The Young Film Academy Podcast

Can you beat our staff? To wrap up the year we have assembled some YFA Avengers, tutors and staff who have shared their knowledge with students this year, including director and editor Dan Allen, writer and actor Josh Dickinson, director and actor Amelia Sciandra and actor Annabel McCusker! See if you can answer as many questions correctly as our team and let us know how you did over on instagram!

In this delightful and profound festive special, smushy Dan Allen, angel Amelia Sciandra and resident grinch Matthew Doswell explore what is and is not a Christmas film, exploring some of the lesser known festive hits, as well as summer blockbusters that are more christmassy than they seem...

Theatre, film and opera director Natalie Abrahami enlightens us to the similarities and differences of directing different mediums, teaching us about how she works with actors to deliver a clear vision.

Documentarian Marina Parker chats with James Walker on this Meet The Makers special. Marina Parker has tackled tough and sensitive subjects with her films from death row to fighting Isis. Her latest documentary is about Amy Winehouse, following the 10th anniversary of her death. Learn how to put your subjects at ease and tell challenging stories in difficult circumstances.

Dan Allen chat's with musical wizard and composer Greg Birkumshaw. The two collaborated on indie horror film "It Came From Below" (available on amazon) and here explore how to begin creating music for film. Where do you begin? And what skills do you need to pull magical music out of thin air.

Author Nick Clark Windo' s dystopian sci-fi thriller book "The Feed" was picked up and adapted into a TV show before it was even published! Learn about how books get turned into TV shows, and what goes into writing books for modern audiences! 

Writer/Director Ben Hunter talks about his time working alongside a director of a Netflix film and what he learned about the process, uncovering shocking similarities and some huge differences with independent DIY filmmaking. 

In this MTM special episode, hear from Talent Agent and Managing Director Christian Hodell of talent agency Hamilton Hodell. Representing big names such as Tom Hiddleston, Rupert Grint, Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie, Ben Whishaw, Tilda Swinton, Sophie Okonedo and Matthew Macfadyen among others. In this exclusive Q&A with Young Film Academy, Christian explains what a talent agent does, and shares...

On this week's Halloween Special, award-winning horror filmmaker Dan Allen (It Came From Below, The Mime) talks all things horror with new host Amelia Sciandra. Uncover why so many people love horror films and discover the various sub-genres, whilst hearing about Dan's journey into becoming a writers, director and editor of horror films, including viral hit, 'The Mime'.

Cinematographer (Director of Photography) and Director Dann Emmons tells all about what it's like to shoot films and commercials. He recently shot his debut feature film as a cinematographer, 'Manfish' (from director Marc Coleman) which is hitting the festival circuit as you listen! 

Producer Hank Stars has worked on the likes off Star Wars documentary 'Elstree 1976' and 'Pennywise: The Story of IT'. He has also produced countless films and the TV show Reel Britannia. Find out what goes into crowdfunding a movie and learn how to get projects off the ground

We chat with Alan Gilmore, who worked as a production designer as well as an art director for the Harry Potter Franchise and X Men First Class, World War Z, Johnny English and MORE,  in this special Meet The Makes episode. 

Having worked on huge Disney+ productions and small independent horror films, Jojo is a master of monsters and SFX injuries. Learn  how she transitioned from no-pay short films to big time sets, as well as uncovering what goes into being a good special effects make-up artist.

We chat with filmmaking and acting students Grace, Sophia, Theo, Bea, Isla and Ashton who attended this years Residential Filmmaking And Screen Acting Summer Camp. Peal back the curtain and take a behind the scenes look at what happens on camp, how the films get made and what the process is like, straight from the students themselves! 

1st, 2nd and 3rd Assistant Director ( as well as super talented actor) Tom Taplin talks to us about breaking into film and TV and working on awesome smash-hit shows like Heartstopper. He details what skills the different AD roles require , entry level positions, and how to be good at your job.

Actress Georgie Banks talks all things musicals during her run as Princess Fiona in Shrek the Musical. Discover what life as a leading lady is like, from the audition process through to rehearsals and performance, including self preservation during the shows run. 

Film Producer Daniel-Konrad Kooper of Rather Good Films (Rathergoodfilms.com), has working on incredible movies like Dunkirk, Captain America, RED 2, Dead in a Week Or Your Money Back and MORE! Find out what goes into to making blockbuster films and indie movies happen, working with small crews and vast teams.

We talk to practical Special Effects artist Dave Watkins about his work on movies like Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Pirates of the Caribbean and more, in this special Meet The Makes episode. 

We chat with SFX, Hair and Make Up artist Natalie Wickens about working on Star Wars films and beyond! Find out what its like working on a major Disney film!!!

We chat with actor Rebecca Hanssen (The Witcher, Arthur Braxton) about acting for video games, audio books, animation and TV in this awesome episode. Go behind the scenes of the life of an actor...

Hello and welcome to the Young Film Academy podcast, the ESSENTIAL podcast for young creatives looking to find their way into the Film and TV industry, wether your an actor director or creative of any kind!!! Join us on this weekly podcast where we chat with some incredible people who have worked behind the scenes or in front of camera of some of the biggest film and TV shows from Harry Potter to...

We talk to up-and-coming director Raphaela Wagner about working on a virtual production stages (the likes of which were used on The Mandalorian) and discuss what is important as a director whether you're on a huge technical movie stage or just working with a couple of actors in a room.