My second choice is Leeds arts university as it sits at 15 on the best film university in the Uk and I believe that looking at the course structure and the modules it would suit me well. However compared to the Bournemouth it has. silver TEF rating which is why it would be my second choice. However the student satisfaction is still very good.
After looking at Sunderland University, it could be a strong place for me to study as it has a high satisfaction rate as well as the fact it’s a great city not far from Newcastle with plenty of culture. It has a low cost of living and is one of the safest cities in the UK.
Routes in
Typical routes – University, apprenticeship and employment
Highest qualification Diploma in Creative media Merit.
Proudest work was the title sequence for the FMP.
The skills that I have that will support my progression include the ability to work using different cameras, lights and premiere to create visual work. I can also do a bit of animation.
The elements of the course that I relate to the most are the camera work and crating live action.
Coming out with the level 3 extended diploma in creative media production and technology that’s worth three A levels.
In the next 12 months I would like to be getting ready to start a course in film at university. or any course that is similar.
I am comfortable moving away anywhere, Cardiff suits me best because it’s not too far and they offer the course that suits me the most.
Biggest employers, BBC, Tinnopolis, S4C. BBC advertise apprenticeships in April. 10 apprenticeships. Sgil Cymru have links with the BBC.
Focus on industry and my future
More than 100bn a year is made in the creative industry with more than 2 million people.
The creative industries account for 1 in 10 of all jobs and more than 289,000 businesses in the UK mostly in London and the South East.
While working in film might sound glamorous or unattainable they are highly specialised and are jobs like any other big business. As the demand for work increases so does the need for skilful people.
The creative industries are defined as Software & games, Film & TV Publishing and arts& crafts.
What does it take to break in to the film industry?
Always show your best work but never the bad as its just as memorable. Its a chance to demonstrate your skills and abilities for the people tasked with accepting you.
Make it achievable – when be creating your reel be realistic with what can you achieve.
Title cards- Make sure your viewers know who you are and how can they contact you and keep it simple.
Start strong- don’t give the viewer an excuse to hit stop after 30 seconds so put the best or good at the beginning.
Be original – stand out from the crowd. Don’t just follow the new trends.
Be selective with your work quality over quantity.
Don’t dilute it- focus on your strengths.
Document & demonstrate – Reference your work so it’s clearly yours. If working in colour grading etc use breakdowns to show.
Keep it short & sweet- keep it short max of 2 mins.
Stay in tune- it’s not a music video use a track that compliments and is not distasteful or contrast from the tone of the reel.
Finish strong and with a memorable ending.
Apprenticeships
When it comes to education University isn’t always the right choice. There are different routes in life and one of the more hands-on experiences around is the apprenticeship scheme. By doing an apprenticeship you will gain professional training by professionals. You will study towards the level you have applied for; an example of this is level 3 apprenticeship with the BBC production (England). The clear benefits of this include;
- Gold standard industry training
- Learn the end-to-end production process
- Opportunity to specialize in a particular area of production and have a better understanding of how it all ties together.
- A salary of £14,250 per year
- Completion of level 3 broadcast assistant production apprenticeship supported by an experienced and established training provider.
-
Once the training is complete and if you have impressed there may be an opportunity for you to work at the company full time, but this isn’t always guaranteed.
Apprenticeships
- Gold standard industry training
- Learn the end-to-end production process
- Opportunity to specialize in a particular area of production and have a better understanding of how it all ties together.
- A salary of £14,250 per year
- Completion of level 3 broadcast assistant production apprenticeship supported by an experienced and established training provider.
Sgil Cymru
There are also opportunities in Wales with Sgil Cymru who are offering various apprenticeships even at level 4 which is equivalent to a first year at University.
Typical routes
- University
- apprenticeship
- employment
Education
- Diploma in Creative media Merit production and technology.
- Extended diploma in creative media production and technology
- C Business
- C ICT
- C English Literature
- C English Language
- C Welsh Language
Proudest work
- Title sequence for the FMP.
