Film degree advice and experience?

[lolly72]

Would absolutely love some advice from anyones experiences please. DD wants to do a film degree but really wants a good mix of practical and theory. Doesn't want just production and doesn't want just theory. My brain is in a bit of a bog fog with reading the endless modules and ciriculums, so just thought maybe there'd be someone out there that could hopefully shed some desperately needed light.

We have looked at Bristol, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Salford so far but she's having all those last minute panics about if she's on the right track. Has anyone's DC found a great film degree that they're loving and it's got a bit of both? You can't beat real life reviews and experiences!

Thank you so much for any thoughts and advice. Would be seriously appreciated. xx

Yes, I forgot Bristol. One of my students went there this year, Course looks great. It does include TV but I can't see that as an issue. They took him on massively dropped grades! Was offered ABB, got BCC.

We went to an open day for Queen Mary and the tech we were shown was ancient. It’s a great campus and DD really liked it, but in comparison to the tech at Napier, it was useless.

Bristol Uni for my dc. They are doing an integrated masters, MArts Film and Television with Innovation. I encouraged the innovation bit to assist with employability if his passion to work in film does not work out. Fantastic facilities, good module choices, good mix of practical and theory and additional free courses that can be applied for in more workplace specific practical subjects such as virtual production. He was lucky enough to get a place on one of these starting soon. Great film society. Lots of opportunities to film events for uni and community on a professional basis. He has also worked as a freelance video and film editor for most of his time there. Final year now and everything crossed for his future.

It’s a tough world out there.

He did the film production module in Year 3,although I have just read that is competitive to get a place on that .
He did extra curricular things like ‘make a film in 48 hour’ challenges and he became involved with film festivals.
He had an interview to get on the course .

Aint that the truth! Crikey, the future is looking a tad bleak.

Bristol at the moment is top of her list. It's such a shame that we live so close to Salford as that would be too. She was very impressed. She wants the 'get away' Uni experience rather than I'll just pop down the road.

Think she is still finding her way. She loves studying film as well as making it, so that's why she wants to do a bit of both. She's in no illusion that it's incredibly difficult to actually get a job in and realises it's a 'runner/p.a start. A degree to be a dogsbody and to build up her 'hustle' skills. Thank you for the heads up about ScreenSkills etc.

Thanks so much everyone. This has been a hugely helpful thread and hopefully can enlighten other people in our position as well.

Just curious if anyone knows/heard anything about Brighton?

@lolly72 my DD went to Bristol for a very different subject but Bristol is a vibrant city and students have quite a different experience from those at Warwick. Warwick is a huge campus but Bristol is more in the city with all sorts going on around you. My DD wanted everything a city offers. So I think dc have to know what sort of person they are and what makes them tick.

It’s not always necessary to study film either as Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas have proved.

My nephew is at Brighton doing media (same dept as film and some of the same modules). He's in the final year and had a great time, done some good placements (probably the best element) plus lots of hands on experience as well as the analytical essay side. He'd recommend it for sure, though the bar seems low to me and it seems pretty easy to ace it there, which isn't representative of the industry beyond. So as long as you've got more aspirational ones in the mix, it's worth considering for a safety option.

Agree it's not necessary to study film, more important to be making stuff and putting yourself about. There's a zillion schemes that give good experience, even if the likelihood of converting that into a production are slimmer than ever (unless you're rich or know rich people who want to fund your film). But we'll always need storytellers and there are ways to make it work, especially for the entrepreneurial types who can find ways to make a living alongside their art.

Have you looked at Falmouth? No direct experience but my goddaughter is in her first year there studying Film and loves it. I know her and her parents did a lot of research before choosing it.