A BFI Film Academy 2012-13 Alumni, Adam was already passionate about making his own films and the special effects he’d taught himself to create using After Effects software when he joined our very first BFI Film Academy course, focusing on cinematography on the mentored film shoot, as well as completing a silver Arts Award. The film shoot experience marked a turning point as Adam realised that the camera department was where he wanted to carve out his career: “Signal made all the difference to me, I did their BFI Film Academy where I worked with a professional crew and which helped me realise I want to be a cinematographer and guided my university choice.” Adam then gained a place at Bournemouth University studying film, doing tv work experience at BBC and SKY 1. He then teamed up with uni friends to make short film THE FENCE, which won 2nd place for the GTC (The Guild of Television Camera Professionals) Bill Vinten Award in 2017 & went viral with 5 million views on YouTube. On the back of the success of this film made a feature based on the original short with private investment plus £30,490 raised on Kickstarter. This recently screened on Channel 4. Adam is now 27 and based in Bristol, where he works full-time as a Cinematographer but still maintains contact and regularly returns to be a popular mentor on our BFI Academy shoots and in masterclasses. Adam credits meeting professional filmmakers via the BFI Film Academy at Signal in a remote place far from the film industry as crucial to his success. He said: “I got involved in other people’s films in Barrow and I was able to see that working in the industry was possible – in spite of the feeling you get at school, that it’s an idle dream and not to be taken seriously.”

Hollie Backhouse, 20, BFI Film Academy Alumni 2019-20, joined us as a smart, softly-spoken participant in the Costume department where she quietly watched and listened to all that was going on and worked effectively to build confidence and take responsibility for her whole department in multiple short films. She is now at the University of Leeds studying animation.

Participated in activities with us from age 14 and a BFI Film Academy participant 2014-15. Thea is from a single-parent family and lived in a cut-off rural area. From the first project she participated in at Signal it was clear she had a creative passion and an unusual level of self-motivation for someone of her age. Initially she was quiet with others and lacked confidence, but focusing on her ambition to develop makeup for film skills meant that her self-belief improved and she made friends with others more easily. On the BFI Academy film her confidence grew and she took her role very seriously, communicating well with her peers. At the start of the shoot she was very shy working with the lead actor but by the end, with encouragement, she was able to communicate well and listen to his input. She understood quickly that communicating with actors during the application of their make-up, is an important part of the job. Thea is now working full time in industry as a make-up artist on a number of high profile shows including The Crown and has an impressive IMDB profile: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12828969/