Meet the Pros

Our range of events for SAE students feature our connections from across the creative industries. These are held throughout the academic year and are a great opportunity to learn from experts - including up-and-coming artists, professionals, and Award-Winning creatives.

At SAE Institute, your education isn’t just about lectures and assignments—it’s about real-world connections with some of the industry’s biggest names.

Let us introduce SAE’s very own series, Meet the Pros – our exclusive industry guest sessions.

Our Meet the Pros sessions bring award-winning professionals, industry pioneers, and rising creative talents straight to our students through exclusive guest lectures, masterclasses, and hands-on workshops throughout the year.

Through our Meet the Pros series, our student benefit from:

Exclusive Access – learning from top professionals across music, film, games, and marketing.
Industry Insights – obtaining first-hand knowledge on trends, tools, and techniques.
Networking Opportunities – connecting with professionals and grow your industry contacts.
Hands-on Learning – taking part in interactive sessions to apply new skills in real-time.

Scroll below to see some of our past industry guests that I students got to learn from!

Oscar-winning Director and Actor Chris Overton visits SAE Liverpool

SAE Liverpool students welcomed Oscar-winning Director and Actor Chris Overton to discuss the success of his film, The Silent Child, alongside tips for filmmaking success as part of a Q&A with SAE Lecturer, Richard Weston.

Ever since he was a teenager, Chris has been immersed in the world of film, from acting, producing and now heading up his own company, Slick Films.

In 2018, Chris won the Oscar for Live Action Short Film with The Silent Child, which he directed and wrote.

Chris Overton visits SAE Liverpool

Previous Meet the Pros events

In Conversation with Sylvia Massy Sylvia Massy has been producing, engineering and mixing popular music for decades. She’s renowned for her work with Tool, System of a Down, Johnny Cash and Prince. She’s received over 25 gold and platinum records including awards for her work with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sevendust and Tom Petty. She’s also an accomplished fine artist, a published columnist, in-demand educator, and relentless entrepreneur.

Motion and Graphic Designer David Goode’s Tips on using AI in Games and Marketing SAE Leamington Spa students recently had the pleasure of hosting Motion and Graphic Designer, David Goode, who delivered an inspirational talk and workshop focusing on AI in the games and marketing industry. David formed part of a series of guest speakers delivering talks to our Leamington Spa students, as part of SAE’s partnership with Cogent and J11.

Top Music Producer Tips with Steph Marziano As a producer, engineer and songwriter Steph Marziano has plenty of studio experience with many contemporary greats. Born in Philadelphia in the US, now based in East London, Steph’s CV boasts credits with Sam Smith, Kasabian, Bruno Major, Mumford and Sons and more. She earned her studio stripes studying in Liverpool before working her way through different roles including engineering, producing and mixing.

Marketing expert Gareth Evans visited SAE's Leamington Spa campus to share insights and advice with students.

Marketing Expert Gareth Evans For over 20 years, Gareth Evans has worked in the world of marketing, across numerous agencies and businesses. In 2015 he joined Cogent - one of our industry partners - to lead business development as Growth Director, moving to Group Managing Director in 2021. Gareth is also the IPA (Institute of Practitioners In Advertising) City Head for Birmingham and the Midlands, as well as sitting on the IPA’s New Business and Marketing committee.

Film Producer Elettra Pizzi hosted a talk as part of SAE's Induction week.

Award-winning producer Elettra Pizzi Elettra Pizzi is an award winning producer behind an array of films including The Act, Harry’s Heroes, and Good Boy starring Ben Whishaw. She also enjoyed a period working on long-running series Hollyoaks, with her episode nominated for Best Episode of the Year at the Soap Awards 2022. Elettra’s latest short film Good Boy starring BAFTA winner Ben Whishaw and SAG-winner Marion Bailey and directed by Tom Stuart, has been shortlisted for the 96th Academy Awards.

In Conversation with Jeremy Podeswa Film and TV Director Jeremy Podeswa joined us for an exclusive masterclass at the Rio Cinema in London. Jeremy worked on series such as Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, and Handmaids Tale. During the event, he spoke about his incredible career and provided our students with an insight into the craft and how to progress your career as a filmmaker.

My VFX Realm with Hafeez (Pet) Salleh We welcomed Hafeez (Pet) Salleh to share his experience in VFX, computer generated imagery and multimedia that he has been working in for the past 18 years. Having worked as a VFX compositor for local and international movies, his work can be seen in films such as Seventh Son, Alvin and the Chipmunks 3 and Mr Popper’s Penguins. This online masterclass was packed of hints and tips for those keen on joining the VFX community.

In Conversation with Adrian Bushby Adrian Bushby, a recording engineer, mixer and producer based in London, England. He has worked with a huge array of iconic artists including New Order, U2, Spice Girls, Jamie T, Placebo, Everything Everything and Maximo Park. In 2008 Adrian won a Grammy Award for his work on Foo Fighters sixth studio album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. He was awarded another in 2011 for Muse's multi-platinum album The Resistance. Adrian was given a TEC Award in 2008 for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Record Production and went on to win the Music Producers Guild Award for Single of the Year in 2010.

