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A trainee stands at a camera rig on a stage under purple light at the Pinewood Futures Festival, a crew member in hi-vis behind.

Pillar 02 · Production simulation

Real units, tested before it matters.

A unit with a call sheet, a head of department in every chair, current kit and a turnaround.

The festival unit

Chapter 1

What a simulation is

The unit at work, 2023–26 1:03Our film

It runs to a call sheet, and the schedule doesn't slow down for anyone. No commercial risk, same professional discipline.

So it's where you test kit, try a grade you haven't held, or hold a real job for the first time.

How a day runs

  1. A technician preps a camera package on a cart in an equipment store lined with cases.

    Prep

    Kit pulled, built and tested

  2. A crew member carries kit across a car park in front of the Pinewood Studios building.

    Call

    The call sheet sets the day

  3. Two operators adjust a camera on a remote head under purple light.

    Shoot

    A scene at working pace

  4. Two crew members unload a tall tripod from a kit van.

    Wrap

    Kit checked in, notes given

On the floor

Who's on a unit

One call sheet, every grade, the same set.

  1. 01Heads of departmentDirector of photography, gaffer, key grip, production designerIndustry professionals
  2. 02CrewOperators, focus pullers, sparks, grips, sound, art departmentMid-level crew
  3. 03Stepping upSecond ACs, best boys, assistant co-ordinators moving up a gradeMid-level crew
  4. 04New entrantsTrainees, runners and students on placementStarting out
  5. 05Testing on the floorManufacturers, rental houses and researchers testing kit with the crewTest with us

Where it happened

A crew member in hi-vis points towards an LED wall beside a crane-mounted camera.Pinewood Futures FestivalPinewood Studios, 2023 to 2026 A group of women gather around a cinema camera during a hands-on workshop.At PanavisionPanavision Greenford An operator in headphones carries a cinema camera on a wearable support rig outdoors.Set in MotionEastbrook Studios, November 2025 Silhouetted crew move a camera rig through green-lit haze on a stage.3 Mills × Screen Sisters3 Mills Studios, March 2026

Watch: how a unit runs

Book a unit, or a place on one

Test a tool or a workflow, or hold a grade you have not held.

ProductionsCrew

The other pillars