Film Media Education

ABSTRACT Research from both academic and industry sources has repeatedly identified a mismatch between theory and practice in film and TV professionals’ education. A recent report for the British Film Institute has concluded that the skills provision for the industry is not fit for purpose. This investigation aims to reconcile the educational expectations of students, educators and employers and is based on 12 semi-structured interviews with British film-makers attending the Cannes Film Festival. The interviews trace their process of updating skills and know-how to meet the requirements of highly dynamic workflows and so provide a deeper understanding of the mental models underlying the film-making process. Preliminary findings lay the foundation for a grounded theory approach to a study of conceptual knowledge in film-making. Interview analysis establishes the core concept ‘learning by doing’ that gains meaning by deep integration with highly personal and diverse skills development strategies. The film-makers demonstrate how ‘doing’ is affected by previously watched films, by collaborator focused forms of ‘critical thinking’, based on constant communication with collaborators. These combined factors enable the production team’s increasingly shared vision of a film in preproduction. The findings are discussed in the context of established reflective practice concepts to enhance student employability.

This article outlines the rationale for and delivery of the pilot Filmmaker in Residence initiative at Falmouth University. The initiative led to the production of an award winning independent feature film made by a professional and student crew from both within and external to the university. By supporting students to learn through an industry based opportunity that took place within their educational setting rather than alongside it, the initiative sought to challenge a perceived practice/theory dichotomy by encouraging the students to engage with practitioners as educators and educators as practitioners. The initiative also sought to expose students to a different model of filmmaking than the high-end studio productions most familiar to them. The article explores the challenges and perceived successes of the initiative and draws on interviews with the students involved to explore their experiences. The article also outlines the key lessons learned, in particular the value of offering industry opportunities to students early on in their film education that can inform and support their own assessment, the culture of the learning environment and their employability post-graduation.

Research from both academic and industry sources has repeatedly identified a mismatch between theory and practice in film and TV professionals’ education. A recent report for the British Film Institute has concluded that the skills provision for the industry is not fit for purpose. This investigation aims to reconcile the educational expectations of students, educators and employers and is based on 12 semi-structured interviews with British film- makers attending the Cannes Film Festival. The interviews trace their process of updating skills and know-how to meet the requirements of highly dynamic workflows and so provide a deeper understanding of the mental models underlying the film- making process. Preliminary findings lay the foundation for a grounded theory approach to a study of conceptual knowledge in film-making. Interview analysis establishes the core concept ‘learning by doing’ that gains meaning by deep integration with highly personal and diverse skills development strate...