Film, Animation and Photography facilities
When you join Birmingham City University, the first thing you will notice is the high standard of our campuses. With an investment of over £400 million across our buildings and facilities, we are committed to giving you the very best learning environment to help shape your experience.
Studio A
At over 2000sq ft and three stories high, Studio A’s TV floor is the largest of any university studio in the UK. Studio A could easily accommodate shows like ‘Deal or no Deal’, ‘Blue Peter’, ‘The One Show’, ‘Watchdog’ and ‘Newsnight’ to name but a few.
Studio B
Studio B is one of Europe’s largest fixed green screen studios, with growing provision for in-camera virtual production, incorporating real-time rendering for use in film, computer games and animation using Unreal Engine.
We are the only university in the world to have the BOLT JR+ which our Film and Media students can utilize, allowing high-speed precision on larger scale productions. The studios, editing facilities, client green room and a range of other technologies can be commercially hired to realise most production demands and providing opportunities for students to gain real-world, industry experience.
Studio C
Studio C is 1900sq ft, and has a separate production and sound gallery on the same floor. Like all the studios, it is built as a box within a box (to enhance the acoustics for sound recording) and the lighting has been designed so that staff and students will not have to work at height to change the lighting design, this is done through the use of lights and bars which are moved across the grid by poles.
Studio D
Studio D is one of the smaller studios in the Parkside complex. A fully kitted, but more intimate studio (where students can better hone their studio practice skills), studio D has featured in a number of award winning short films. It boasts a sound and light proof facility that can house a reasonably sized set.
BOLT JR+
BOLT JR+ is a compact, lighter weight high-speed camera robot with a longer reach than the BOLT JR. The agile, smaller rig also comes with an increased camera payload (10kg) and is an ideal solution for smaller spaces or location work.
Hires and Loans
Hires and Loans boasts a large range of high-end cameras for film and photography, sound recording equipment, tripods, lights and more! The room is staffed by our friendly technicians, who are always on hand to help with any technical queries.
Photography studio
Parkside is home to professional grade photography studios, with photography technicians who support students across the studios, processing room and analogue darkroom, along with providing an extensive range of workshops and training where needed.
Photography dark room
Develop your images in our bespoke dedicated darkroom and adjacent processing rooms. Expert technicians are on hand to assist and advise.
Animation classroom
We have three impressive computer labs with high end PCs, installed with all of the industry relevant software that is required for creating digital animation, VFX and other forms of digital art. This includes Autodesk Maya, Toonboom, Storyboard Pro, Adobe Substance Suite, Adobe Creative Suite, Unreal and Unity engines.
DaVinci Suite
Parkside has four fully professional standard edit suites, based on the industry-standard Avid editing system, which is used in almost all films and the majority of UK television. Though all of the suites can edit, two of the suites are specialised for Audio Finishing and Colour Grading.