Film / TV studies / production type courses?

[FilmCourseQuery]

Name changed for this. My ds is in year 13, and really doesn’t know what to study at uni. Of the subjects he is studying at the moment, he is enjoying Film Studies the most (and his teachers think he is good at it - editing / writing etc), so it is likely he will apply to study something like Film / TV / Digital media production or studies - but I am aware that the industry is in a difficult place at the moment. (I read the long-running thread about freelance TV production staff being laid off earlier in the year (or was it last year?)).

He is ND, and may suit a more practical type of course (rather than just theoretical). And he wants to live out (not at home) at uni, but I am mindful it might need to be reasonably close (we are in SE London), so he can come home at weekends if necessary, or we can easily go and visit. He may well end up taking a gap year if he is still undecided, but will prob go ahead and apply this year just in case he feels ready to start Sept 2026.

I suppose what I’m asking is would this be a completely bad idea, given the state of things at the moment? I really don’t think he would cope doing a course that he didn’t really enjoy (i think he would massively struggle to stay motivated due to the ND), even if there were better graduate prospects with eg a finance course.

And can anyone suggest any good film / tv / dig media production / studies courses around / near London? Maybe within an hour or two? It is so difficult to tell from course info online whether the courses would be considered any good later on when he is trying to get employment. He has booked onto some open days, but any advice would be very welcome.

In terms of the sort of place he could apply to, aspirational options would probably be the lower reaches of RG-type grades. Although we are not bothered by it being RG; as probably the more practical-based ones are less likely to be RG-type unis anyway.

Many thanks in advance!

I would be wary about job prospects post degree. My friend's offspring did a film studies degree. Despite graduating over three years ago, they've never worked in that sector, ended up in an admin role and are currently unemployed having been made redundant. I'm not sure that many of their peers found employment either.

There’s a difference between film studies degrees (which are essay based/humaniities) and degrees that focus upon the film industry sound /editing/production etc . DD is doing the latter and it is about 80% practical. I think the job prospects are also challenging, but they’re quite different degrees.

@unsync Hi, was it mainly a theoretical film studies course? Would you mind sharing where your friend’s dc went? Thanks

@Ineedcoffeenow Do you mind if I ask where your DD goes, and whether she is enjoying the course / finds it good? Does she have a view of whether those that graduate from her course manage to get work? Thanks

DD is at Edinburgh Napier, so not much help to you. She’s only been there a few weeks. It was rated 2nd best in the country for film production degrees recently. It gives degrees alongside Screen Academy of Scotland. Birmingham City (I think) was first.

Napier was challenging to get into. The grades aren’t that high, but DD had to write an essay, make a film and do an interview. It was hard work and they based offers as much on these things as grades. We looked at some degrees in England and it seems quite common to have to make a film for applications.

@Ineedcoffeenow Thanks for this. Which rankings are those?
Do they tend to accept films that you have made during sixth form studies, or does it have to be a bespoke film made for the application?

University of Westminster, Harrow campus BA Film and Television.
Westminster has tumbled down the league tables but this course is still well-respected. Worth a visit - open day’s on the 18th of October.

Thanks @urbanbuddha do you have experience of the course? (how or by who is it well-respected?)
Yes, that is one of the courses we have booked an open day for, (and Reading, Royal Holloway, Brunel, UEA).

Too long ago really to be relevant to today’s applicants but film and television have always been strong there and the facilities and, afaik, the industry contacts are good. Finding work in that industry is always competitive but some people do it.

DS did aTV production degree at Bournemouth. We found when we visited universities a lot were very theoretical (I think maybe UEA was & the arts uni was better, but I can't remember).
The one at Bournemouth was very practical & it has stood DS in good stead. However, many of his cohort have been made redundant & jobs are hard to come by.
I think he also looked at Bristol (didn't get an offer), Greenwich, Norwich. I can't remember where else as he was fairly fixed on Bournemouth.

My niece tried and even did a Masters to get a job. She ended up being a Runner, making tea, being stuck very deeply at the bottom of the pile and really not enjoying working 7 days a week. She's since re-trained as a teacher. My cousin has a post-production company, his daughter, through his network, walked into the industry at 18, working on films all over the world. Definitely who you know industry imo and very tough.

@urbanbuddha @Wonderknicks Thanks both.

I had a really detailed look at the Bristol curriculum, and it didn’t seem to include much practical film-making at all; so we had sort of discounted that.. @Wonderknicks is this correct? We didn’t manage to get to the open day at Bristol, so weren’t able to ask course staff.

@FilmCourseQuery I've sent you a DM.

It’s 20+ years ago for me, but I did a practical TV/Film/Radio BA degree at Farnborough College of Technology (North Hampshire). It was one of the best practical courses at the time & there were a lot of students from London who went there. A few of my friends are in industry (including myself except I’m in print rather than production). How good a course etc it is now, I’m not sure. But the course was mostly practical & the campus was smaller with a very small number of degree students (on various courses) so was much smaller than a big university.

Usually a bespoke film. Unis give a word/loose brief to all applicants at same time and have a deadline for completed films to be submitted.

Have a look at Uni of Gloucestershire. https://www.glos.ac.uk/courses/course/fpo-ba-film-and-tv-production/. Mainline train to London in 1hr 45.

@APurpleSquirrel @clarrylove @gavisconismyfriend @unsync @YYURYYUCICYYUR4ME Thanks all - definitely lots of food for thought here. We will look at the suggestions. It does sound a really difficult industry to break into - maybe if he chooses to take a year out after year 13 then he can consider what it is he really wants to do. Really not sure what he is going to decide at the moment though, so will probably have to cover all bases..

I think that's probably correct, I can't remember. There also one at UWE, I think? DS was always fairly fixed on the Bournemouth one

@Wonderknicks Thank you :)

It varied. She only applied to two places as they’re the only ones who do the kind of degree she wanted in Scotland. I think that’s partly why it’s so difficult to get into Napier. We were told it’s about 700 applicants for 80 places. Napier gave them a theme for the film so that had to be done from scratch. The other just wanted up to 15 minutes. Both wanted an essay on the work of their favourite film practitioner and an interview.

We did look at some universities in northern England. Most wanted a film portfolio, but not all of them. I suspect it’s easier to get into English universities than Scottish.

Absolutely this. Film-making BA is almost entirely practical training. Still not an easy industry to get into, though. Even with a first with honours.

Just to add that it’s a good idea to aim for a post degree qualification at the NFTS. Very very competitive to get in but it’s industry standard.

UAL is good for this and v hands on. SE London too so handy for you. Mumsnet won't let me post the link annoyingly but if you google UAL BA Film and Television you'll get there.

Agree NFTS is great for post-grad, ideally with a bursary as pricey otherwise. But he might be up and running by then and not need it so much.

I'm in the industry and agree it's tough times, but much will come down to work experience, connections made through that and ability to self-start/generate projects (e.g. working on short film, peers' projects etc). So it's good to be in London and plugged into a community of people actively making things.

My son has just started year two at London Film Academy. It’s a two year degree and very long hours without much holiday. It is also expensive at 22k a year 😳
However, it is almost 100% practical, they use industry standard equipment all the time, there is a work experience element, and the industry links are very strong. Also, he is absolutely loving it!

Thanks all - this is all so so helpful!