THE FUTURE OF FILM SCHOOL EDUCATION
June 2017
I bet you have a smartphone within easy reach‌ these days it is more than likely that you will have the power of the supercomputer easily within your grasp. A world quite literally at your fingertips. It is a world of seemingly limitless scale and possibilities, but not without challenges for those who work in the screen industries, or aim to do so in the near future. We now face the need to create film content that audiences find engaging in seconds. Sure, the elegance and artfulness of how you get your point across is still important, but now, what is needed is an openmindedness as to where and how these stories are told. The media landscape is shifting at such an incredible pace, that in truth, it is difficult to stop and think about how it impacts the way we make our films, or indeed, how we will make them in the future. As a film school, we understand that we need to be proactive in addressing the challenges head-on, turning them into opportunities and continue to lead the way among film educators. Chris Maples, CEO, MetFilm
This document focuses on the changing world of screen content from the perspective of practicebased screen education, exploring the implications for film schools and getting the views of industry insiders, educators and graduates about the issues, challenges and opportunities presented by our brave new world. According to figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), in just 10 years, the number of students studying film production has increased by a massive 385%*. So, demand is clearly there, but are film schools providing students with the education they need? How do we ensure we deliver graduates who are ready for the ever-expanding and diversifying world of multi-screen content? MetFilm School has taken the decision to re-imagine the kind of industry-ready graduates needed by today’s shape-shifting media landscape. Reaching beyond the narrow definition of the ‘filmmaker’, the School now aims to educate a new generation of Smart Screen Creatives. The objective is to produce graduates with great creative ideas and talent, entrepreneurial ambition and an open attitude to an expanded universe of possibilities and platforms.
ABOUT METFILM SCHOOL The leading provider of film, television and new media education, MetFilm School offers highly practical undergraduate, postgraduate and short courses in London and Berlin. MetFilm’s mission is to inspire a new generation of smart screen professionals by bringing education and industry together in creative environments driven by great teaching and practical experience led by inspiring role models.
*BFI’s statistical yearbook
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SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST A changing creative landscape The screen industries generate over £6bn for the UK economy each year, with film and audio-visual media content worth £4.7bn in exports. Over £1.5bn is invested in the creative screen industries from overseas, and there are also significant tax relief incentives, which have led to a spike in this form of investment.** There is also a wealth of private funding available, from businesses and benefactors. The film, TV and media landscape has been radically transformed in recent years by huge advances in technology and online communication. The way in which people create and consume content now, is radically different from the past. The key to this change has been both the rapid and transformative effect of digital technology and the global community’s warm embrace of the new.
ANDY ORRICK, CHIEF OF STUFF, RATTLING STICK, AWARD-WINNING MULTI-PLATFORM PRODUCTION COMPANY The media landscape is a relatively unrecognisable place from when I started in the industry. For young filmmakers there are more opportunities than ever and also more competition than ever. New editorial platforms seem to spring up daily - Vice, Dazed, Nowness, Refinery29, M2M, you name it they’re everywhere and they’re always seeking new voices as are some of the old editorial brands such as The Guardian, Conde Nast, New York Times, which are diversifying into video too. There are also more new formats and storytelling tech than ever before too, from web series to VR. So it’s a very exciting time to be a young filmmaker: better, cheaper technology and also lots of places to show your work or get ideas commissioned. But it’s also more important than ever to make sure your voice stands out, that your creativity comes from a truthful place rather than trying to be liked, or trying to fit with the prevailing wind. I’d say the qualities you need are the same as ever at their core tenacity, grit, a big smile on your face, a thick skin, all the usual stuff, but I think also in this day and age you need to be a massive self-starter. The world won’t come to you, you need to go to the world.
**BFI ‘The Economic Contribution of the UK’s Film, High-End TV, Video Games and Animation Programme Sectors’ (2015)
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NEW TECHNOLOGY Smartphones, apps built into smart TVs, and games consoles with in-built video have all made it easier than ever for the viewer to get an instant fix of whatever takes their fancy, seeming to put the audience firmly in control of the output. Digital providers such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Studios have launched onto the scene producing material of scale and ambition, based on data mined from their customers, to attract exponentially expanding numbers of subscribers and new revenue streams. Audiences that once relied on retailers like HMV, Blockbuster or DVD suppliers like LoveFilm for their small screen movie fix, have seen those companies either disappear or adapt to the all-consuming providers of online screen entertainment.
