Meet our HE Digital Content Creation Team: Q&A with James Nicholls

I have worked at NSCG for over 18 years. I started out as a technician in creative media production and I initially wanted to enrol on an electrical course, but my pathway quickly changed and I was part of the teacher training programme. Within a year, my teaching hours grew and I was given a full-time teaching contact.

The importance of having experience above qualification is key. The placements that we source for the students is without doubt the key to bringing relevance to the learning. My job is to then support that, and teach and support on the development of whatever skills are required for any given production.

I’ve always enjoyed the resourcefulness required to problem solve in the creative industries. Since relocating to the IoT, we have brilliant resources and get to raise ambitions and aspirations in a new, unique way.

The course is designed to develop the transferrable skills for a successful career. As part of the course, students get to work on live client briefs and emerging technologies, graduates are prepared to pursue careers as digital content creators, multimedia specialists, or social media managers in a wide range of industries.

There’s a whole list of stand out moments, but for me, this year, the approach of our graduating cohort of HND students has been unrivalled. The “can do” attitude, the wanting to do more. Phenomenal. Oh, and driving around in golf buggies on a hot September induction project at Ingestre Golf Course, that was definitely up there.

Industry standard technology, as well as our purposeful spaces at the IoT really are the motivating force uplifting students from their FE to HE studies. When the physical environment and equipment feel professional, it offers students the space to expand on their expectations. Redefining aspiration should be above the door of our classrooms as this access allows us to do that and for the students that buy into this, they get to achieve. 

This year, the number of offers for work from employers in terms of live briefs has been unprecedented. Briefs can be so varied and we appreciate every opportunity that comes in. Employers across the region are very supportive and these opportunities from a networking point of view help us to take the course provision to a whole new level.

Since moving to the IoT, there are so many amazing pieces of equipment that we now get to experiment with. The BlackMagic Ursa 12k is amazing, but only as good as the glass that’s in front of it. So for me, it has to be the Probe lens. It allows creativity to be lifted in a completely different way.

Immersion and immersive experiences. This is an area I’ve been excited about for some time. From concerts in Fortnight, through to projection mapped Monster trucks, there’s something special about reimagining physical and online spaces and bringing promotional opportunities to them. The Igloo that we have at the IoT opens a whole host of doors, and seeing students embracing the technology and exploring opportunities to generate content for it is fantastic.

Our first graduates were just four years ago. We have a great alumni now who have sourced employment in related industries. Their skills extend beyond content creators and we are seeing them progressing into marketing management positions, as well as producer roles. We’re really excited to see what our future cohorts go on to achieve.

Confident, resourceful, proactive