Catching Up with Alumni - Mia Campbell

Thank you for sharing your time with me today Mia, it's great to see you back in the building. I'm sure that being here is bringing back lots of memories for you. What drew you into coming back to Broadway for this role and helping on the BFI Film Academy Short Course?

I want to help and give back to the industry wherever I can, especially for those starting out. I was once in their position, and any guidance and support I received was greatly appreciated then, and still is to this day. I also thought it would be interesting to see it from the other side. Sharing my knowledge and experience with participants by assisting with the course instead of being the one absorbing the information.

I like to be helpful where I can and if sharing my time to do admin, take visual/written documentation and/or share my film experiences is helpful then I shall give that to those who need it. At the end of the day in the industry, we want to make good movies so why not help create and build supportive, informed and passionate crew members who can help with that?

That's very generous of you and it's a real asset to the course and Broadway to have you here. As you mention, you were once in the same position as those starting now. What was your experience of making films before applying to the BFI Film Academy Short Course delivered by Broadway?

I have watched films since I was little which helped fuel my passion for filmmaking. I would always have to get the DVD version with the Behind the Scenes footage on it as I loved seeing what went into making the films, sometimes more than the films themselves. However, most of my favourites that I have re-watched a lot are actually from the 80’s and on VHS.

That was the start of my love for the film industry. I initially imagined being someone behind the lens in the camera department but after following the new revelations in the year 2012 with VFX, the growth of the practice was becoming an eye-opener for me to discover. As it is another great way of changing and assisting creative storytelling. I went to Confetti College before they were as well-known as they are now and studied TV and Film Production to help further my insight into working behind the scenes and with cameras.

Joining Confetti College was my first real experience of being part of a team compared to just me with my guerrilla-style short films striving to be a part of a crew before going into the BFI Film Academy Short Course.

I loved those behind the scenes special add-ons too, personally I thought Shrek had some of the best! 

You mentioned previously wanting to experience being part of a crew and getting some experience behind a camera, what was your experience of making that happen with BFI Film Academy Short Course delivered by Broadway and how did it impact your approach to the screen industries?

I stumbled across what was then a new BFI Film Academy Short Course starting up in Nottingham a short walk away from my college and it looked like a beneficial experience to take part in for where I was trying to get to, so I decided to take a chance on applying, which turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve made.

I was in the first cohort for the BFI Film Academy Short Course delivered by Broadway and it’s a great programme, especially for Nottingham. It helps keep opportunities open for the people in the local area, which is so important, especially since most of the work is London based. Being 16 in the Midlands, it was quite a challenge to network with those key people due to the distance.

The BFI Film Academy helped create a first step into networking for me. If I hadn’t been on the Short Course, it would have been harder for me to get my foot in the door. It helps to be a part of the BFI Film Academy alumni network as I now have access to the stepping stones and opportunities they share, which has helped me in my early stages.

I was a very introverted person then and I was encouraged to do practical filmmaking tasks, network and communicate with industry professionals on the course. Their encouragement helped me to see my passion more strongly, which in turn built up my confidence to go after what I want to do as a career.

I was encouraged to take a leap and everyone was put on the same level, striving for the same goal to create a film. The course leader, the other participants and the industry professionals saw me as an individual with choices, and that helped encourage me to be a stronger team player and get rid of any of the barriers that could be a hindrance. It chipped away at the brick wall I had built and helped push me forward to where I am now.

I’m now around big-name actors that we’ve all seen on screen, and getting stuck in on film sets as part of the crew collaborating with every department there. I’m in my element with it all and I believe the younger version of me would be so happy to see the hard work and dedication paying off.

The BFI Film Academy Short Course is not just turning up to meet and greet for a day - you learn so much more. It’s the little things that you pick up when you’re there, which can change your life later down the line.

What are the highlights of your career so far and what is next for you?

I went from taking part in the Short Course in 2012 to being a part of and also volunteering at Green Shoots Nottingham, an organisation helping young people to get involved with visual and creative arts. It was a great experience to be able to help and encourage others into creative industries like I am hoping to do here.

In 2019, I then studied Computer Animation and Visual Effects at Leeds Beckett University and thanks to the BFI Film Academy alumni network, Disney contacted me to join one of their productions as part of their Traineeship placement scheme in London. That was a huge moment in my life but unfortunately, this was before finishing my degree.

After completing my degree with a First-Class Honours, the BFI Film Academy team contacted me again to offer the Traineeship placement scheme. This was my first big movie production experience and I was working in the visual effects department for Cruella as a Trainee.

Since then, I have built up my portfolio and worked on UK-based and International productions such as Netflix’s - ‘Matilda The Musical’, Disney’s - ‘Marvel’s Secret Invasion’ and shoot days on Lucas Film’s/Disney+ - ‘Willow’ and ‘Andor’. Including some unreleased projects I cannot disclose at the time.

As a VFX data wrangler, I am essentially the VFX artist's eyes on set, I take set reference images, recordings, collect camera data, 360 images, colour and lighting references etc. This helps in post-production to make the effects more accurate to the environment it was filmed in.

You don’t realise how many shots actually use visual effects because a lot of the time this data is used to help remove elements you don’t see in the films such as wire removals, sometimes set equipment or elements to help keep continuity.

In the future, I’m aiming to become an onset supervisor for visual effects. I enjoy the path I am on now and I would like to progress and help where I can with my current and endlessly developing knowledge, which will hopefully allow me to continue to support the film industry and play my part in helping make great visual effects for all the new stories to come.

BFI Film Academy Short Course at Broadway is currently open for applications.

Find out more about the BFI Film Academy Short Course at Broadway and apply here. Deadline for applications is 15 September 2024.