Any UK cinematography short courses ?

[Jon Rat]

Hi all,

 

Could anyone recommend a UK (preferably Wales) based film and video lighting/cinematography short course. I know that the NFTS courses are probably the best but they are quite hard to get on to and don?t come cheap. Any suggestions would be welcome.

 

JR

[BritLoader]

Hi,

 

I'm not sure of what they offer at the moment, but it is probably worth enquiring at the international film school of wales, at UWCN (newport). I studied on the degree course a few years ago and the IFSW was just establishing itself, might be firmer now.

 

I would say however that the biggest problem with that place is that it doesn't really have a very strong industry connection.

[Saket Kulkarni]

Hi all,

 

Could anyone recommend a UK (preferably Wales) based film and video lighting/cinematography short course. I know that the NFTS courses are probably the best but they are quite hard to get on to and don?t come cheap. Any suggestions would be welcome.

 

JR

 

Hi,

 

I'm not sure precisely what you're looking for, but since you mention that you're interested in a short course, the New York Film Academy is a pretty good option to look into. They have year-round courses based out of Oxford University which might be worth looking into:

 

http://www.nyfa.com/film/school_locations/oxford.html

 

As an alumni from an NYFA (I went to the New York branch) course quite some time ago, I found it to be an excellent place to be brought up to speed on the ins and outs of film-making technique. They are very hands-on and give you a good grounding in basic theory without getting too bogged down in unnecessary detail. They are essentially interested in getting a camera into your hands and have you up making films within the first week of the course! It is, after all, a field where you learn by doing and not by sitting around reading up on film theory (although, of course, this does have its uses). The basic 8-week film-making course covered camera work, basic film/lens theory, lighting, continuity editing, very basic sound editing, essentials of screen-writing and plot building, a brief intro into dealing with actors and a LOT of time working with a 16 mm Arriflex camera, a lighting kit, and an editing table. Anyway, I had a great time at the NYFA and would highly recommend their courses to anyone else. I hope you find this useful.

 

Good luck with your film-making ambitions!!

 

Saket.