What you’ll learn
- Be able to explain how a UK feature is financed: the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit, pre-sales, gap, equity, the BFI and the broadcasters, co-productions and the completion bond, and the order they are repaid in.
- You will know the difference between a film finance company, a production accountant and a sales agent, who works in a finance office, and what the assistant does hour by hour.
- You will have scored yourself against the twelve skills a finance office expects, with the Excel standard spelled out and a model to build.
- You will have three real routes to experience for this month, each with a named person and a date, and know the UK rules on pay, unpaid placements and hours.
- You will have a Stage 1 CV outline built on the site's example for this role, a four-paragraph approach email, and a saved plan with a review date.
Where this leads
By the end you will have written your own Stage 1 plan, checked yourself against MFJF's five Stage 1 statements, and know exactly what to do next: a mentor clinic, an Academy workshop, and Stage 2, the HotList.
Finish the course and you can build your personal plan: MFJF's three-stage planner for this role, ticked from Your Profile and your CV, with dated next steps and the CV line each one becomes.
How films get paid for, and who does it
20 minThe finance plan, the building blocks of UK film money, the people in a finance office and what the junior's day contains.
- readHow a UK feature film gets financed8 min
- readInside the finance office: the people and your day8 min
- checkCheck: the money and the office4 min
Before day one: the knowledge, the numbers and the software
20 minThe three documents you must read fluently, the vocabulary, Excel to a real standard, and an honest audit of where you are.
- readThe knowledge you carry in: budget, finance plan, waterfall and the phrases6 min
- readExcel to a real standard, and the rest of the desk6 min
- taskTask: the twelve-skill self-audit8 min
Getting experience at Stage 1
20 minWhere experience really comes from in this small sector, the rules on pay, unpaid work, hours and markets, and three routes for this month.
- readWhere experience actually comes from7 min
- readThe rules: pay, unpaid work, hours, markets and conduct5 min
- taskTask: three routes this month8 min
Your CV, cover letter and first approaches
20 minThe one-page Stage 1 CV for this role, the four-paragraph email, how to approach a small office without annoying it, and what a reference means.
- readThe CV, the email and the approach8 min
- taskTask: draft your CV outline8 min
- checkCheck: CV and approaches4 min
The industry around the role
20 minFinance companies, production accountants and sales agents side by side; the calendar; the career path; where else the skills are wanted; and the library.
- readThe map: finance companies, production accountants, sales agents and everyone else8 min
- resourcesThe library: sixteen things in order8 min
- checkCheck: the map and the path4 min
Your plan: Stage 1 to Stage 2
20 minYour saved plan, the five statements as a self-certification, and exactly what to do next on MFJF.
- plannerPlanner: your Stage 1 to Stage 2 plan10 min
- readHow you know you are ready for Stage 26 min
- checkCheck: are you ready?4 min
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Sources and references
Where this course comes from. Open any of them yourself.
What this course was written from
- MFJF careers guide: Film Finance Assistant the MFJF careers guide this course was built from
- The Production Guild of Great Britain
- Pact
Every link checked 19 September 2026.
