Film or film production degree

[Okisenough]

My dd is interested in doing film production as a degree. I know nothing about the subject.

What are the best universities and best courses? She is interested in one that is more vocational than academic, and I think she would eventually like to work in this industry. I know this certainly not going to be easy but I am a great believer in trying while you are young. Any insights or experiences welcome?

My daughter is at art school for a vocational design degree (so, also trying to follow a dream), and she absolutely loves the course and the city... Anglia Ruskin's Cambridge campus. I know that they do film production there, and that it's well-respected. I don't know details, but maybe one for you to investigate?

It might be worth checking out Screenskills, as they accredit courses that are seen as bring good industry preparation https://www.screenskills.com/training/screenskills-select/

thank you both

My DD is in her final year of a Film Production and Cinematography course. It's via Bournemouth University but based in Salisbury - lovely city, small friendly campus. It's been very hands on and she's had some great work placements too, and her boyfriend has done some work on Slow Horses (Gary Oldman). It's a really well regarded course and she's had a great experience.

Bournemouth or Ravensbourne? NFTS or maybe that just post grad?

University of Salford - much of it based in mediaCity, ITV studios, BBC studios right next store to the uni. Well kitted out for film and tv production and obviously having BBC and ITV on the doorstep is advantageous for students 😊

Thanks for the info. She's doing her own research too and has mentioned Met Film. I did a very dull traditional subject so even doing this basic research into a film production degree has been interesting. I don't know what the career prospects are like but it certainly appears to be more of an exciting subject to study for three years, lol.

A friend's son is at Salford and it has a very good reputation for this kind of degree. We looked there for music/music tech for ds and I loved the place.

www.bournemouth.ac.uk/study/courses/ba-hons-film-production-cinematography it's this one.

@Upwiththisiwillnotput That looks like a great course. Bournemouth has good links with the industry too. Sorry I wasn’t questioning your suggestion, just reiterating Bournemouth as a good one to look at and adding a couple of other options.

How would she feel about Edinburgh/Scotland?

Edinburgh Napier is truly excellent in this field.

The Met Film school is great and its actually in Ealing studios. I studied film & video but not at the Met because its too expensive (it was £27k when i wanted to do it). If you look at their prices now its £60k!

Getting a 1st class film degree didn't help me one bit in getting a job in the film industry. All anyone wanted was experience. My advice would be to forget about uni (save money) and apply for jobs as a runner. She'll make lots of tea and get lunches but she will also learn the industry and being able to put that on your CV is what employers want and she'll have a better chance of getting other jobs.

With or without a degree, the only way to break into film/TV is to work her way up from the bottom. I’d suggest skipping uni and getting jobs on set such as a runner, if she’s hardworking helpful and pleasant she’ll work her way up fast. If she really insists on having the uni experience (and debt) then only consider doing it in a major city: ideally in America at UCLA, or if UK then at one of the London universities. Places outside cities simply can’t offer her enough evening/weekend job opportunities in film.

Experience is important but some of these degrees open doors, especially for those eithout their own networks or connections . The only film and TV industry is not in London. Salford, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow are also creative centres.

For what it's worth, 5 of my previous students now work in TV or film production: it was the uni placements, opportunities and connections of their tutors that opened doors. Their HE destinations have included Middlesex, Salford, Man Met, Edinburgh Napier and one student is currently on a scholarship at Brighton Film School.

I'm in Cardiff and there is a real push on the creative industries at the moment, so I agree doesn't have to be London. Check out screen alliance Wales, which is an organisation trying to get people into the industry. The University of South Wales creative courses are in Cardiff and I notice some are on the ScreenSkills list which suggests they have industry links (as are the Bournemouth ones among others).

Thanks for the great advice, it's really appreciated and certainly thought-provoking. I will pass it all on. I don't think she is sure enough about anything to take a leap into the job market but I will have to let her make that decision. I think most young people learn the hard way as they seldom believe the experience of others!!!

My oldest son is studying this at Bournemouth - we have had a great experience with the uni. Much better than my daughter received at Leeds.

He did some runner work during the holidays and tbh the industry doesn’t really care about qualifications. In my opinion you could break into the field without a degree. More important is a driver’s license, availability and being close to filming hubs - London, Manchester (Salford) and Bristol seem to be the main ones that come up for jobs.

There are a lot of apprenticeships available which might be another good route. My son tried this but he wasn’t successful so he went the degree route. He loves it and it was a great choice for him.

My middle DS graduated in 2021 and hasn’t stopped working since. Find a practical course with very good links with industry. We come from a very traditional degree and careers background so it was a super steep learning curve.

The courses that are the best change rapidly depending on the course lead and lecturers and their links to industry and the investment in facilities, equipment and number of kids versus amount of equipment.

DS told me the other week - I am happy and can’t believe I get to do what I love. He’s working his way up and that takes time so resilience and boundless energy for the early mornings, long days and night shoots.

Drivers licence is essential ! Due to location work AND times you need to be on set. Working at anything in the holidays to fund the lessons and a car for the day they graduate if you can’t support will be essential.

DS has a bestie who doesn’t drive and he’s struggling to get work.

Doing a degree gives you a bit of paper that allows access to other work at a higher level in another career if film and tv doesn’t work out and gives opportunities to grow on confidence and skills. So never wasted.

@Fruitygal thanks for the insight and well done to your son. Funnily enough, I mentioned that to my dd yesterday that getting a license was important if she wanted to work in the 'industry' as 4am starts and public transport don't go hand in hand!

Do also look at colleges. We had someone do volunteer work with us from a local college and they did a post-16 film course, 2 years. They are now working on an amazing variety of projects including big names like Amazon Prime and Netflix and they had friends who went to Uni and still looking for film related work and they have the debt that he doesn’t.

Just putting this in because I used to know the person who was head of the department (he's since moved on to bigger things), but the Bradford film & television production course always looks very good: https://www.bradford.ac.uk/courses/ug/film-and-television-production-ba/

Hi, well done to your Son he's doing amazing! My son is in his gap year starting Bournemouth in 2025. He's recently back from working in Canada as a videographer at camp Canada now looking for some industry experience here in the UK . Can I ask please did how your son went about getting work as a runner ? Thanks you

@AngelaKim
Driving licence absolutely - it makes a runner really easy to place on anything and anywhere.
The bigger companies have runner pools so look at their websites or find the names of their talent managers (rather than HR) as they are the ones who recruit production roles.

A good runner is worth their weight in gold, as is their recommendation so if your son knows one that is another good way to get a foot in the door. Studio shows and big location productions need runners on mass so it will be easier to get a job on one of those to build his reputation. Smaller productions might only have one or two and are less likely to take a risk on someone unknown. Other companies have staff runners who help everyone across the business and these would be advertised.

Best thing is to look at production companies in the area to see if they are hiring and write a lovely email to them even if they are not. Work can come in with no notice so timing can be everything.
I would say getting any running job at the start is important so he can build connections/trust/experience but if your son wants be a camera op or producer/director in time they are very different pathways. For the former, look at crewing companies and studios that have crew on their books as camera assistant or tech op are a good entry point and trainee jobs are sometimes offered. For these roles he can look at smaller operations like ManU TV or shopping channels to build technical skills and experience. For the latter, he would need to look for researcher work. Researchers who can also shoot are very attractive hires so he should point out any technical skills when looking for someone to take a chance on him.

Wishing him the best!