CAREERS: Shining a light on the world of film and TV

A PAST pupil who works on major film and TV productions gave RGS students an insight into life behind-the-scenes as a set designer.

Ellie Wood, who left RGS in 2015, has worked on big budget productions such as the BBC’s His Dark Materials and Netflix’s Bridgerton.

Due to the nature and variety of her work, she explained, no two days are the same. One minute, she’s creating a life-like tree stump, the next designing a period Georgian costume.

Ellie enrolled on the art foundation course at Harrogate College after A-levels and subsequently studied for a degree in TV and set design at the University of South Wales.

This course allowed Ellie to work with some of the UK’s top set designers, helping out on film sets while still at university.

She stressed the need to make professional connections – but one of the first things she told the group was: learn to drive.

Because of the nature of filming, you could be anywhere in the country so catching a bus or taxi is not the answer, she said.

Much of her work is done through computer aided design using AutoCAD and Sketchup, both very versatile design programmes producing very detailed and accurate drawings for craftspeople to turn into reality.

From left to right: Atlanta White, Anna Kendall, Ellie Wood, Ava Sumpter and Georgina Wood (photo: Dulcie Say)

For more details of the interesting degree course Ellie undertook please go to:

https://www.southwales.ac.uk/courses/ba-hons-tv-and-film-set-design/

To learn how to use computer aided design please go to:

Sketchup: https://help.sketchup.com/en/sketchup/getting-started-sketchup

AutoCAD: https://www.autodesk.com/learn/ondemand/tutorial/getting-started-with-autocad