The Actors’ Post and Leeds Beckett University Team-Up for Unique Partnership

The Actors’ Post and Leeds Beckett University’s School of Computing, Creative Technologies and Engineering have partnered to deliver a unique, innovative and multi-faceted opportunity for students to engage with an external business client, whilst learning key employability and professional skills.

The creator of The Actors’ Post, Alister Albert, a new online platform supporting up-and-coming professionals involved in a variety of entertainment sectors felt that this partnership would be a good opportunity to not only support those “actors” in industry but to also support students and those training to enter into this sector. Senior Lecturer Ashley Dean, following discussions with The Actors’ Post noted that this opportunity would facilitate and provide students of the department of Creative Technologies real world experience and an opportunity for students to engage with industry, providing them with a greater understanding of the skillsets required for their industry of choice. The two parties are working together, aiming to increase networking and industry engagement opportunities for students as part of their assessment for their second semester modules, with students being supported with the production of quality video content which will be published on The Actors’ Post website.

The videos created by students will consist of interviews conducted with actors and entertainment industry professionals from the UK and other overseas territories. It is envisaged that students will use the opportunity, motivated by the drive to achieve excellent marks, as well as develop content which can add to their CVs, thus boosting their employability, whilst simultaneously building a chance for them to develop content that will be viewed globally via The Actors’ Post website and social media pages.

24 students will engage directly with Alister Albert, the lead client and will be responsible for researching, establishing contact and interviewing the subjects that have been scheduled for them. Students will be appointed their interview subjects at the start of the semester, who will either be a current actor or entertainment industry professional. Students will then decide who will perform the role of Director, Technician and Producer/Interviewer to create short, accessible (transcribed), interview videos of their chosen subjects.

Both Alister and Ashley believe this innovative assessment is a great new opportunity to be embedded into the course structure, for students to use their creativity and a chance to apply their theoretical and practical skills learnt in the classroom, to produce high quality videos that they can then use as part of their portfolios to enhance their employability.

“I think this will be a fresh new inclusion to the module, which is slightly different from the way it is normally run, so that the students can benefit from and will test their ability to work alongside an industry client and gain the experience of having to produce standardised pieces of work to detailed specifications,” says Ashley Dean. He continued stating that “This is an excellent opportunity for them to test their skills and produce something that will not only contribute to their course grades but can be tangible references they can use to signpost future employers.”

“For me this was an opportunity to create a partnership with a Higher Education institution, that gives future talented individuals the opportunity to grow and develop their skills “outside” the classroom but in a sense, whilst still being in the classroom,” says The Actors’ Post CEO Alister Albert. “This will operate as a bit of a live training-ground for them to develop their skill but also an opportunity to learn professionalism and the timeliness and responsibility expected of them in the real working environment to produce first-class, completed work. It also links with the ethos of the platform which is supporting up-and-coming individuals in the sector, exposing them to those who have either already established themselves or are on that journey to establishment.”

The partnership is set to commence in February, at the start of the new semester where Alister is expected to meet and speak to the students as a guest speaker about this project, how they will contribute and ultimately the importance of seizing such opportunities that enhances their professional profiles and experiences whilst still entrenched in a learning environment.

Once the videos are edited and submitted by the students, they will be marked (by Senior Lecturer Ashley Dean, alongside feedback from Alister) and published on The Actors’ Post website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube pages where the students, their peers, interviewees and the world will be able to view the fruits of their labour.

Look out for updates on this on the relevant company pages for the subjects and topics to shown soon.