We’re delighted to announce that the brand new Sparks Film School Bath is set to open next spring!
Joining our fantastic team of passionate media educators, James Colquhoun is set to inspire young filmmakers in Bath as the new Head of our newest UK film school.
We sat down with James to find out all about his passion for filmmaking, how he hopes to bring out the potential in the young filmmakers in Bath and his plans for Sparks Film School in the future.
What do you find inspirational about youth filmmaking?
I’ve always loved the infectious enthusiasm of children and young people. I love how their fresh and original ideas seem to spawn and flow with no effort at all. To connect them with a medium and an opportunity that virtually all of them engage with very positively already nearly always creates an exciting and fascinating match.
What can young filmmakers expect at Sparks Film School Bath?
Sparks Film School Bath will be a hub of creative young filmmakers!
We look forward to bringing the Sparks Film School magic to the beautiful city of Bath. Expect a constant stream of new, fresh and exciting course programmes. We’re going to start with filmmaking and we look forward to the addition of new skills such as photography and animation.
We’re lining up some fantastic visually stunning venues, some which are used as real locations by professional film crews.
Our team is made up of a fantastic line up of vibrant, creative and engaging course leaders.
What skills do you think will be important for young people coming in who may be interested in a career in TV and Film?
Technical skills can be developed with time and practise. But what will be really important for young people will be having enthusiasm, positivity, and an ability to engage their social skills.
Alongside the more technical skills that come as part of the process, we will be aiming to develop their ability to turn creative ideas into an actionable process and ultimately, something real that is produced. We can’t wait to help our students develop their skills at Sparks Film School Bath.
What are your dreams for Sparks Film School Bath?
My dreams for Sparks Film School Bath is to foster an environment that really engages with young people, and brings something out of them that possibly even surprises themselves. I hope we can show them something of the world that they didn’t understand before.
I would really like to be growing the variety of courses that we offer, and develop more specific courses, particularly with the older age groups.
Bath offers a visually attractive and stimulating environment, really ideal for all things creative. Not only a stunning historic town, very three dimensional, with unique vistas around every corner, Bath also has a very close proximity to appealing countryside with an abundance of accessible natural features and environment right on the doorstep.
For a filming environment, it is practically made for it, which is why it’s so popular as a filming location and seen so often on the screen. Given its natural visual appeal there is a wealth of creative arts, either based permanently here, or as visitors to a vast number of festival that base themselves in Bath.
The Bath Film Festival will certainly be something I look forward to exploring with Sparks Film School Bath. Watch this space!
I also think our photography courses for kids in Bath will be a huge opportunity. Bath is already home to many adult equivalents, so it will be fantastic for us to share that same passion with the next generation coming through.
What do you love about living in Bath?
Bath is fairly small, but an incredibly beautiful and dynamic place. Whilst being in a city, there is countryside on your doorstep.
Yes, there are a lot of tourists (which people sometimes complain about) but they really bring a more cosmopolitan edge, which offers a huge amount of culture and original thinking to what is really quite a small city in the beautiful south west.
Why do you think young people should learn how to make films?
Film is definitely a medium that young people really engage strongly with. It’s also going to play a significant role in their lives whether they like it or not. So to learn about it at its roots, will not only be a benefit to them for better understanding of the world, but if they do have enthusiasm for creativity, it can help to nurture those instincts in a positive and fun environment.
Making films also offers a bridge to the gap between being actively creative and watching screens – something a lot of children have a very developed relationship with. It’s about changing the power dynamic with screen time.
Beyond that, visual output has an ever increasing relevance in our society. Equipping young minds with the technical and creative elements required in producing films is really setting them up for the future.
Personally, and as a parent, I have always felt it imperative to keep my children occupied, engaged and learning. I definitely live by the mantra my mother passed to me: “Keep them moving.” It’s something she certainly did with us and it’s stayed with me as someone who fully commits to the idea of lifelong learning. It’s possibly something that is more relevant now with the pace of change in today’s world, so leading Sparks Film School Bath will be a a kind of extension of that philosophy, “Let’s keep moving, let’s keep learning.”
What is your favourite film and why?
Ooh, that is a tough one. Possibly my favourite two at the moment are The Square – I’m a big fan of Ruben Ostlund; and Everything, Everywhere, All At Once.
I like films that challenge you and your idea of normality. I think it’s important to check in on yourself every now and then, and if it can be done in either a humorous, or stimulating way, or both, all the better.
Sparks Film School Bath is set to launch in 2025. Find out more about their upcoming classes and register for a free trial class here >>
Hello James, do you offer an after school club package please? Enquiring on behalf of a city centre Bath primary school (ages 7-11), looking for a Friday afternoon club to run 3.10-4.30pm.