BFI partners with education sector to deliver AI training to independent filmmakers

The BFI has awarded a combined £650,000 to NFTS and Falmouth University to each deliver a project that will the reduce barriers that UK independent creatives face in accessing, experimenting with and safely using AI.

Over two years, the National Film and Television School (NFTS) and Falmouth University will each contribute to the sixth BFI National Lottery Innovation Challenge called, In Our Hands.

NFTS has been awarded £400k to deliver the NFTS x BFI Innovators Programme which will combine sector consultation and research, skills development and funded creative R&D projects.

It is designed as a broad ‘innovation pipeline’, reaching a large number of creatives before supporting a cohort of 10 practitioners to develop proof-of-concept projects.

Falmouth University has been awarded almost £250,000 for Lab to Slate: Unlocking AI for the UK’s Independent Screen Sector, focused specifically on the practical application of AI within screen production.

Eight independent creatives will receive structured training, mentorship, access to tools, legal guidance and ethical frameworks, applying AI within real creative projects and generating evidence about its potential role in development and production workflows.

The Falmouth programme is being delivered in partnership with Charismatic.ai. The latter will provide direct hands-on mentoring and help with their careers, as well as face-to-face training.

It will also give the creative access to its CineProLab product, offering circa 40 training modules across TV and film.

BFI executive director of industry development & innovation Rishi Coupland said:

“With new technologies, such as virtual production, questions remain as to how they can be accessed fairly, effectively and economically by the independent film sector. AI presents a different challenge.

“Recent research indicates that as many as 30% of independent producers are already using AI as central to helping them make films, but the technology is often poorly understood, and carries risks and significant concerns as well as opportunities. This funding sets out vital R&D to ensure that the independent film sector is informed and provided with the insight, confidence and skills to utilise these technologies safely and ethically.

“These programmes from NFTS and Falmouth University will also put experimentation directly into the hands of independent creatives, combining practical access and creative R&D with a strong focus on responsible adoption.”

Falmouth University head of film and television Kingsley Marshall said: “Independent filmmakers are expected to form a view on AI technologies without the licences, legal advice, or time and space to test them on their own work.

“Thanks to BFI National Lottery funding, Lab to Slate creates that space by pairing filmmakers from across the UK with experienced mentors, working together as co-researchers on existing projects, ensuring the learning happens within real productions. The case studies will be published in a free, open-access AI Production Playbook, which will say what doesn’t work as well as what does, giving the wider independent film sector evidence it can trust from its peers

National Film & Television School head of innovation Rebecca Gregory-Clarke added: “Emerging technologies are challenging many of us to both augment and protect our creative practice in completely new ways. We are delighted to be working with the BFI to support the UK’s creative talent to proactively face this challenge, and we can’t wait to see what they create through this programme.”