Melanie Hider & Amy Fisher - First Post Trainees
Melanie Hider was one of the first intake of students to benefit from the First Post scheme. "I was a runner at the time with NATS Post Production and was training for an assistant role," she says. "So the course was a great opportunity to supplement the knowledge that I was getting at work. What you learn at First Post is not just what the different machines are and their capabilities but also the principle behind everything you're doing. It gives you the 'why' to complement the 'how' you learn with in-house training."
Training on the course consists of day-release sessions which include classroom lectures, expert presentations, interactive learning and visits to a range of post production and effects facilities.
"It was really useful to see all the different aspects of the post production business," says another of the first year's intake, Amy Fisher, who is a telecine assistant with St Anne's Post. "Most of us were from companies dealing mainly with television so it was fascinating to see the creation of special effects and models for features or how a live studio programme is put together. It was good to look at how different companies work and where the different priorities lie depending on what the function of that company is."
"Although my focus was the technical side I found I really benefited from the customer and commercial training as well," adds Hider. "It refreshes your communication skills and your customer handling skills and pushes your focus to where it should be - on the client. You just don't realise how useful this is until you actually start using it in the workplace."
