Award-winning scriptwriter graduates with distinction
As stories go, new University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) scriptwriting graduate Richard Albiston could not have written a better one.
The 29-year-old has not only graduated with a distinction in MA Scriptwriting but has grown his film company, organised The Great Northern Creative Expo and won an award at the same time.
He said: “It’s been an incredible time, I’ve had to put in many hours of hard work, but I’m delighted to have graduated with a distinction.”
After working in the film production industry for eight years, where he worked with some of the most renowned names in filmmaking including Menahem Golan and Ovidio G Assonitis, Richard decided to enrol in university to expand his knowledge of the industry.
He initially studied on UCLan’s BA (Hons) Film Production course and graduated in summer 2017. The strong relationships Richard developed with his lecturers and the opportunities the MA Scriptwriting course offers encouraged him to pursue the postgraduate qualification.
Richard, who lives in Lancaster with his partner Joanne, said: “I looked at the MA Scriptwriting course and it allowed me to do a lot of work that I could take out into the industry. I was given the time to write a full screenplay as part of my course and now I have a full script that is already being looked at by studios. Usually, I would have had to go and pitch to a studio for them to give me money to then go and write it.”
As one of the organisers of the Great Northern Creative Expo, Richard called upon his own creative industry links to join the selection of inspirational speakers at events across the week. He was also rewarded for all his hard work with the Elizabeth Burns Prize for scriptwriting at the Expo last month.
While at UCLan, Richard took full advantage of Propeller Hub’s support and facilities to grow his company, Cannon Films Ltd. He started it in 2014 but set up a new base in Propeller Hub when he started at UCLan.
Richard is already looking towards his next challenge. He is considering an MPhil at UCLan but also wishes to continue to grow his company and work on the Great Northern Creative Expo.
He added: “The lecturers on the Scriptwriting course are industry veterans; the feedback I received from them was invaluable. They all have years of experience and Bill McCoid is a member of BAFTA. UCLan has industry standard facilities, you know that what you learn to use here, you’ll use when you’re working in industry.”