Filmmaking at Leeds Beckett University with Connect2

What’s the secret to running a highly successful equipment lending operation in higher ed today?

In a new video, Connect2’s Sophie Sivakumar talks with Paul Butler, equipment store team manager at the Northern Film School, Leeds Beckett University. Paul gives us the inside view on how their service operates and where Connect2 makes the big difference.

Shooting the video gave us the opportunity to show the School’s checkout service in action and take a look around their impressive equipment room, with its numerous shelves of filmmaking gear. They are very well resourced with some amazing facilities, including studios and green room. Paul talks about some of their equipment essentials including their most frequently used cameras.

The video focuses on some of their larger, more complex shoots and how the School manages frequent large-scale equipment orders. The Connect2 system enables accurate planning: gearing up, prepping equipment, tracking allocations across roles, and ensuring compliance with student eligibility and training.

It’s great to hear Connect2 described as the School’s ‘backbone’ for coordinating access to cameras and other vital gear. It delivers structure and safety, supports high-volume booking workflows, and helps filmmaking teams execute large-scale student productions reliably.

A big thanks to Paul for working with us on this video. Hope you enjoy watching it!