Fresh off the back of the pink juggernaut that is Barbie, Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer kindly took time out from their hectic schedules to join Mark at this year’s judging of the Joe Farley Award at the National Film and TV School in Beaconsfield.

Sarah and Katie are known for their inimitable style and exquisite taste, as seen on productions such as Atonement, Anna Karenina, Beauty and the Beast, Cyrano and of course Barbie. With 24 award wins and 67 nominations between them, they brought a wealth of experience and skill to the judging, and gave the students the opportunity to gain some expert feedback on their work.

Click here for a brief history of the awards https://farley.co.uk/about-us/joe-farley-award/

Sarah, Katie and Mark were very impressed with the level of work on show at this year’s judging. The first year students presented them with beautiful visuals, intricate models, proficient technical drawings and acres of reference material and sketches. Mark in particular enjoys viewing the students sketch books, to get a sense of their progress through their project, and they didn’t disappoint.

After much conversation and deliberation, Sarah, Katie and Mark awarded Will Mansell the winner for his designs for ‘Sinbad’. They were all in agreement that Will’s presentation and work was the most exciting and comprehensive. Will showed a good degree of knowledge in his technical drawings and also showed himself to be a skilled model maker, making full use of every inch of the stage. His drawings were particularly beautiful and gave a good sense of how he intended for his set to be visualised through the camera’s lens.

Congratulations Will!

Special commendation also goes to Emily Ledger for ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ who impressed the judges with her comprehensive presentation and Claudia Morles Sosa for ‘Echo North’ who displayed strong technical drawing skills.

As always, Mark and his fellow judges had a wonderful day with the students, along with course tutor Caroline Amies and Moira Tait who helped to set up the award almost 30 years ago.

Thank you to all the students and team at the NFTS and in particular to Sarah and Katie for their time and enthusiasm on the day.