‘Filmmaking is a hard thing to do’: reflections on student and lecturer experience of Falmouth University’s filmmaker in residence initiative

ABSTRACT

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.

KEYWORDS:

• Film
• filmmaking
• education
• theory
• practice
• film education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Neil Fox, a senior lecturer and course coordinator in Film. He writes on film education, focusing on film practice and university film teaching as well as podcasting and music documentaries. Recent publications include Knowing Sounds: Podcasting as Academic Practice (Journal of Media Practice 2016), We Made This Together: How Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That! Foresaw Changes in the Live Concert Experience Brought about by Digital Technology and Social Media (in The Arena Spectacle; Bloomsbury 2015) and is the co-editor of Podcasting – New Aural Cultures and Digital Media (Palgrave Macmillan 2018).

Notes

1 The trailer for the film can be viewed on Vimeo here.

2 The award-winning short film It’s Natural To Be Afraid can be viewed on Vimeo here.

3 Blogs documenting the writing of the Screenplay can be found on my website here.

4 The music playlist that was sent to students can be found on Spotify here.

5 The behind the scenes film created by students on ‘Wilderness’ can be viewed here.

6 The daily blogs written by students during the production of ‘Wilderness’ can be found here.