The Art of Foley with Pete Burgis SAE Institute invited film lovers and makers to discover the amazing world of Foley with Emmy Award winning Foley Artist Pete Burgis. Multi award winning Foley artist Pete Burgis has enjoyed a 25 year career working on over 350 films, TV and games projects. A double Emmy award winner for his work on 'Band of Brothers' 2001 and 'Generation kill' 2008. He has also won 3 MPSE awards and achieved 24 other nominations! More recent Emmy nominations include 'Watership Down' 2019 and 'Devs' 2020.

Recording Drums with Bonobo Drummer Jack Baker Internationally renowned drummer and producer Jack Baker visited SAE London for a drum workshop with SAE students and an hour of conversation and Q&A, where he spoke about his experiences working in the Music Industry, from touring as a musician with Grammy nominated act Bonobo, to working as a music producer and writer for acts such as UK Soul Sensation, Alice Russell.

In Conversation with James Auwarter Grammy Award winning engineer and producer, James Auwarter, joined us to share his experiences in the world of audio and his best advice on how to kickstart your career in this industry. James also showcased one of his sessions for attendees to get a glimpse of his life as an audio producer.

Panel: Anti-racism, one line of code at a time SAE London Web Development lecturer, Dominic Patmore, hosted a virtual panel event with speakers Nathaniel Dadzie, Kathryn Tingle, and Ashish Suri, discussing how we can tackle racism in the technology industry. The speakers drew on their own experiences as people of colour in the technology sphere to facilitate a thought-provoking conversation about how we can create tangible, lasting change. This panel event aimed to help students of colour identify the challenges of working in tech and consider strategies to help them thrive. It aimed to help the majority take conscious steps to address systemic inequality when they enter tech spaces, and help educators facilitate this process in the classroom, creating their own "brown eyes, blue eyes" experience.

Q&A with Rachel K Collier What revenue streams exist for music content creators in today’s marketplace? Tutorials, sample packs, remixing and touring are all a part of the creator’s financial ecosystem. Multi-instrumentalist, producer, and artist Rachel K. Collier joined us for a Q&A where she shared insights into developing and managing your career, from learning how to leverage your unique skills to open more roads towards building financial and creative opportunities. The event was organised in partnership with Roland Cloud.

VFX Masterclass with Zlaten VFX Supervisor and Creative Director Zlaten went behind the scenes of some of the projects produced at UNIT9 in the last few years in which VFX played an important role. He also spoke about VR from the first days of 360 video, how he collaborates with engineers to solving post issues and how to face innovation projects that don’t have an established pipeline.

In Conversation with Winston Gallagher In this masterclass, factual television producer Winston Gallagher provided top tips for those looking to pursue a career in TV. He provided a comprehensive overview of his own route into the industry, breaking down each of the roles involved in the production of a television series, and giving the attendees lots of tips and tricks for how to stand out and secure that all-important first job opportunity. The event was hosted in partnership with ScreenTalk Oxfordshire. Producer/Director Winston Gallagher started his career as a production assistant on Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins before switching to pursue a career in factual television programmes. He has produced television for BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 3, Channel 5, Dave, the Discovery Channel, the National Geographic Channel, Sky 1 and ITV 4. Winston has worked on a wide range of productions, including Attenborough and the Giant Elephant (Second Unit Director), A League Of Their Own – European Road Trip (Producer), Travel Man (Producer/Director), Snackmasters (Self-Shooting Producer/Director) and The Gadget Show (Series Director).

Filmmaking Masterclass with Autobahn SAE London was delighted to host a filmmaking masterclass with video production company Autobahn. Pedro and James are a film directing duo and founders of the London based production company who spoke to current SAE students to demystify some of the professional processes behind film-making. They have created films in all corners of the world, with agencies such as M&C Saatchi, TBWA, Leo Burnett, Ogilvy and Publicis and for many brands including Google, Puma, Dove, Casio, Nissan and Mercedes.

Industry Insight into Sound Design with Dan Pugsley Dan Pugsley will be talking about his journey as a freelance sound designer over the past decade, through various recessions, pandemics and hopefully out the other side again! This talk will include chatting about some of the recent games that he has been working on and go into detail about how he got into the industry. Join us as he provides tips for aspiring sound designers and people looking to gain a foothold in the industry.

Masterclass with Tony Dofat Grammy nominated music producer Tony Dofat visited SAE UK campuses to talk about his fascinating career working with renowned artists like P. Diddy, Mary J. Blige and Jay Z.

DEDICATED TO THE
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

Enquire now

Meet the Pros

At SAE Institute, your education isn’t just about lectures and assignments—it’s about real-world connections with some of the industry’s biggest names.

Oscar-winning Director and Actor Chris Overton visits SAE Liverpool

Previous Meet the Pros events

DEDICATED TO THE
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

Book a Tour

Choose a Campus

Meet the Pros

At SAE Institute, your education isn’t just about lectures and assignments—it’s about real-world connections with some of the industry’s biggest names.

Oscar-winning Director and Actor Chris Overton visits SAE Liverpool

Previous Meet the Pros events

DEDICATED TO THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

Book a Tour

Choose a Campus

DEDICATED TO THE
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES