Self Shooting (FX6) for Unscripted TV Skills Bootcamp

This course is opening for applications soon!

Ready to shoot for the biggest names in UK Unscripted TV? Bristol is the beating heart of Unscripted TV production in the UK and beyond, home to the BBC’s world-renowned Natural History Unit and a thriving network of award-winning independent production companies. As formats get faster, leaner, and more visually ambitious, the demand for skilled Self-Shooters has never been higher. You may be working in an editorial role at researcher level or above (AP, Producer) and looking to develop your self-shooting skills or you might be making commercial content for Digital and Social Media platforms and want to learn the ropes of shooting and storytelling for TV. If you have at least 2 years industry experience, you’ve landed in the right place.

This intensive training programme is designed and delivered by industry professionals working across Bristol’s leading Unscripted TV formats, from natural history and adventure to fast-turnaround reality and observational documentary. You’ll leave with the technical fluency, editorial instinct, and directing know-how to step confidently onto set as a Self-Shooter able to work independently or alongside craft camera operators without missing a beat.

Being a Self-Shooter takes more than knowing how to operate a camera. It means understanding the visual grammar of a format before you ever press record, reading a scene the way an editor will, and making fast, confident technical decisions in unpredictable environments. Throughout the course, you’ll learn to match your shooting style to a show’s editorial DNA, deploy industry-standard kit like the Sony FX6 with total confidence, and construct sequences that are genuinely edit-ready.

Combining editorial insight, hands-on technical training & directing fundamentals delivered by an established self-shooting Producer/Director and a Series Producer, you’ll also take part in location shoots working in mini crews alongside a sound cohort, receiving feedback on your material from the industry course tutors. You’ll also build the freelance business skills and career plan you need to sustain and grow your career and dip into how to use AI to develop your own pitch decks.

Through expert-led sessions, hands-on camera training, and live location shoots, you’ll learn how to:

Critique the visual styles of Bristol’s dominant Unscripted TV formats, and develop your understanding of how self-shooting fits into a format’s established grammar
Define your role as a Self-Shooter: primary storyteller, second camera, or digital/social extra, and how to work alongside craft camera operators
Master the Sony FX6 and standard kit lists, from menus, codecs and frame rates to custom button assignments for fast-paced, unpredictable environments
Apply exposure, colour and technical fundamentals, including shutter, aperture, ISO, built-in Variable ND filters, S-Log3 profiles and monitoring LUTs
Choose the right lens for the job, understanding prime vs. zoom lenses and focal length choices
Learn how to shoot for the edit, building master shots, cutaways and the five-shot sequence
Set up static interview sequences and shoot observational-documentary-style actuality, working in mini crews alongside a sound cohort
Get expert feedback on your rushes and edit-readiness
Build the business skills every freelancer needs, from CVs and LinkedIn to time management, finances, and interview technique
Explore using AI to create Pitch decks and sizzle reels
Plan your next steps with a personalised Learner Action Plan and one-to-one career mentoring

During the programme you will also hear from industry professionals through a curated panel session and join an exclusive Networking event for the chance to connect with Production Companies in Bristol and the surrounding area.

This programme is practical, immersive, and grounded in the realities of working on Bristol’s factual TV productions. You’ll be supported by experienced tutors and industry partners who understand exactly what it takes to succeed and who are invested in helping you take that next step in your career.

What is a Skills Bootcamp?

A Skills Bootcamp is a government funded employability training offer. Subjects are varied but respond to skills gaps identified from working with employers. A Skills Bootcamp is a minimum 60hr course and open to residents of the UK who are over 19 years old and have the right to work in the UK.

What is an apprenticeship?

An apprenticeship is just like a normal job but apprentices spend 20% of their contracted hours training to equip them for their role and future career.

Is it really free?

Apprenticeships are free to the learner, the employer may contribute a small amount to the training.
Skills Bootcamps are also free to the learner – if the learner works full time then their employer contributes 10% of the training if they are a small organisation and 30% if they are a large organisation.