BFI Film Academy Diary, Week One

What did you do?

Firstly we got to meet industry expert, Paul Fraser who told us about his experience of being a script writer, as well as giving us industry advice. While working with Paul, I was involved in a group script writing task where we were all passing round our scripts that we had written, and advancing the plot. This task was very valuable for myself, as I learnt the importance of the plot of the film and how character development can affect this. After this task, we were able to ask Paul questions, which gave us the opportunity to learn more about script writing and working in the industry.

After being able to meet Paul Fraser we had the opportunity of meeting Caroline Cooper Charles who explained what it was like being a producer and also explained the entire process of making a film. This class was very eye opening for myself, as I was able to learn the high scale team that was involved in making a film. We again were able to ask Caroline Cooper Charles questions and she shared her experience in working in the industry.

Our final master class or the day was with Rebecca Mark-Lawson, who taught us all about script writing and gave us advice on how to make a good script, including the layout of a good script. While working with Rebecca we watched an award winning short film called 2:20 and compared it to the original script, showing how this can dramatically change. Finally we got into a mini groups and started thinking of our own ideas for our script, for our own short films with Rebecca’s help.

What have you learnt?

This week I have been able to understand more about the process of making a film and the different stages involved. As well as learning about the different stages I was able to learn about the different people involved and how they contribute to the film. Before this week, I did not properly understand the role of the producer and why they are such an important part of the making of a film. I learnt that they are responsible for the legal side of film making, employing the cast and crew, advertising and financing and planning the budget. Learning this has been very eye opening.

Another area of film that I was able to learn more about was script writing. I was able to learn how to layout a script and the importance of this. I also learnt that each page of a script should we one minute of screen time, and that a script for a feature film could take up to three years to create. All of this information I feel is very valuable.

How have you worked with others?

Part of the task this week involved myself getting together with our mini teams, where we talked about potential ideas for our short film. I believe i worked well with my team in this task because as well as myself contributing potential ideas, I listened to those of my team and also expanded on them. I believe that I had the correct balance of being supportive, as well as being critical, which I think is important.

What do you need to develop?

Although this week we were able to learn about the entire process of film making, I believe I still need to further my knowledge into more detail as due to time limitations, this master class was quite brief. I believe that the best way to further my knowledge is by speaking to the industry experts in the future weeks, asking them important questions.