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A-Level Film: British Film Institute Filmmaking Course
Daniella in Curie 2 sent this report:
During the first weeks of our course we learnt about the individual sides of filmmaking. After a script was chosen and we spent the remaining weeks shooting our film. I was chosen for the daunting role of director which involved collaborating with roles such as production designers and cinematographer to develop and implement the overall creative vision of the script. Throughout production we had to consider themes and other influences which contributed to the overall project.
The final project was shown at The Folkestone Silver Screen Cinema. It was such an unreal experience to see something we’d been working on for so long displayed on the big screen. This has been such an amazing opportunity which I have learnt so much from.
Nika, from Valley Park, sent this report:
I joined the BFI which is an organisation which offers short courses and other opportunities to 16-19 year olds to help young people break into the film industry, helping to build up knowledge in various areas of filmmaking (editing, producing, cinematography, directing etc). For the past 10 weeks, Daniella and I have been travelling to Screen South in Folkestone every Saturday where we met other aspiring filmmakers and participated in workshops with industry professionals to learn how films are made from the pre-production stage all the way to post-production, preparing us for our own film productions.
Our first few weeks consisted of learning about the different roles within the film industry, their importance during film production, and in what areas they specifically worked in. Alongside this we were also involved in many workshops about script-writing which encouraged a lot of people to write scripts. After a script was chosen, the remaining weeks focused solely on our individual roles, which we were selected for based on our applications and involvement in the workshops. I was chosen for the role of cinematographer which required a lot of planning, responsibility, and communication as I was involved in both the pre-production and production stage.
The pre-production stage consisted of meticulously planning out every small detail of the film, focusing on visuals and meaning of the story. The co-cinematographer and I spent several weeks compiling a shot list, with feedback from the director (Daniella), so every shot was planned for shoot day. We also created a coverage list so we ensured that all of the most important shots were filmed. During shoot day, my role consisted of shooting the film and working closely with the director to ensure she was satisfied with everything and that all of our footage represented our ideas and themes.
The final project was screened at the Silver Screen cinema in Folkestone and shown to friends and family. The whole experience has been very surreal and helped place things into perspective for me, as well as giving me invaluable insight into what the industry is like. Additionally, I loved being on set and seeing everything being made and how much effort each person put into the project. It was an amazing opportunity and I am very happy I was part of it.
