Film Student

I want to work in the film and television Industry.

Not all film students have this ambition, but if you do, this film course tackles film making from a professional point of view and so is ideal for anyone who is looking for a career in the film and television industry. We advise you to go through each eBook thoroughly and check that you are competent in the areas listed under the heading ‘Things you should be able to Do'. It's also a good idea to make sure you can answer all the questions at the end of the eBook.

Make a note of all the tips that are given about professional behaviour and protocols on film sets. It's the way you do things and the protocols that you follow that will give you the professional edge and will enable you to blend in with the crew even on your first professional shoot.

By the way, if you want to work in the film or television industry, no matter what your preferred crew position is, and from our statistics 80-90% of people who enrol in a film course initially want to be a director, it's a good idea to become proficient in as many crew roles as possible. Directors, especially, are encouraged to understand all the equipment and technical roles and be competent in at least a few of them. It will make you a better director and, if you think about the statistics mentioned above, you will realise that getting to be a director might take some time, so it's a good idea to have another skill as well.

If there are workshops being held near to where you live that appeal to you and cover your particular area of interest, you should find that the training you've had via our DIY Film Course will ensure that you get the maximum benefit from them.

I'm currently a film school student.

That's great and we hope you are enjoying the experience. An interesting fact that we have noticed is that the modern student is taking down less and less notes during lectures. Students appear to be relying more and more on Class Notes or being able to look up anything they can't remember on the internet. Nevertheless, missing a lecture or workshop, for whatever reason, can mean a ‘hole' in your training which is not always easily remedied.

For these eventualities our Do It Yourself Film Course is a neatly packaged resource manual which could easily contain information on the topic that you have missed and searching through an eBook for a particular subject is so easy.

Once you've used just one eBook for a particular purpose, we're sure you'll want to add more eBooks (maybe the entire collection), to your library list for use as your general purpose resource manual.

We think you'll find that not just the academic knowledge, but also the practical skills demonstrated in our eBooks will help you with on set production work.

If you have a test on one of the subjects covered by our eBooks you'll find its quick reference search facility and test questions extremely helpful. It doesn't take up much physical space so an added bonus is that you no longer have to carry around heavy files full of copious notes either to class or to your first film shoots.

I plan to go to film school.

By undertaking our Do It Yourself Film Course before you start studying at the film school of your choice, you will gain a great understanding of the film making process. This can only be an advantage for you.

In some cases you may be able to request Recognised Prior Learning (R.P.L), although we would usually recommend that you attend lectures on the topics you have covered in our DIY Film Course as every lecturer has something different to offer his/her students. Nonetheless, your prior knowledge will mean that you do not have to spend as much time on study as your fellow students, so you will have more time to devote to your actual productions which, from our experience, is the main focus of any film student.

I want to find out if a career in the film and television Industry is the right career for me.

Many people believe that they want to work in the film and television industry and attend film school for that reason. It is a proven fact, however, that some film school students realise that the film industry is not for them and regret that they have spent a lot of money to find that out.

The reasons are many and varied. Maybe their understanding of what the different crew roles entail turns out to be completely wrong. Maybe they thought that operating a camera would be ‘dead easy' or that being a director was just a matter of standing on set and telling everybody what to do. They find out that no matter how fascinating film making may be, 5 o'clock starts in the morning are simply not for them - they are definitely 9-5 people.

By undertaking our DIY Film Course you will soon find out whether the film industry is right for you. If you're happy to leap out of bed in good time to get your sunrise shot and can't wait for the next eBook to be released, then most probably you will thrive in the exciting world of film and television production.

I'm passionate about film making but don't have the money/time to go to film school.

This is one of the main reasons that our Do It Yourself Film Course is available today. A few deserving people do manage to get scholarships, but generally speaking a lot of potentially great students don't get the chance to attend film school. We understand how frustrating this is and are really delighted that modern technology has enabled us to bring our affordable DIY Film Course to you. Now you can really find out what filmmaking is all about. You may also wish to read our comments aimed at Independent Filmmakers and also the first heading in this section "I want to work in the film and television industry".

If finding the time is your problem, now you can fit your film course into your own time-table. Maybe you work all hours, have a job that involves shift work or have trouble finding a babysitter on a regular basis. No matter what the reason, you can now work at your own pace.

I'm too young to go to film school, but I don't want to wait years before I have the chance to learn about how to make films.

Looking at our enquiries, this is actually quite a large group. We need to point out that our Do It Yourself Film Course is designed for tertiary students. However, if you fall into this "too young" category, are really keen and are prepared to work very hard, then there is no reason why you should not get a tremendous amount out of our course. We suggest you go through our Free eBook, A New Approach to Training, An Insight to see if the training style suits you. Why not do this with a parent or older sibling and get their opinion and advice before you go any further?

I'm the parent of a high school student who wants to go to film school.

Many parents would like to find out if their son/daughter is suited to a career in the film and television industry before investing their money in sending him/her to film school.

We always encourage young students to invite their parents to attend film school interviews. You know your teenager better than the person on the other side of the desk and most likely you are paying the fees !!

Our Do It Yourself Film Course makes your decision a lot easier and more accurate. As mentioned above in the ‘I'm too young to go to film school' category, we suggest that you and your son/daughter goes through our Free eBook, A New Approach to Training, An Insight to see if you think the training style is suitable before you buy any of our eBooks. If you both think it looks promising, buy just one eBook and see how your teenager takes to the training. If they are really keen and start putting their new knowledge into practice straight away and can't wait to get hold of the next eBook, then most probably film school will be a good investment.

By the way, we've met many parents at interviews who are obviously thinking, "if only I had had the chance......." !!! If you are one such parent, why not do the film course too? It doesn't have to be with your son/daughter if you don't think that's appropriate. In the Independent Filmmakers section we actually recommend that the students encourage family and friends to do the course with them. After all there's nothing like having competent crew on hand and who knows, they may wish to make a film outside of film school and be happy to use you as crew!