For the creative industries – music, film and publishing – these are the best and the worst of times. New technologies have provided self-published authors, independent musicians and other previously disenfranchised creators with powerful new ways of creating work and reaching audiences. They have also provided consumers with a wealth of new entertainment options. Together, these changes have produced a new golden age of creativity. But the same technologies have also changed the competitive landscape, weakened the control that established players can exert over both content and consumers, and forced business leaders to make difficult trade-offs between old business models and new business opportunities.
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NEW FORMATS
MOUNIRA LATRACHE, YOUTUBE Web video will be one of the big things of the future. We can see that the next generation doesn’t watch TV anymore; it is all on the web. A real, amazing benefit for filmmakers is that they can grow their own audiences – the only thing that matters now is having a viewership that wants to see your content. So, creators can grow their own audience and make the content they really want to make, without restrictions, and they can learn how the dialogue with their viewership works.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPV1lt_ERtM
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Giants of online viewing – such as YouTube, iPlayer and Netflix – have radically altered the shape and consumption of screen content. From YouTube, we have learned that viewers are happy to watch many different kinds of content, made with varying degrees of competence and to a bewildering array of formats and lengths, than was ever permitted or deemed sustainable by the traditional screen industries. By combining the time-shifting innovation of BBC iPlayer with the grown-up programming of HBO, Netflix transformed itself from a niche DVD delivery service into a ubiquitous, data-driven stream of content, attracting A-list talent, picking up awards, millions of subscribers and spearheading a new ‘Golden Age of Television’ along the way. New industries like gaming, with its demand for over the edge creative and technological innovation, have massively impacted the creative industry sector. The appetite for video content expands almost daily with every new announcement from social media giants like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. Additionally, the impacts of virtual reality and augmented reality are pushing companies and investors into risk-taking investment, just to stay in a game where the outcome has yet to be decided. Challenges and opportunities are everywhere. And just as commercial brands have had to adapt to survive in such a fluid media landscape, so too must today’s film educators.
NEW SKILLS Historically, traditional film schools have emphasised the centrality of the director as the ‘cinematic auteur’ and the primacy of the theatrical feature film. Television has mostly played a distant, secondary role, and the apex of film school success was defined as the Cannes or Academy Award-winning wunderkind. The emphasis has been on the individual triumphing over the restraints of overwhelming industries – the man (very rarely a woman) of vision, uncontaminated by commerce or audience taste. But we now have screen industries that embrace many different kinds of content creator: platforms of every size and quality, social media awash with video, all tracked through audience-measuring algorithms, and analytics. The arrival of video sharing sites like YouTube and a massive increase in online video for corporate, charitable and other sectors, has created new roles like preditor (producer/editor) and vlogger. Subscription video on-demand platforms like HBO Plus, Netflix and Amazon have seen the further rise to prominence of the showrunner. Originally associated with US broadcast television, these creators/writers/producers are now universally revered and rewarded in an age where serialised and authored television drama threatens the filmed drama pecking order, turning viewers into box-set bingers of content at the expense of the one-off feature. Rather than burying our collective heads in the sands of previous times, screen educators today need to equip their students with the combination of creative and entrepreneurial skills needed to fully benefit from the opportunities offered by new as well as traditional platforms and business models – a world of Smart Screen Creatives.
BRUCE DAISLEY, TWITTER The screen in people’s pockets has just fragmented everything – yes, it’s harder than ever before to stand out, but it’s also a massive opportunity because the current media landscape allows really small creators to get a huge audience. The viewing that some YouTube channels get is as strong as Saturday night on TV, for example. Creators today absolutely need to be thinking mobile first, and therefore shortform content is key. For most of us this means asking the question – what’s the 20 second cut that will entice people to view your content? It’s a Darwinian world now, where the strongest content creators, and those who can reinvent themselves quickly, survive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaH6bNe4zvQ
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THE NEW SMART SCREEN CREATIVES Given that the market has transformed and new technology has altered the way we consume media, MetFilm School has evolved from the traditional film school model to an educator positively embracing new platforms and changes needed to deliver graduates who are employable, conversant in the creative, technical, entrepreneurial and soft skills of today’s complex screen industry sector. We are building a new generation of Smart Screen Creatives.
