Space to create?

How much space do you need to do a film degree?

This is going to be a point of focus for me over the next couple of weeks, as we plan the degree programme timetables for 2016-17, and look towards recruitment for 2017. 

I will also be meeting heads of film schools from across the UK at the NAHEMI (National Association for Moving Image Higher Education) AGM to be held at the University of Westminster next week.

What does it mean to be a student doing a film degree in 2016?

What we do know is that Film is not a dying art, but a growth industry. Facts and figures from BFI, published in 2015 show that:

• In 2014, there were over 6,000 film production companies and over 2,400 post-production companies in the UK. 
• There were 405 film distributors and 215 film exhibitors.
• The majority of companies were small (turnover under £250,000).
• The production, post-production and distribution sectors were concentrated in London and the South East, while the exhibition sector was more dispersed.
• Outside London and the South East there were significant production and post-production clusters in the East of England, South West and North West.
• Film and Video Companies, including production, post production, distribution and exhibition, indicate 32.4% growth since 2009, compared to an overall UK statistic of 5.2% for all other industries.

For Higher Education Institutes to invest in the development of Film production courses is a "no-brainer"! Just look at the remarkable work coming out of the UK!

www.bfi.org.uk

What I would like to see then, is for HEI's to look at what filmmaking means, and to embrace the opportunities it can create for students and for the Institution itself. At the moment, I believe there is sometimes a misunderstanding of what filmmaking actually entails. Perhaps the fact that work is often (not always) screen based on it's completion, gives the impression that it is screen based in it's production. Well it just isn't!

Film making is everything - it is Creative Writing, it is 3D craft, it is Costume Design, it is Fashion, it is Interior Design, it is Advertising and Brand, it is Media studies, it is Animation, it is Photography, it is IT and Communication, it is Design, it is Graphics  - it is many creative arts in one degree!

It is also an academic as well as a creative subject. It demands critical analysis, craft skill and originality, as well as an understanding of literature, and literary criticism, history, context and cultural studies. It is humanities, it is social science, and it is art.

What do students actually need to learn, and do, at University level, that a they can't learn from Lynda.com or from a 'filmmaking for dummies' manual? 

Is there a misunderstanding, happening inside institutions, about what it means to learn Film?

This is the crux of the question, and the answer is complicated, and will be the focus of my work for the next few weeks. 

I would expect all my film students to have a thorough understanding of the following craft skills and discourses, aesthetics and technologies:

Visualisation, Art Direction, Set Design, Screenwriting, Location Scouting, Producing, Permissions, Casting, Directing Actors, Camera Operation, Cinematography, Directing Camera Movement, Composition, Perspective, File Formatting, Editing, Colour grading, Sound Design, Sound Recording, VFX, Sound Editing, Music, Score Composition, Publicity Material, Website Design, Social Media, Exhibition, Curating, Distribution, Legalities, Ethics, Cultural History, Media Studies, Film History, Funding, Communication Skills, Presentation Skills, Pitching, Budgeting, Writing, Continuity Editing, Spectatorship, Economics, Politics....and the list goes on...

So what do we need to teach these?

1. Space to talk about ideas, to plan, to share

2. Space to meet with clients
3. Space to watch films, and talk about films
4. Space to build set pieces
5. Space to write
6. Space to cast actors
7. Space to edit

8. Space to shoot

9. Space to set up lights

10. Space to record sound

11. Space to share work, to pitch

12. Space to hold seminars

13. Space to have debates

14. Space for presentations

Oh and some equipment... but the equipment isn't the important thing any more. Students can access cameras very easily as technology becomes even cheaper. 

What makes it worth coming to college to do a film degree, is the people you will meet, the risk-free experimentation you can undertake, and te netwroking opportunities it will afford you.  The way to meet people and talk with them, learn from each other, swap skills and experiences, and form crews, is to be in college, during non session time, chatting about your passion over a cup of coffee!

So, when there is space to create then this model works fantastically. Students will be in college, engaged, excited, positive, and creative. In my experience when there is no where to go, because shared spaces are too busy, and there is no base room available, then students will become disillusioned and isolated, and create work out of college, by themselves, missing valuable input and critique from students and staff, and often becoming disengaged to the point of non attendance.

University life is about more than the degree subject itself, it is about social and emotional learning. For many students this is the time that they become adult, taking on full responsibility for themselves and their wellbeing. The support gained from other students and from a supportive network of staff is invaluable. Having space to create, is allowing space for reflection, space to breathe, space to think. Space allows the formation of a Learning Community.