By Ms Heimfeld (English Teacher)

Star Wars, James Bond, Jurassic Park - many of the greatest films of the past 50 years were made at Pinewood Studios and last Saturday eleven BGS students were given an opportunity to learn about how Hollywood movies are made alongside how to build a career in the film industry. When we arrived, we were ushered to the John Barry theatre where we were treated to a talk by Brian Muir, art sculptor and designer of the Darth Vader mask and the Stormtroopers in Star Wars, the Ark of the Covenant from Indiana Jones and many props for Harry Potter.

We next were shown to The Sean Connery Stage where attendees had the opportunity to interact with technical equipment such as cameras and lighting desks and meet with motion capture creatives at The Imaginarium. Industrial Light & Magic’s recruitment and emerging talent team were on hand to discuss roles. Outside was the Ectomobile from Ghostbusters. At the final stage the students were able to discuss how to break into the film industry with members of The Actors' Studio, prop makers and film extras recruitment agencies. Mrs Hudson-Findley was even given Thor's hammer to hold, which was apparently very heavy in order to bring out Chris Hemsworth's bicep muscles! It was a fantastic morning, the students coming away with a better understanding of jobs in the fastest growing industry in the UK - the film, media and gaming industries. A special thanks to Mr Bowden, Mrs Hudson-Findley and Mrs Gibbons for help with organising the trip.

Sophie Wilshin (Lower Sixth) commented: “My favourite moment from the trip was when I got to be an extra in a short clip that was being filmed. I was also very surprised to hold an Oscar.”

Amelia Hudson (Lower Sixth) said: “Going to Pinewood Studios was a great experience - I really enjoyed listening to Brian Muir talk about his work as a sculptor on many big films and seeing all different aspects that are considered in film production. My favourite part especially had to be featured as an extra in a short-film, and walking through the Alice in Wonderland set section!”

Vanessa Poon (Year 9) added: “I enjoyed listening to Brian Muir’s talk, I found it interesting and informational. I also found it inspiring and makes me want to work in the film industry more. I also liked walking around and seeing how green screens and body tracking worked. It was so cool and the set designs I saw shocked me due to how realistic and good they were.”

Emily Feiger (Lower Sixth) said: “I thoroughly enjoyed the Pinewood Studios film trip; Brian Muir's lecture was informative and provided me with interesting insights about sculpting and the film industry. I particularly loved the interactive stage areas where we could understand some of the processes Pinewood Studios use when producing a movie including learning about film angles and even encountering R2D2 and a few other robots. Seeing various characters such as the stormtroopers from Star Wars, Deadpool and Batman made the whole experience all the more magical.”