How to prepare for your course

Blog Article

We often get asked how students can prepare for their course, so help keep you busy over summer, our Course Directors have put together a list of activities you can do to get ready for September.

Photography

Course Director: Joe Miles

It’s an exciting time to be studying photography because, as we are sure you’re aware, there is a huge demand for people who can create compelling content and tell interesting stories. The primary focus of all our students is to make work that differentiates them and that demonstrates their technical and creative abilities. 

Some things for you to watch

For anyone joining the course we recommend that you watch some of the following, mostly, short videos:

VisCom home CRM blog_photography

These are a couple of our core course textbooks and you could purchase these, but as soon as you enrol and get your BCU ID you can access them for free through our library.

  •        Photography the Key Concepts by David Bate. 
  •        Ways of Seeing by John Berger. The TV series this was based on is linked in the previous section.

Something for you to do

When we take photographs we are often asked to tell a complex story with only one image. Obvious examples of this are movie posters, which may convey a montage of different scenes or just show one significant scene expressing something of the content of the movie.

Taking movies as your inspiration, make a photograph that could be used in a poster, which attempts to tell a story of your choice. You can use any story, either one you have read or one you have made up, as your start point. The story you choose does not have to be true. You can use any stylistic approach you wish and you can also add text to the image if it helps give it context.

VisCom home CRM Photography 2It would be great to see what you make, so if you’re planning on joining us in September, please feel free to bring the image with you on a memory stick or as a print to show us.

You can also keep up to date on the latest happenings from the course by following us on Instagram.

Filmmaking / Film and Screenwriting

As a Film student you will develop your awareness of key filmmaking / film and screenwriting debates, production practices and industry conventions. You could use this period of lockdown to channel your creativity and document your thoughts, feelings and experiences in response to the virus to make a short film, or mini script.

One institution you’ll get to know more of is the British Film Institute (BFI). The BFI National Archive holds the UK’s collection of film, television and moving image and they’re currently on the hunt for examples of online video that capture the national response and experience of coronavirus, to preserve for posterity.

If you do produce something and would like to share it, why not post it online on YouTube, Facebook or TikTok and submit it to the BFI’s Britain on Lockdown archive.

You could also take some time to familiarise yourself with what’s going on in the film industry at present and get some cinematography tips by checking out websites such as:

Visual Effects

Course Director: Lianne Forbes

It is an exciting time to be studying visual effects as more content than ever is produced with TV streaming shows having bigger budgets alongside more big blockbuster films from Hollywood being created. There is a huge demand within Film, Animation and Games for artists to create amazing visuals. The primary focus of all our students is to make work that differentiates them and that demonstrates their technical and creative abilities.

Some things for you to watch

For anyone joining the course we recommend that you watch some of the following, mostly, short videos:

  • Getting started with Maya.
  • Getting started with Nuke

(Both software packages have free educational licences)

Some books for you to read

These are a couple of our core course textbooks and you could purchase these, but as soon as you enrol and get your BCU ID you can access them for free through our library.

  • The VES Handbook of Visual Effects – Jeffrey Okun and Susan Zwerman (2020)
  • The VES Handbook of Virtual Production – Susan Zwerman and Jeffrey Okun (2023)
  • The Core Skills of VFX – Student Primer + Repository – Walker Saint John (2017)
  • Masters of FX – Ian Failes (2015)
  • Compositing Visual Effects – Steve Wright (2011)
  • The Basics of Filmmaking – Blain Brown (2020)
  • The Five C’s of Cinematography – Joseph V Mascelli (1998)
  • Digital Compositing for Film and Video – Steve Wright (2017)
  • Light for Visual Artists – Richard Yot (2019)

 Something for you to do

Students should also get familiar with the non-profit organisation of AccessVFX, they are partnered with industry and attend events all over the country. They have a blog, podcasts and are big into supporting and helping students including having a mentor scheme. This is the main site: https://www.accessvfx.org/ the students should follow them on social media to find out about latest updates/events etc.

You should also be observing the world around you. VFX for film has a key element of realism and integration into real-world footage so understanding how the world looks and works is really vital. You can record this process/journey using what media suits you although photography is still one of the best mediums for it.

Digital Animation

Course Director: Shaun Magher

To prepare for the Digital Animation course, we advise that you start an observational sketchbook, It’s a fantastic way to develop your foundation skills that will underpin your Animation, whether in 2D or 3D. Observing from real life (in a sketchbook) is a great way to underpin your imaginative practice with strong core skills. Understanding a character’s weight distribution, pose and proportions are vital when planning the creation of characters performance. Do try and practice gesture drawing as often as you can.

Something for you to do

Also, sketching anything from life, not just the human/creature structures, such as buildings, trees, cars, etc, will help you decipher what you are looking at. Research how things work. How they move. Visual research is vital to become a professional Animator. 

Some Websites to visit

There are some excellent online resources that you can access for free, that will help. Proko is an excellent resource (No need to subscribe, as there are lots of their resources online – YouTube, etc for free), Proko outlines gesture practice and it’s what we promote early on within our Digital Animation course.

Another resource, which is entirely free is https://line-of-action.com again, you have the options here to define what you would like to capture with quick gesture studies, or full anatomy practice also.

Do start looking at the Animation websites for valuable industry insights and interviews with leading Animation studios and Animators such as:

Digital Film Production

Course Director: Michael Bickerton

Now is a good time to study Digital Film Production. Not only are there new film production releases every week (and they need a crew to make these), but there is now a proliferation of high-end digital film productions everywhere we look. Those five second commercials at the start of a YouTube video, the latest Netflix streamed TV series, they all need digital film production crew to make it happen – and that’s where you come in…

Some things for you to watch

For anyone joining the digital film production course we recommend that you watch some of the following, short videos or YouTube channels as it will give you an idea of the type of things you’ll be studying:

Some books for you to read

These are a couple of our core course textbooks and you could purchase these, but as soon as you enrol and get your BCU ID you can access them for free through our library.

  • Introduction to Cinematography by Tania Hoser. 

  • The Art of the Cut by Steve Hullfish.

  • Producing Great Sound for Film and Video by Jay Rose

  • Motion Picture and Video Lighting by Blain Brown

Something for you to do

When we watch movies, we are drawn into the story by the acting. However, the other aspect of production also helps us to be immersed in the narrative.

Watch some of your favourite movies and try to determine how the tools listed below are enhancing the narrative. This could be by developing a mood for the scene or using a specific lens to get ‘that shot’. Use the list below to start analysing how the tools of digital film production are utilised.

Camera ~ Lenses ~ Lighting ~ Sound ~ Editing ~ Colour Grade.

Try taking some shots on your phone to see how this works. You might want to download the BlackMagic cinema App in order to see how the controls of a camera can be used to support the narrative. Practice your lighting with this online app. Get to know the ARRI Alexa Mini Menu by having a play with the online ARRI Alexa Mini simulator (one of the cameras you’ll be using on the course).

What should you do next?

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