This session describes how one lecturer’s desire to push beyond the classroom teaching led to the creation of Future Flames in 2021. It charts the enterprise’s growth from an idea into an award-winning, college-wide initiative that now runs across the college’s media, dance and graphic design departments. It also outlines the key organisational benefits to the college.
The session was led by Melissa Tisdale (Creative Media Lecturer, Founder and Executive Producer of Future Flames Productions) and Mark Pemberton (Director of Faculty, Technical Curriculum) at Walsall College.
The Origin of Future Flames
Melissa’s motivation was simple – talking about filmmaking in a classroom was not enough. She wanted young people to experience it firsthand:
- Future Flames was born from a desire to get students into practical production environments.
- Melissa fondly describes Future Flames as a “beast” that has become so popular with local providers that managing demand presents a challenge.
- The initial concept needed senior management sign-off, which Melissa obtained. Enthusiastic college and management buy-in enabled innovation from the outset.
- In its first year (2021), Melissa won FE Lecturer of the Year. Collaboration from college management and media department colleagues were both essential to Future Flames’ success.
- In 2025, Future Flames won the Edge Award for Excellence in Real World Learning at the AoC Beacon Awards.
The Rationale
Melissa outlines the value proposition behind a college creative enterprise:
- Contextualising classroom learning: Real-world shoots provide concrete reference points to deepen students’ understanding of taught concepts.
- Developing resilience: Future Flames develops habits necessary for the media industry, such as: responding professionally to demanding client feedback, understanding that revision requests are not personal, learning to adapt when things go wrong.
- Preparation for work: The enterprise is explicitly designed to prepare students for the realities of freelance careers in the creative industries.
- Student independence and ownership: Many students go on to mirror Future Flames, setting up their own freelance production companies – earning while still learning.
Organisational Benefits of Future Flames
Mark outlines the wider institutional case for Future Flames. Acknowledging that a creative enterprise comes with significant investment and hard work, he however notes that the benefits far outweigh the challenges:
- External recognition: Awards and other external recognition are evidence of staff expertise and the college’s innovative approach – strengthening Walsall College’s reputation.
- Recruitment: Prospective students actively choose Walsall College due to Future Flames. The brand is well-known locally and gives the college a competitive edge.
- Employer engagement and partnerships: Future Flames has expanded the college’s partner network, even beyond media. Dance students, for example, have performed at Walsall FC and Disneyland.
- Cross-college collaboration: Future Flames has forged connections across departments – from marketing to security – that wouldn't have otherwise happened.
- Ofsted: Future Flames’ impact was a contributing factor to the college’s strong grade for “meeting skills needs” in a 2024 inspection.