The National Youth Film Academy finally bites the dust - but not before one final Rip Off.
Rob Earnshaw takes the money and runs.
National Youth Film Academy Awards Ceremony
Once again, the NYFA has found a way to make money but fail to deliver.
Lucy Horsman. Concept Media Academy.
A crafty attempt to prise some money out of a job applicant. It’s pretty poor practice for anyone to try to extract money from a young, inexperienced (and likely broke) keen industry entrant when all they are trying to do is get a job in their career of choice.
Nikky Akinwande (aka Nicole Rodger). Production World.
Caution is advised for anyone thinking of signing up to any ProductionWorld events arranged by Nikky Akinwande. Is this a marketing exercise to promote her company and its wares than a legitimate way of recruiting for a job?
The National Youth Film Academy (NYFA).
“I would not recommend the NYFA to anyone who is looking to improve their skill set in the film industry”. Do not waste your money on these “courses”. A lot of people give their reasons here.
Crew Network: Avoid.
There must have been a moment in time where some exec said: “hey, why don’t we set up a thing where we gather up some TV jobs and then charge people to apply for them”? Another company after your hard-earned for very little: Crew Network, run by Rhian Howells.
TVCrewFinder – another site to avoid.
It’s not acceptable to charge freelancers for the right to apply for jobs. We’ve asked the company how this fits in with the regulations that forbid any company from charging job seekers for work finding services…
New review in for the National Youth Film Academy.
They have a major issue with answering their own phones. If you manage to get through to them, there isn’t much further conversation other than “I don’t know his schedule”. All in all, I cannot help but feel as though they have preyed upon my eagerness to enter the industry.
A new low for the National Youth Film Academy.
The National Youth Film Academy has been a regular feature on the pages of The Watercooler over the past few years. Unsurprising when there are so many ex-customers who have had poor experiences of the over-priced and under-delivering “courses” they offer. More individuals with poor experiences of the over-priced and under-delivering “courses” the NYFA offers.
Luke Elkins.
Luke Elkins runs a Facebook page called UKTV Runners, copying and pasting jobs from other sites. Employers are not happy. Elkins is by all accounts also a sometime freelancer in the business. Hopefully employers will remember the name and behaviour when he comes around looking for work.
Production Hive – leeching off unwary freelancers.
Sites that charge freelancers are doing little more than sucking money out of the pockets of industry workers while providing precisely zero value along the way, given that almost all the jobs they advertise are also available on free-to-use social media sites.
About to start a course with the NYFA (National Youth Film Academy)?
Before you sign up, read this.
Production Base – a warning.
Production Base is one of those sites which charges people to see industry jobs. It is also a site which has come under a fair amount of online criticism of late for their sneaky practice of requiring its members to sign up to a continuing authority to take sums of money out of their bank accounts when their membership elapses.
The mandy network.
There is a site called “The mandy network” which, somewhat hyperbolically, advertises itself as the “number one network for cast, crew and creative professionals”. It isn’t of course, as anyone who has trudged through the pages of its unpaid “opportunities” will readily testify.
Thinking of subscribing to My First Job in TV or Film?
Or My First Job In TV? Before you sign up, you may want to consider what others have said about the value of their subscriptions. Here are just a few – every one of these is a direct quote from an individual subscriber. MFJF / MFJTV