Skills
- Editing in Adobe premiere pro
- Camera skills
- Planning
- Communication
Where do i see myself in 12 months time?
- level 3 extended diploma in creative media production and technology
- Beginning my studies of film production at University . I
am i prepared to travel for the course?
- No issue travelling for my course.
- prefer to be local but no real problem though if local University isn’t good enough.
Biggest employers
- BBC,
- Tinnopolis
- S4C
- BBC advertise apprenticeships in April. 10 apprenticeships. Sgil Cymru have links with the BBC.
Focus on industry & your future
More than 100bn a year is made in the creative industry with more than 2 million people.
The creative industries account for 1 in 10 of all jobs and more than 289,000 businesses in the UK mostly in London and the South East.
While working in film might sound glamorous or unattainable they are highly specialised and are jobs like any other big business. As the demand for work increases so does the need for skilful people.
The creative industries are defined as Software & games, Film & TV Publishing and arts& crafts.
What does it take to break in to the film industry?
Always show your best work but never the bad as its just as memorable. Its a chance to demonstrate your skills and abilities for the people tasked with accepting you.
Make it achievable – when be creating your reel be realistic with what can you achieve.
Title cards- Make sure your viewers know who you are and how can they contact you and keep it simple.
Start strong- don’t give the viewer an excuse to hit stop after 30 seconds so put the best or good at the beginning.
Be original – stand out from the crowd. Don’t just follow the new trends.
Be selective with your work quality over quantity.
Don’t dilute it- focus on your strengths.
Document & demonstrate – Reference your work so it’s clearly yours. If working in colour grading etc use breakdowns to show.
Keep it short & sweet- keep it short max of 2 mins.
Stay in tune- it’s not a music video use a track that compliments and is not distasteful or contrast from the tone of the reel.
Finish strong and with a memorable ending.
Why have a showreel
“A showreel presents your best AND most relevant work to potential clients and employers by giving them a visual tour of your film work, showing them both your artistic sensibilities and technical capabilities” I agree with this quote as it’s a way of showing to a client or someone who is interviewing you the level of skill that you have in 60 seconds or so and can help them decide if they want to hire you or not. it’s a great way of self promotion as well.
What is the purpose of a showreel
The purpose of a showreel can be for many reasons. Mainly it can be beneficial as a way of self promoting and a way of attracting clients or getting the dream job through an interview. It can be used to make a great first impression. The purpose could also be to show the relevant skills that you have and it can be a way of showing specific work that shows off specific skills, rather than just saying that you can do everything in production but choosing a route to go down. Having a showreel can justify the price that you’re offering and can prove that the quality of work will be up to a high standard. There are also corporate showreels that are used for public relations, advertising and propaganda.
What should be in a showreel
The best thing to do with a showreel is to think of it as a compilation or a montage of all your best work and the best looking work. it doesn’t have to be the work that was hardest to make or the work that your passionate about as the interviewer won’t care. All they care about is if it looks great so It’s best to leave out the not so good work and only include my best. Its also important that I end the showreel with my best work as its got to be memorable and leave the interviewer or client with a good lasting impression. its also important to make sure that its edited well and the music isn’t distracting but helps the compilation flow. This means that it’s important that I don’t just pick my favourite song as it may not support the showreel and may make it worse.
“Your reel should contain your best work — and only your best work. And it should be the best photographic work, not necessarily the work that was the hardest to do or that you were most passionate about. No one cares what it took to get the shot; they only care about the result.”
“Visual storytelling is key. If the camera moves in a shot, the move should be motivated and should expand the narrative, even if we only see one shot of that story. Even better, string several shots together in a sequence and clearly illustrate your ability to execute visual storytelling. The more your reel feels like it has a story or an emotional flow, the better.” I also feel that a mix of cinematography skills will be crucial and demonstrating my ability to film at different situations such as day and night and show off different genres and how I light and use my camera movements for those scenes can help improve the reel rather than just cool shots.
