Film studies or go work in film industry ?

miss lilac · 23-09-2013 10:42am #1

I have a 17 year old son who got his place to do Film Studies in Dublin Business school but deferred it until next year. Trouble is with all this austerity we may not be in a position to fund 5,200 a year for 3 years for him to do this course. Is there such a thing as an apprentership in the film industry ?? He has great ideas for future films, he eats and sleeps film, must have seen every film ever made at this stage with an opinion on them all. Just wants to get out there and get his teeth into something or anything to do with film so that he can work his way up.......could someone help me with what to do for him ?? What do do himself ? All suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Is doing Film Studies for 3 years the way to go for him or should he go a different route ??

username_x · 26-09-2013 4:30am

I don't know anything about the film industry but I will say that DBS are quite helpful in relation to paying fees. They are aware that not everyone can afford the fees in a lump sum and are more than willing to take the payments in installments.

miss lilac · 26-09-2013 7:09am

well thats some good news I suppose. Would make things so much easier if it could be paid in installments alright. Thanks for that.:)

JustAThought · 26-09-2013 7:16am

miss lilac wrote: »

well thats some good news I suppose. Would make things so much easier if it could be paid in installments alright. Thanks for that.:)

Doing a degree you love & will enjoy is amazing, and a degree will open doors wherever you go - not to mention visa options . Getting work in the film industry & having a degree in film do not go hand in hand unfortunately. Both Trinity and DCU & UCD also have excellent film degrees - these don't cost 51/2 k in fees...

miss lilac · 27-09-2013 10:01am

Thank you for that " Just a thought" will get him to check out your other options you mentioned. He was under the impression the only place he could study would be DBS or GMIT Galway. Much appreciated.

AnonoBoy · 27-09-2013 11:11am

I think those course in Trinity and UCD are film theory courses as opposed to courses in IADT and GMIT and the like which are much more practical.

Theory courses will not help you to get work in the industry. Practical courses will to some degree.

miss lilac · 28-09-2013 12:54am

Thank you for that. Much appreciated. I really am beginning to think he would be better to try and get work at least this year while he is off in some of the film studios. Wonder if any take on paid apprentices ??:p

RichyX · 04-10-2013 1:24am

Apprenticeships in the film business exist in a sense.
To get into the industry as a camera person I worked on a tv series as an unpaid trainee. Over the 5 weeks I proved myself reasonably punctual and competent and was then given paid jobs from then on.
In order to get started I rang known camera people until one offered me the opportunity.

There's a list of industry professions available at http://iftn.ie/crew/crew_database/.
If he's uncertain as to what he'd like to do it may be worth calling production managers and line producers listed and offering his services as a runner, emphasizing that he's looking for work experience. Hopefully from there he'll take an interest in a particular department.

Having your own car is very useful too, given the shooting locations are often out in the Wicklow countryside.

Just be warned, it isn't an easy industry to work in. The hours can be very long and antisocial and the working conditions are not always great.

There's glamour and fun to be found, but it can take some looking for!
I have no regrets though, can't imagine myself in any other business.

AnonoBoy · 04-10-2013 11:07am

Definitely agree with the having the car bit.

If you have a full licence and a car you will get the gig over someone who doesn't.

Then as stated it's all about being reliable and using your head.

oisinmaccoille · 13-10-2013 11:44am

Best thing he can do is start making things, make mistakes, then go out making more stuff. You can pick up a decent DV camera on adverts from about 200! DV tapes are cheap ! then go out, shoot, edit and learn.

miss lilac · 13-10-2013 8:43pm

Thanks so much for that very helpful advice. He is saving up for just that now. Hopes to get one very soon .....has so many ideas etc.....

unreggd · 22-10-2013 1:30am

Hi OP,

Have you tried other colleges? Not sure about the quality of the courses, but DBS are generally overpriced. Is he eligible for a grant, or doing it part time?

Griffith College have similar courses, Full/Part time

I'd still recommend work experience over college, but not entirely. There are plenty of short-term, affordable film production courses available in Dublin, and the set is the best place to learn! Pretty much any panel talk I attend, the first question filmmakers are asked is what course they did, and most of them did none, just learned on the job as a trainee.

And 15k euro of fees for the 3 years could go a hell of a lot further [car + equipment etc]

Good luck!

miss lilac · 22-10-2013 9:13am

unreggd, you are so right. Beginning to think along the same lines as you at this stage. 5,200 a lot of money surely and thats without accommodation and living expenses. We are scouting around now to see what is available re interships etc....getting some production experience in the next few weeks too so that is a start I hope of better things. your reply was much appreciated.

Many thanks

Sleepy · 22-10-2013 9:17am

IADT in Dun Laoghoaire have film courses too. A friend of mine is working in Canada as a sound engineer for a show that's on National Geographic having done his degree there.

miss lilac · 22-10-2013 9:33am

thanks for that info too " Sleepy". Much appreciated. This is giving me lots to look up and hopefully we will be able to make a more informed decision then.