SMART Today’s content creators need not only excellent creative skills but knowledge of the screen industry sector and commercial acumen. Students need to develop the fundraising and pitching skills to raise money and awareness for their projects and crucially, the personal skills that make them attractive to the everwidening range of potential employers. Traditionally, film schools have left business to a tiny handful of producing students, but this is no longer enough. There is a new responsibility to provide students with an understanding of the shape of industry, key business models, how to market themselves and how to be open to many different opportunities. The majority of students come to film school in the expectation that their training and education will lead them towards dream careers as traditional filmmakers. It is the film school’s responsibility and goal to expand students’ horizons and to help them embrace all the opportunities across the screen sector.
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ROBERT PANNERS, FREELANCER AT BBC STUDIOWORKS, METFILM SCHOOL POST-GRADUATE Many people enter film school wanting to become an artist, the best one they can be. This in many respects is a noble dream and the spirit of creative integrity is something that ought to be fostered by film schools. However, in my view, content production is now all about making content that works for your audience, in the best way it can. As a result of this, film school students need to be quite pragmatic if they want to succeed. It’s a hard lifestyle, you often don’t have the luxury of time, money or resource to achieve what you might like to, and so resilience and motivation really have to come into the mix. You need a day job, just to keep the dream funded. Therefore, successful content creators will be used to moonlighting in normal day jobs, preferably linked to industry, to gain contacts, knowledge, experience and ideas.
SCREEN It is no longer the case that students only need to be able to produce one type of content; they need to learn how to make content for any screen or format. Storytelling is at the heart of the creative screen industries but stories are now being told in multiple ways, on screens wide, horizontal and vertical, at lengths ranging from seconds to many hours. Opportunities open to film school graduates are now likely to require dynamic short-form content making skills. Film schools need to ask themselves – ‘are we equipping alumni with the mind and skillsets to embrace those opportunities?’
CREATIVE Smart Screen Creatives have great storytelling ability. They understand what audiences want and are able to respond by making engaging content that works across the boundaries of format and medium or channel. They are familiar with how to translate great ideas into content that can work for a range of audiences, can be applied to a range of different platforms (from big screen to handheld devices), and which can capture viewers’ attention. With the tools of content production and publishing available free for anybody to use, it is the creative ability of skilled and formally trained content creators to tailor their content to the audience in an engaging way, that will allow them to cut through the noise.
The best way and place to make screen content is in a professional context. So, film schools need to be providing students access to industry specialists and find new ways to create professional environments on campus, whether that’s increased exposure to industry through workshops and masterclasses, or the incorporation of live briefs into the curriculum. Jonny Persey, Director, MetFilm
PALOMA LOMMEL, FREELANCE DIRECTOR AND METFILM SCHOOL GRADUATE As a film director, you should be able to adapt your work to contemporary formats and be open-minded to new marketing ideas. It is crucial to have a strong online presence and spread the word about your work.
MEGAN K. FOX, FREELANCE WRITER-DIRECTOR AND METFILM SCHOOL GRADUATE My last short film was shot vertically to play with the idea of people watching more content on their mobile devices and it was really well received. It definitely has an impact on the kind of films being made in the ‘shorts’ world. Films with the 3-5-minute running time are most favoured now because they suit online viewing.
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HOW FILM SCHOOL EDUCATION IS CHANGING EMPLOYABILITY At a time when anyone can create and promote content to an audience of millions, film schools need to stay relevant. While it is important for them to be providers of creative space where students are given a grounding in key filmmaking techniques – much more is needed. Employability needs to be embedded in the curriculum, in the campus, in the facilities, such that the film school becomes a living, breathing, working screen industry environment. What students need from film schools is changing. Filmmaking is not just about the big screen anymore. New platforms and technologies come attached to a wealth of brand new roles, which industry employers around the globe are eagerly hoping to fill. It is the primary responsibility of the film school to teach their students how to make the most of these new opportunities. Government policy has had a profound impact on student recruitment, creating a much more competitive environment and encouraging high expectations from students and parents. The rise in tuition fees, combined with the relaxing of student number controls and fast tracking of ‘new providers’ into the sector, have created an increasingly fluid dynamic. The competitive instincts of institutions offering alternative options to study screen art and craft are kicking in, and film schools will need to work hard to show that they are uniquely equipped to springboard their students towards attractive careers across screen industries.
