Students from our Visual Arts &  Stage and Screen faculties worked on set of the New ITV comedy Transaction featuring Jordan Gray and Nick Frost which was released last week on ITVX & ITV2. The production follows Liv ‘a transgender egomaniac, causing havoc in the strange world of the supermarket nightshift.’ Transaction was filmed at The Northern Studios and hosted five internships with our students Charley Estrade, Christie Robinson, Mac Brown, Jenni Lloyd and Emily Delaney.

The opportunity came about through our students access to The Northern Talent Pool a collaborative initiative from The Northern Studios and The Northern School of Art which aims to help students gain work experiences and opportunities. BA (Hons) Graphic Design student Mac Brown said “It was a brilliant opportunity to work on something that’s so current and about such an important and ever relevant subject, as well as gaining experience working in a field that I didn’t think I’d ever be able to do.”

Studio Manager Nina Yoxall said “The Northern Studios supports the School’s commitment to growing the creative industries in the region. As well as creating pathways into industry for School graduates, we have created The Northern Talent Pool initiative, providing work experience opportunities exclusively to the School’s students, on a range of Television, Film and Commercial productions being made at The Northern Studios. Working on live productions alongside industry professionals is an invaluable experience that allows students to build on their portfolio of work, develop essential skills and confidence in a real-world environment, and grow their network connections.” All students that worked on the set were invited to attend a the productions launch night which took place at Billingham Forum Theatre, student Charley Estrada commented “The launch night was so amazing—it felt so surreal seeing everything come to life and being in a room full of such talented, passionate people. I just felt really lucky to be part of it!”

Transaction Ep1 Day 09 Unit Stills

MA Design Practice student Jenni Lloyd said the opportunity to work on set “came about through my studies on the MA Design Practice Course. We had been sent the opportunity to apply for work within the film set back in October, for which I sent over my portfolio too and was lucky enough to be offered a work placement in the Northern Studios for two days. Working amongst two other student’s from within the University, we were tasked with producing packaging designs that would be applied onto the products in the background of the tv series set, for the Pellocks supermarket. Working on the set for two days, it was great to pick up industry experience, understanding the work pace and the requirements of designing for tv.”

Fellow student Charley said that a previous work experience on the series Smoggie Queens helped her prepare for the role she reflected, “before Transaction, I worked on Smoggie Queens, which felt like such a natural beginning to all of this, and I think it was a perfect introduction in so many ways. It gave me this solid foundation and really boosted my confidence, so by the time I came onto Transaction, I felt much more at ease on set, and I wasn’t held back by nerves or uncertainty. As a Production Design student, my part in all of this was mainly focused on set decoration; things like applying labels and creating products to dress the set etc.”

Charley said she felt comfortable on set, she explains “I’ve grown up around the arts—it’s been part of my life from an early age. From as young as nine, I was doing long drives to London to be part of the TV industry in different ways. So, working on a live set has always felt quite natural to me, like stepping into a world I already understood.”

She continued “there’s often a lot of pressure to know exactly what you want to do with your life, but being on set reminded me how so many different roles exist within the industry. For me, the art department feels like the right fit because it’s so broad—I can be hands-on, creative, and constantly doing something new. It really clarified for me that this is where I see my future. It’s the most natural and fulfilling part of the process for me. From a degree perspective, the experience has already proven itself useful—especially in modules like Professional Practice. Having that industry experience to reflect on has helped ground a lot of what we’re learning and given me more confidence in the direction I’m heading.”

Jenni said the work experience opened her up to a whole industry of opportunities that she hadn’t considered before,”this was such a great experience to work within the production for a tv series, and amongst the graphics team. Working on design within tv and film isn’t something I necessarily had thought about exploring, however following this experience I would love the opportunity to pursue more work in this field. The whole team was so welcoming throughout our time in the studios, with some of the crew taking time to sit amongst us and discuss their past experiences on tv and film sets which was amazing to hear about.”