Schemes & Opps

There seems to be a lot going on at the moment with regard to various schemes and opportunities. The deadline for the Met Film School Writer's Scheme recently passed (which looked good) and three other schemes have popped up that will probably be of some interest:

The BBC Drama Series Writers Academy is going again. "The next generation of TV writers are being sought by the BBC for its prestigious Drama Writers Academy, a unique course that equips writers with the skills to work on BBC flagship continuing drama programmes. The Academy is the only course in the world that guarantees writers the opportunity to work on prime time television." Paul Campbell is a recent graduate (currently working on his first Casualty, I believe) so check his blog for all the insider details.

Guiding Lights is a feature film mentoring scheme. "Lighthouse and Skillset are pleased to announce another round of the Guiding Lights film industry mentoring scheme. We are seeking applications from filmmakers across all sections of the community and from a range of film industry disciplines. Directors, producers, screenwriters, cinematographers, talent agents and professionals working in sales, distribution, exhibition, marketing, publicity and business affairs are all eligible to apply."

And BBC have launched a College of Comedy to help comedy writers find attachments with existing sketch shows and sitcoms. "The scheme will take six writers and train them over a year by attaching them to sitcoms and sketch shows, giving each a mentor for original work, and running a series of masterclasses in all aspects of comedy writing."

All the relevant details can be found through the links. Good luck with whatever you choose to enter, if not all three!