A crucial part would be to think of design and the fonts I use in the intro as it could instantly turn a client off and would be forgettable. It’s also important that I leave links and info at the end otherwise they might no contact me or be able to see my other work that they could like.
Grouping together shots is a good way of making sure that the montage doesn’t get repetitive or make it look like you don’t have much work that’s goo enough as you keep going back to that one job. I think this is important because you don’t want to I’ve any weaknesses away in the showreel. I think it’s also a good idea to make specific shots for the genre that you’re going in to and just assembling a team to make something specific to that genre that isn’t complete but just to show off the skills in that specific genre for that specific job.
Daniel Sax Showreel
After watching the Daniel Sax showreel I can clearly tell that he is an excellent cinematographer and is great with design with the way that he opens up the showreel. Its a great idea to have the tape say reel on it as if he’s about to start it off and shows he’s put a lot of effort in to the reel from the very off and gives a great first impression. the video is cut extremely well on beat with a tune that compliments the video and suits a lot of the action and helps make the reel seem interesting rather than a typical boring reel. The reel is nice and short at 1:35 and uses a variety of examples in that amount of time and shows off the wide range of skills he has. He has also made sure that he’s put all the advertising and narrative film work he’s done rather than just mixing it up with all his other types of work as he’s clearly trying to show off these skills to a potential client and this is the job role he’s going for. The biggest issue for him is the fact that there’s no information at the end, he only has the names of people he’s worked with and his name but no information on how to find his website or any of social media pages making him difficult to find as he is only on Vimeo and there are millions of people using that platform anyway.
Alex Conte Showreel
After looking at this showreel I could see that the man was talented and knows what he’s doing behind the camera however as a showreel the title cards are extremely boring and show a lack of effort in design. this would put off a client or an interviewer immediately. his choice of music actually fits the pace of the video and I can see why he’s chosen this song. The issue is he’s put a lot of shots in that are similar like the drone shots of the city in the day and night and in the end it gets a bit repetitive and there’s no real sense of action and it is a bit long for me personally at 2:36. I do like the ending though as he’s put a bit more effort in to the design as by giving his information and a photo of himself.
Jack Burke Showreel
With this showreel I like how it opens with the dialogue that’s almost breaking the fourth wall before kicking off the reel and showing his name with all the achievements he’s had. although if he was in an interview those achievements would be on the CV anyway. The design of title cards are simple and basic and the only information at the end is the website but no social media links. I like the pacing of the reel though as its quick and snappy with plenty of action, he does however show the more delicate side to his narratives at the midpoint before picking up the pace again at the end. There are many different shots and none of them seem to repetitive and you can tell that he is talented within the first ten seconds of the reel with the way he lights the scene.
Bibliography
Tongal.com. 2021. Tongal. [online] Available at: <https://tongal.com/blog/tongal-taught-me/building-a-killer-showreel> [Accessed 14 September 2021].
Screenwise Acting School. 2021. Top 20 Benefits of Having a Killer Showreel to Market Your Talent. [online] Available at: <https://screenwise.com.au/top-20-benefits-of-having-a-killer-showreel/> [Accessed 14 September 2021].
Ascmag.com. 2021. The Cinematographer’s Reel – The American Society of Cinematographers. [online] Available at: <https://ascmag.com/blog/shot-craft/the-cinematographers-reel> [Accessed 14 September 2021].
En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Showreel – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showreel> [Accessed 15 September 2021].
Conte, A., 2021. Alex Conte – Filmmaking Showreel. [online] Youtu.be. Available at: <https://youtu.be/QpWM34QMPEs> [Accessed 15 September 2021].
Vimeo. 2021. Daniel Sax. [online] Available at: <https://vimeo.com/danielsax> [Accessed 15 September 2021].
Unit 11 progression 