy and Communication at Pinewood Studios.

"We hope it will help to provide the next generation of talent with the skills they need to turn their ideas into commercial success. By basing the centre at Pinewood it will allow students to work with and learn from industry colleagues who are at the top of their game, working on award winning and international productions on a daily basis. We are especially pleased that this announcement comes as the government introduces its new system of tax relief for high end TV, animation and video games."

Good luck to all involved.