Navigating post-pandemic challenges, UK camera crews face growing skills gaps. CineCertified offers a solution with structured training, safety standards and a clear path to proficiency.
For those working in the film industry since the pandemic, it has felt like navigating a small dinghy through stormy seas. One moment drowning in work, the next eerily quiet. It has always been an unpredictable business, but the developments of the past few years have left the UK camera department grappling with more and more challenges. One of the most significant is the lack of any recognised training standards for camera crew. As new, inexperienced people are fast-tracked into higher positions, often into situations for which they’re not ready, insufficient attention is given to the essential learning stages of the craft for each role. This makes them less likely to have acquired the knowledge and experience to fulfil the demands of their role, or to have the ability to effectively train the next generation, thus exacerbating the downward trend of standards in all aspects of their job, not least Health and Safety. Experienced crew members are increasingly having to compensate for the lack of skills among their less experienced colleagues, but these numbers are dwindling. Due to the impact of recent events at industry and global level, the people we need most are jumping ship, leaving it adrift in the ever-widening knowledge gap. If this trend continues unchecked, the UK film industry as we know it, renowned for having some of the most skilled crews in the world, is at risk of great and potentially irreversible damage.
The good news is that there is now a solution. Following discussions at the BSC Expo in 2023, CineCertified has been created to address these challenges. It is an initiative by camera crew for camera crew, led by a core group of over fifty dedicated industry professionals. Its aim is to establish a benchmark of competency, which will uphold and improve training and safety standards. This will be achieved through on-set learning in a peer-reviewed environment and is intended to strengthen and unify the UK camera department. CineCertified has been registered as a Community Interest Company (CIC) and will operate with the support of the established camera associations the ACO, the GBCT and the GTC, as well as numerous rental houses, other industry bodies and crew.
CineCertified’s Flagship Initiative is the Camera Trainee Logbook developed from the long-established See One, Do One, Teach One model (SoDoTo). Originating in the medical field, this system has since been adopted by numerous apprenticeship-based professions. It emphasizes the importance of observation, practice under supervision and eventually teaching others the what, how and why of becoming a good trainer themselves. This structure ensures that skills are ingrained through repetition, enhancing not only the trainee's skills, but also the trainer’s teaching ability. Furthermore, as tasks become second nature, the chance of hurried mistakes is reduced and on-set awareness and overall safety is increased.
A survey of UK crew conducted by BECTU and the Mark Milsome Foundation revealed that, ‘...over two thirds of the respondents expressed serious concerns regarding people being promoted to positions of responsibility without adequate experience or safety qualifications.’ CineCertified has introduced mandatory Health and Safety training as part of its accreditation, including the Mark Milsome Foundation Health and Safety course and a First Aid certification.
CineCertified began by focusing on camera trainees. A trial run was held in August 2024 with a selection of twenty-six camera trainees from various regions across the UK, who had a range of experience. Each trainee has been paired with a CineCertified Ambassador to oversee their learning experience and serve as a point of contact for questions about the CineCertified system. This has allowed for testing the system on set and lays the groundwork for future expansion into all camera department roles.
CineCertified has successfully laid out an accessible, guided and educational framework for camera trainees. It factors in the time required to build experience, defines the knowledge needed and enables the trainee to track their progress as they work through the logbook. It also empowers them to ask pertinent questions, take the initiative and control their individual learning experience. This improves the entire training process for both trainees and their trainers. It can be applied to all production budgets, from long to short form, without impacting the work day.
CineCertified is also intended to simplify the crewing process. The straightforward question, ‘What stage are you at in your logbook?’ will provide a clear indication of a trainee's proficiency, plus the signature of established camera crew will act not just as reference, but also as a seal of quality. Everyone will benefit from making the industry more accessible, with a healthier working environment, where the only deciding factor is the quality of a person’s work.
Working together, CineCertified will grow into a recognised institution for quality training and provide a much-needed method of future-proofing our industry. With the collective support, engagement and commitment of the entire camera department, we will preserve and continue the excellence for which we are so celebrated.
For further information, please visit: www.cinecertified.org
Comments