Good Independent Course (Courses)

Member Name: nickmurray

Product:	Courses
Date:	03/01/01 (36 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent Equipment

Disadvantages: Bloody hard work!!!

If you're looking for a more experimental film course then this is for you. However when I say experimental I don't really mean Avant Garde (although the choice is yours) I mean that instead of "samey" commercial film making, here you are encouraged to develop your own personal styles and directions. This may be through class exercises or by just getting out there and doing it yourself. The films that are required of you are usually 10 - 15 minutes long and if you have done any film making before, you will appreciate how difficult this is.

I've got to say though that if you want to a**e about for 3 years then look else where, as some of the criticisms of your beloved films by your lecturers can be very harsh.
Imagine that you've spent the last 8 weeks of your first term working solidly, thinking that you've just made the next Citizen Kane, only to have Allan Niblo (the guy that produced Human Traffic) rip your film to shreds in front of 25 other people.
This is hard at first and leaves a lump in the throat (as it does with everyone else) but you soon get used to it, and in the end it actually helps to be super critical of your own films.
However, I would offer one criticism myself, and that is that the film lecturers sometimes tend to adopt the style of encouragement through discouragement ie: say your work is awful and this will make you work harder - although this approach is usually applied to the lazy a***s of the course.

In the first year you are asked to make about 4 short films ( 5 - 10 minutes long), as well as a number of exercises.
Second year - 2 short films ( 5 - 12 minutes long) + exercises.
Final Year - 2 Short films ( 1 two minute film and your Graduation Film - this can be anything up to twenty minutes long)

You'll study a variety of topics from Narrative film / Anti Narrative to documentary to Avant Garde. Pretty much everything is covered in the Film Theory classes. In the first year however we s
tudied the origins of film. This to me (maybe not to you) proved a bit boring, but it's all useful in the end. In the second year however you acually see the theory being applied to your films (as you are encouraged to do) and also other peoples films. Mike Punt would be your main film lecturer and this guy really knows what he's talking about, plus he's a top bloke as well. His lecture on the word "Motherf****r" (no joke - we actually had this lecture) was one of the best, plus one of the most informative. So you can tell your friends that you are going into Uni today to watch Pulp Fiction, and you can call it education.

Equipment is no problem, the course has 16mm, Betacam SP, Hi8 etc. (probably Digital and DIGI8 aswell now).
Editing is done on Avid, Beta - Beta, Hi8 - Hi8, even S VHS - S VHS if you want - whatever.
I'm not going to list everything in the stores, just trust me, they've got pretty much everything you'll ever need to make your masterpiece.

Your own video camera on this course is essential, as you're required to go and shoot things independently at the drop of a hat.
Costs - Whatever you want to spend on this course is up to you really - Blair Witch was cheap, Titanic wasn't.
Costs mean nothing on this course, a big budget doesn't make a good film. Some people tended to think that if they ploughed enough into production values, content wouldn't matter.
My biggest cost (aside from my camera) was my Graduation Film. This cost about £700 and I shot on Betacam SP. One guy spent over two Grand, shot on 16mm, and had a lower degree than most - I had a 2:1 incedently. Although one girl spent about 50 quid, shot on Hi8 and she had a 2:1 aswell.
Money doesn't make good movies...

My biggest buy was tapes - 10 tapes at £25 each - then actors (about £260 for the 5 day shoot) then my 12 extras ,all kids age 13.
The rest went on food for everyone, a box of sweets each for the kids, fuel, props and a bott
le of whiskey for the Head of the school I shot in, and the Caretaker that got up everyday at 7am in his holidays to open up the school for me, (what a nice bloke). Pretty much anything else can be obtained for free, if only you smile at the right people.

Myself; I'm currently writing a feature that has gained interest from a London based company and Trimark Pictures from the States.
I also made a feature for a grand (it can be done) outside Uni time but with Uni equipment. This was an action comedy screened on the largest screen in Wales. So my time wasn't that wasted!

Good course all in all, if you want to do independent film making...not commercial!

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