LSA Launches New Production Pathway Course with Support from Entertainment Partners and ITV Academy

18 December 2023: London Screen Academy (LSA) is delighted to announce the launch of its new Production Pathway, supported by Entertainment Partners and ITV Academy.

As a state-funded sixth form academy, LSA is committed to enabling young people of all backgrounds who are passionate about film and TV to graduate ‘set ready’ for a career in the screen industries, or with transferable skills which set them up for success on their chosen career path.

LSA’s Production Pathway sits alongside the Academy’s three other specialisms of Craft, Post-Production and Technical. The Production Pathway prepares students for entry-level roles within accounts, production, assistant directing, location management, post-production and VFX in both scripted and non-scripted content creation.

With support from Entertainment Partners, the global leader in entertainment payroll and production finance and production management technology, students receive training on its digital production solutions, including Movie Magic Budgeting, Movie Magic Scheduling and the Casting Portal. Students also learn from EP’s UK based production experts about the various logistics management roles, including production management and production finance and how such technology is helping to streamline production processes within scripted content.

Development of the Production Pathway curriculum for non-scripted ontent has been supported by ITV Studios, which is part of ITV and houses 60  production companies in 13 countries around the world. Working with ITV Studios has enabled LSA to develop a Production Pathway course which showcases the creation of entertainment and factual programmes. With ITV Studios’ support, students learn first-hand from professionals working on shows across a range of programme types, developing their understanding of the development and production of entertainment and factual content and the range of roles and career paths available. Armed with this  knowledge, students develop and produce their own programmes, working across a range of roles in order to hone their technical and logistical management skills.

LSA has developed this Production Pathway in direct response to the unprecedented growth of the UK film and TV industry in recent years, which has led to a clear skills gap, particularly in production management and production finance roles.

Tim Bevan CBE, Co-Founder of LSA, said: “The UK has experienced an unprecedented content boom in recent years. We know from industry research that there is a clear skills gap in both production and production management, which is why LSA has designed its new Production Pathway to encourage the next generation of production professionals to consider a career in these instrumental departments. We are delighted to have Entertainment Partners and ITV Academy support the Pathway and look forward to working with them both going forward.”

Markham L. Goldstein, President & CEO of Entertainment Partners, said: “Entertainment Partners is committed to supporting the next generation of production professionals to ensure the UK entertainment industry continues to thrive. We are proud to support LSA in fostering a more diverse industry and ensuring students have the education and resources they need for a successful career in film and TV.”

Sonny Hanley, Director ITV Academy said: "Partnering with LSA and playing our part in the development of this new curriculum shows our commitment to the education of the next generation of talent coming through in the creative industry. The new curriculum will help to give students a real insight into what it's like to create and produce the very best entertainment and factual shows."

Find out more about LSA here: lsa.ac.uk

Press Contact:

Fiona McGuire

Industry Partnerships Director

London Screen Academy

020 8106 8100

fiona.mcguire@lsa.ac.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About the London Screen Academy (LSA)

The London Screen Academy (LSA) is a state-funded sixth form academy for young people of all backgrounds who are passionate about film and TV and the stories they tell. LSA students train in behind the camera skills and learn about the wider cultural context surrounding storytelling and filmmaking through a two-year, vocational curriculum. As a school community, the goal at LSA is to create stories that change the world – this starts with changing the storytellers. The school actively recruits and develops young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and minority ethnic groups, who are under-represented in the screen industries. LSA students graduate well prepared or ‘set ready’, progressing into careers in the screen industries; higher education or utilise their highly transferable skills to succeed in other professions. LSA was founded by some of the world's most successful film producers, including Tim Bevan CBE and Eric Fellner CBE (Co-Chairs of Working Title Films), Lisa Bryer OBE (Founder of Cowboy Films) David Heyman (Producer of all eight Harry Potter films), Barbara Broccoli OBE and Michael G. Wilson OBE (Co-owners of EON Productions Ltd). www.lsa.ac.uk

About Entertainment Partners (EP)

Entertainment Partners has been a trusted production partner to the entertainment industry for over 46 years, helping clients create and produce great shows and movies, choose the best production location, forecast, manage and track expenses, and pay crew and talent. As the global leader in entertainment payroll and production finance and production management solutions, EP delivers integrated, cloud-based digital solutions to support every phase of production. EP’s team of experts have decades of experience in the entertainment industry providing rich insights on global and domestic incentives, workers compensation, health care, labour issues, and regulatory compliance. And EP brings together background casting and digital production technology with the Casting Portal, the leading SaaS-based platform that has transformed the way background actors are found, hired, managed and paid, and the iconic and legendary Central Casting. www.ep.com

About ITV Academy

ITV plc is an integrated producer, broadcaster and streamer. Its production business, ITV Studios, is behind some of the greatest genres and big-name brands like The Voice, Love Island, Line of Duty, Queer Eye, Schitt’s Creek, Physical and many more. ITV Academy provides development programmes for ITV production staff, as well as traineeships and entry-level pathways into one of the world’s largest commercial production companies. By being part of the ITV Academy, students of all backgrounds, abilities and experiences receive industry-leading production training while being part of a well networked and supportive cohort. www.careers.itv.com/teams/itv-academy