Sleepy · 22-10-2013 11:12am

Glad to help. From what I can see, it's a very contacts based industry and can be hard to break into...

That same flatmate spent a fortune on phone calls in the couple of months after graduating, calling every 2 bit production company in the state to get his foot in the door doing freebie work. You need to be very pro-active and have no shame in calling anyone you've heard about to introduce yourself as someone who's looking to get a start and did a bit of work with XYZ who heard from ABC that the person you're calling may be looking for a junior / boom swinger / dogsbody who they can pay peanuts or get for free.

One thing I can remember him saying after he was finally getting regular paid work was that a lot of his college mates had failed to because they all had grand notions of going off and shooting their Opus and thought the "grunt work" of corporate videos, small documentaries they'd no interest in the subject matter of etc. was beneath them. Like most industries, it's in the trenches you cut your teeth and learn your craft.

draiochtanois · 22-10-2013 11:15am

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AnonoBoy · 22-10-2013 1:16pm

The other thing to be said for doing a college course is that you make contacts.

Lecturers and classmates can become invaluable contacts in the future.

Also when trying to get your own films made it can be helpful if you have a team of other people around who are enthusiastic too. It can be hard to find the right people sometimes - college can help with that.

And as Sleepy said - work is work. Whether it's a corporate or a web video, you're always learning so make sure doesn't think as soon as he gets behind a camera he's going to be thrown loads of money and become the next Wes Anderson overnight. There's a lot of hard work involved.

26-10-2013 12:34pm

draiochtanois wrote: »

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It was initially shot for that small amount but over half a million went into post production work. But saying your film cost half a million isn't quite as impressive as saying "we made it for under $300:"

draiochtanois · 26-10-2013 2:30pm

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26-10-2013 2:41pm

draiochtanois wrote: »

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A lot of the money was spent on cleaning up the image and soundtrack and a number of moments were reshot or shot to add a little more to the film.

The problem with trying to encourage someone to spend money on shooting a film like Tarnation or Blair Witch is that they are very much exceptions to the rule. Low budget films such as them rarely get a release outside of film festivals. Even Tarnation didn't get much of a release and was dumped onto DVD with little in the way of promotion.

There are tens of thousands of low budget (sub 10,000) films being produced and the fact is that only a tiny number of those will ever see the inside of a cinema or DVD release. Getting a no budget film off the ground and completed to a high enough standard that it can be released is no easy feet and for most people it's an investment that will never pay off.

draiochtanois · 29-10-2013 11:51am

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29-10-2013 7:43pm

draiochtanois wrote: »

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There's a difference between amassing a show reel and making a high quality film for cheap. The one great thing about doing a film course with access to equipment is that you can cheaply create a showreel.

draiochtanois · 30-10-2013 12:56pm

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malikanm · 01-11-2013 2:25am

Sleepy wrote: »

Glad to help. From what I can see, it's a very contacts based industry and can be hard to break into...

That same flatmate spent a fortune on phone calls in the couple of months after graduating, calling every 2 bit production company in the state to get his foot in the door doing freebie work. You need to be very pro-active and have no shame in calling anyone you've heard about to introduce yourself as someone who's looking to get a start and did a bit of work with XYZ who heard from ABC that the person you're calling may be looking for a junior / boom swinger / dogsbody who they can pay peanuts or get for free.

One thing I can remember him saying after he was finally getting regular paid work was that a lot of his college mates had failed to because they all had grand notions of going off and shooting their Opus and thought the "grunt work" of corporate videos, small documentaries they'd no interest in the subject matter of etc. was beneath them. Like most industries, it's in the trenches you cut your teeth and learn your craft.

While i agree with most of what you say, please don't ever undervalue or underestimate the role of a good boom swinger on a film set......would you undervalue a good focus puller as such ?

RichyX · 02-11-2013 8:52pm

draiochtanois wrote: »

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No it isn't.

You can ring production managers from the link I provided above.

I know a lot of people who 'make films'. Most of them haven't the faintest idea how to professionally produce a film and are on the dole.

While you could make it in the business by producing some stunning, low budget films on your own and then getting hired by producers, chances are it isn't going to happen.
They'll smell a bull****ter a mile away. I know of one director who was fired from a feature film after 2 days because it was obvious he didn't have a clue what he was doing and spoofed his way into the job.

To put a decent showreel together you need to hone your skills somewhere, college or on proper sets, or a combination of the two preferably. YouTube videos and message boards won't suffice.
As mentioned above, college is a great place to get expensive equipment for a relatively modest outlay on fees.

For every low budget success there are thousands of films that go nowhere, screen in nonsense little film festivals or just languish unfinished.
I wrote, directed and was a crew member on many, many such films before I made progress.

Film studies or go work in film industry ?

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