WTV Nurtures Budding Student Filmmakers

WTV, Wellington College’s co-curricular film-making club, has become increasingly innovative in recent years with teacher Sally Burt at the helm.  Sally has been Head of WTV for the last four years and has brought a fresh perspective to the club, drawing on her photography and graphic design background as well as her experience working on the set of War Horse.  Together with teacher Susannah Hope, who has worked at Channel 4, she encourages pupils to work on projects where they can express their creativity and develop valuable skills and confidence that will serve them in their future careers.

Sally says “I get the most satisfaction when I see my team create something they are really proud of and show it to their peers” 

WTV was an initiative Madeline Churchill started while teaching in the art department. Madeline was the coordinator and founder of the project in 2011 when the college hosted the Round Square conference. “I was asked to produce a student video diary of the event, and with three students – Zach Topley, Cameron Richards, and Mike Dennison – we formed a crew, and WTV was born under the guidance of myself and an old friend of mine, Chris Bradshaw, who is an independent TV producer. From those days, WTV grew; we produced more and more videos and were the first crew to create the now infamous Speech Day Video. For the first one, we filmed Sir Anthony Seldon in a helicopter and ‘jumping’ out à la James Bond.”

WTV was leading the way at a time when marketing in schools largely consisted of traditional prospectuses and TikTok didn’t exist. Today WTV still creates films for key events on the calendar but is constantly looking for new creative ideas.

In addition to the The Master’s Entrance speech day film, WTV makes short trailers for school musicals and creates the annual prefect video but they’re encouraged to let their imaginations run wild.  Memorable projects have included a David Attenborough-style Master’s Entrance with Rory Bremner doing the voice over and a prefect video in the style of US sitcom Modern Family.   Entirely thought up by a pupil, the latter got a phenomenal reaction on TikTok with over 650,00 views and over 1,000 positive comments. 

This year’s prefect video was shot using a 16mm Vintage Bolex Movie Camera and was inspired by the TV series Succession.

The Wellington College campus provides a great set for filmmaking.  With gardeners, cooks and expansive grounds it functions as a mini city that WTV pupils can explore, finding lesser-known aspects to shine a light on.  Supported by Sally and Susannah, pupils create any type of film they choose, from creative shorts to skits and documentaries.  Ferdie, who is applying for film school has chosen to create a documentary for his showreel called ‘Everything that happens before we wake up’.  Other pupils have made films highlighting the previous careers of staff members, what goes on in the post room and the wealth of wildlife found on site (snakes included). This freedom of expression is a brilliant gateway into filmmaking and unsurprisingly there is a lot of collaboration between WTV and the drama and dance departments as well as Dukebox student radio station.

Sally says: “One of the best things about filmmaking in a school is the ever changing student body with different talents and interests.  At the moment WTV is able to showcase the talents of an incredible ballet dancer in the Upper Sixth. Part of the magic of WTV is that pupils film their peers which feels natural and un-staged resulting in very relaxed, authentic conversations”. 

With a relatively small group of pupils taking part in WTV each year, the club can nurture talent and confidence in those who have a genuine interest in filmmaking.  Pupils don’t need to study art to join and there is no assessment so the environment feels unpressured.  One of the key skills students learn is how to use and look after the high-level but accessible equipment as well as editing using Premier Pro. Sally and Susanna are always on hand to help with editing which is typically the most time-consuming aspect of the process and an area where pupils benefit from constructive feedback.

The students’ hands-on experience is complemented by regular talks from guest speakers, including industry professionals and old Wellingtonians, who share their insights about the TV and film industry. 

The club also supports students’ future ambitions, including applications to US universities.  Space (M 23) was awarded a fully-funded, four year unconditional scholarship to Emory College in Georgia Atlanta where he is reading Computer Science and Mathematics, with a minor in Film.

Other pupils who are interested in careers in writing join WTV to focus on scriptwriting.  OW -WTV members have gone on to forge exciting careers in the industry, including at Netflix.  Jonny McCausland is working at Hat Trick Lab as a Development Lead, Cameron Richards works as a freelance writer and director and Gabriella Farrah is training to be an assistant director. She has worked on films including The Three Musketeers and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Looking to the future of WTV, Sally would like pupils to raise their game even higher by entering a national short film competition and to gain more exposure to the industry by attending film festivals and events.  She is planning to create a more permanent physical space for the club on campus where students can work, edit and create.  

She says “At WTV pupils’ ideas are heard and their creativity is fostered which builds confidence. They get to experience the satisfaction of seeing their film shown in an assembly, on Speech Day or released on social media to a large audience.  As the club evolves even further, we’d like to give them the opportunity to showcase their work on a larger scale. Pupils are passionate about what they do at WTV and we will work with them at Wellington and beyond to support their dreams”

You can view a selection of WTV productions on their YouTube Channel HERE.