With the readily available technology, students already have the tools in their hands to make great content. Teaching should, therefore, not only be about helping them to understand the technical aspects of filmmaking, but equipping them with the right creative mind-set and soft-skills proficiency. Our teaching is designed to help students think critically, be flexible and passionate about what they do, as well as gain an understanding of the business landscape. All of this happens via our tutors who are themselves successful screen industry practitioners, and access to guest speakers from leading companies in the field. In terms of life after film school, we don’t just want our students to be employable in terms of someone else employing them; we want them to be entrepreneurs in their own right. We want them to be prepared to take advantage of the expanding opportunities, but also for some of them to be the trailblazers for new opportunities yet to be created. Of course, our film school emphasises the primacy of ideas, but it’s about giving students the maximum chance of succeeding in the industry too. Lisa Neeley, Dean, MetFilm School
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CONNECTED TO INDUSTRY Industry connections are essential for preparing work-ready graduates. While many film schools already work with industry professional tutors and guest speakers, these often come from traditional media and filmmaking roles. There are only a handful hosting seminars and master classes with specialists from the new media and commercial sectors. Certainly, students get inspired by the example of famous writers and directors, but there needs to be a fuller embrace of online content. Companies such as Netflix, Facebook and YouTube cannot be ignored in the world where students and their fee-paying parents look anxiously towards future employment. Film schools need to equip their students for the workplace in a very real way. Learning how to create content for new platforms and a commercial world, hungry for screen content as well as for traditional cinema and television, should become an essential part of curriculum. Apart from industry awareness seminars, film schools could, for example, seek opportunities for students to work with, and to learn from real-life employers by creating content for them.
On graduation, the norm for film school students is to graduate with a short film. At MetFilm, we would happily see them graduate with an advertisement, web series or vlog. For too long film school teaching has been based exclusively on a model of big screen narrative filmmaking, but, honestly, film – in the historic sense – is far too narrow a focus. It’s not the only thing that we need to be making, and we, as screen educators, urgently need to give validity to other forms of content. As a teacher, for me this means radical adjustments to the skills our students leave with. For example, delivering short form content often means working in seconds rather than minutes; means rethinking formats and composition; and means innovative new forms of storytelling. They are also stories that need to be told to deadlines. Typical exercises at MetFilm School include making one-minute videos in a short space of time to a client brief, to reflect the fast-paced nature of online and commercial filmmaking, where you often have to come up with a creative and practical solution to a brief with very little time, and execute ideas with skill that responds to a client as much as personal needs. As a marker, this means a significant redesign of success criteria. Of course, artistry is vital, but less and less are we interested in courses and marking schemes that are measured by disciplinary skills alone (directing, cinematography, screenwriting), but also in terms of traits that are shared by successful content makers: entrepreneurship, audience engagement, impact, innovation. What we are interested in is not just the finished product but the thinking, cleverness and audience awareness behind the creative decisions. Steve Pinhay, Head of Screen Enterprise, MetFilm School
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RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INDUSTRY Get Involved
It is absolutely clear that film schools need to be positioned at the centre of our dynamic screen industry sector, rather than at its edges. There is a huge opportunity for industry here. We would encourage all employers in the industry to consider working more closely with the leading film schools, to help develop the talent of tomorrow through guest speaker opportunities, shared facilities, industry immersion, as well as professional tutoring and mentoring.
By something as simple as involving students in their own business projects, film schools can provide a ready-stream of enthused and passionate students, who, in their turn, will be able to contribute fresh ideas and a new perspective for the employer. Building bridges and new partnerships with film schools is the smart way forward.
FOR EDUCATORS
Focus on Employability and Creative Excellence We believe all educators within the industry should focus more than ever on their students’ employability alongside their creative excellence. This is something that students not only need, but more and more expect to see as part of their experience at film school. This includes educating students about new platforms, formats, encouraging thinking beyond traditional filmmaking roles and developing skills such as entrepreneurship, audience engagement and innovative thinking. Helping them to develop flexibility to become the Smart Screen Creatives of the future.
Staff within film schools, therefore, need to provide advice to students on understanding the industry, networking, budget management, the politics of organisations and the ins and outs of delivering to briefs. It is here that students need guidance that goes beyond the traditional film set. Tutors need to embrace and delineate opportunities and skillsets that will turn the aspiring creative into someone who is genuinely smart. Film schools need to crash through the snobbery that privileges one form of screen content over others. They need to embrace the now and next, as much as the heritage and practices of the past.
FOR STUDENTS Expand your horizons
Explore all the opportunities available, including online, television and commercials, as well as film. To succeed as professional creatives, young screen creatives will need to find the balance between fulfilling individual creative ambitions on the one hand, and gaining professional experience on the other.
Gaining experience, whether that is a short video project, or a commercial for a charity, helps to build your professional network of contacts, expand your portfolio, and provides invaluable exposure to how the industry really works. Embrace the future!
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