Arts Classes Group Slough Art&Design Saturday Club, Global Academy Film&Screen Saturday Club and CFI Crawley Film&Screen Saturday Club took part in a Masterclass with Disney at Pinewood Studios, gaining insight into the functions and roles within the film production industry.
Dan from Pinewood gave an insight into how the studio works with production companies. He then introduced a fast-paced and engaging highlights reel about Pinewood Studios which captured the excitement of the industry, the breadth of roles and the scope of Pinewood’s work and history.
The Disney team then introduced their work, with a focus on the Crew and Talent Team, and the programmes that they run, as well as a summary of the productions Disney released in 2025 and plan to release in 2026.
Following this, there was time for questions before all embarked upon the studio tour. This was a highlight of the Masterclass with Dan leading the group across the Pinewood site to see behind-the-scenes. He pointed out some noteworthy places from productions such as Mary Poppins’ ‘landing’ and the bridge from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
The group was then split into two for a rotational workshop. Half the group went with Dominic to hear more about the concept art process, and to see the research and reference books in the design offices. The other half went into one of the studios for a technical lighting workshop with Toby. Here, he showed Club members how to set-up the backdrops, introduced the role of MBS and the lighting teams in the production process, and handed over a variety of lighting equipment for the young people to experiment with and create their own ‘atmospheres’.