BA Practical Filmmaking: The Career-Ready Course

We make no secret of the fact 82% of our BA (Hons) Practical Filmmaking alumni have secured employment in the screen industries after graduation, but we wanted you to know how the structure of this course is designed to introduce you to the skills required for screen production within the creative industries and prepare you for your future career.

MetFilm School teaches in a space where education meets industry, and our courses are designed and taught by screen practitioners in a professional context.

The BA Practical Filmmaking course…

As a Practical Filmmaking student, you will gain experience in essential screen disciplines through five key themes: Ideas and Story, Character and Performance, Image and Sound, Post Production and Screen Business. These themes are woven into the modular structure of the course, so right from the start, we thread employability and industry skills into your learning.

As part of the Ideas & Story theme, you’ll do a scriptwriting module during which you’ll not only write but read, dissect and report on scripts* so you’ll learn to look for what’s good. Script reading is a common starting job in the film industry and being able to write an industry-standard script report is a valuable asset.

But this doesn’t just help screenwriters; producers need to be able to quickly recognize interesting and viable projects, and cinematographers and directors need to understand the structure of a script to visualize the project.

Our partnership with Procam and Take 2, two of Europe’s leading digital cinematography digital hire facilities means you’ll use industry-standard kit. You could study with cinematography tutor Nic Lawson to understand the roles of the camera team and use some of the filmmaking world’s favourite cameras such as the Sony FS7, ARRI Alexa**, Sony PXW-X200 package and the, to make your own films and content.

MetFilm School tutors and more…

Speaking of Nic, all our tutors are working industry professionals so everyone who teaches you is imparting skills they’ve gained over their careers. BA Practical Filmmaking is led by screenwriter and script consultant Jon Gilbert and director, writer and producer Steve Rehman runs the Production Module. Between them, they have more than thirty years in their fields and are there to recognise your individual talents and skills and guide you towards your future career.

Having a great idea for a film, screenplay or advert is one thing, but being able to effectively communicate that is another. During the Screen Business module, you’ll look at the roles and responsibilities associated with production and the importance of being able to pitch yourself and your ideas in a professional context. You’ll be doing professional pitches to your peers, tutors and external clients meaning you graduate with the confidence to tell the world about the next big Netflix series or award-winning documentary.

Collaboration is critical in screen production, and this course gives you ample opportunity to understand the nature of collaborative work, both on and off-campus, and how to solve problems and compromise where necessary. Take a look at this recent Kickstarter project, All About the Moon, a group of our current students are working on during their summer break this year.

Just before graduation, you’ll work on a Creative Development module where you have to research career opportunities and find work in the industry as a runner or camera assistant, for example. We’ll help you plan your career goals, create a CV and social media profiles and learn the reality of finding work. This knowledge and understanding feeds into your choice of the graduation project, focusing on the type of production and the role you take and helping to advance your careers in the most effective way.

The course operates out of our Ealing Studios campus with support from other parts of the MetFilm School group, which means selected students and graduates have access to a wealth of expertise from working media professionals, opportunities to work directly on productions for film and TV through MetFilm Production, as well as access to unique job openings which are signposted through MetFilm Futures.

*Script reporting falls within an optional module at Level 6.
**Level 6 Cinematography only.

Reminder: The 2021 UCAS Deadline is on Fri 15 Jan 15! Find out more about our BA Practical Filmmaking!