Thread: Video user courses

Hi to all.

I am new on the fourm and am looking to do a video user course.

I just finnished a 24 week part time course and now want to learn more about the trade.


Anybody got any ideas where I can find a part time course,I have tried the local collages but got no lucK.

Thanks

I'm sure someone will be along any moment to tell you...

IMHO many courses out there are of dubious merit or use.

What exactly do you want to learn ? If you want to work in the industry a media or film degree is a good place to start.

Teaching yourself by doing and doing and doing along with your own study is very productive - and cheap.

Noiw lets wait for the obligatory spammy response from a so called film school - lols.....

What do I want to learn???

EVERYTHING!!!lol

I dont want to pick up bad habits and learn the tricks of the trade so to speak.


I would not have the time to do a full time course as I am working full time already.

You want to learn everything? Can you free up the next 30 years of your life, one of the long term 'residents' of this forum Mr Guru has spent many many years doing this and I'm sure he will be along shortly saying the same thing. There are no overnight successes here or read a few books and that's it. It takes time, commitment, determination and a lot of bollocking from your peers. But if you are prepared to stick at it and be able to take advice on the chin then who knows what might happen.

Thanks NikoSony (Or Canonsonic as he used to be known before his op).

Part-time courses... not something I can recommend. If you really want to learn everything, then the NFTS at Beaconsfield is the only place to go and it does produce exceedingly good graduates. Not only brilliant cameramen but also wonderful people who are great in bed as well. (You get the subliminal message I hope).

I started in 1977 as an assistant at Pinewood Studios, not getting the chance to go to film school until I was in my twenties (there was no such thing as a student loan back then) and, thirty plus years on I still learn something new on every shoot. I have learnt on this forum. When it comes to professional videomaking, Nikosony, Zero, Mr Mills, Turnmedia, etc. etc. etc. all have experience in their fields which they are willing to pass on.

I would suggest deciding what you want to aim for. If you want to work in broadcast, then you have to bite the bullet, go on a short-course at the NFTS, learn how to be an assistant camera/location sound recordist then find a cameraman who's willing to take you on. Then you watch what he does and learn... If you want to be a wedding videographer, then you need to watch a few experienced videographers, probably work for a while as an assistant, then go out on your own doing a couple of freebies at first. If you want to work in adult videomaking... you get the idea. Assist, watch and learn.

If you want to keep it as a hobby (and I have more respect for a keen enthusiast than I have for sloppy professionals) join a camera club and get involved in their projects. Don't look down on amateurs, you need to be a keen amateur before you can even consider becoming a decent professional. If you don't eat, sleep, breathe and fart images, you're better off looking for another career. Bear in mind that once you start having to earn money with images, a lot of the fun disappears and it becomes hard work.

If you want to be a guerilla film-maker then do what Mark W does... go out each day and film something (just don't get silly haircuts like him). In fact, you should be out there filming anyway.

There is no easy way. Like any craft or skill, it takes time to get the basics and a lifetime to learn the finer points. Whatever you decide, I recommend reading "Digital Cinematography" by Paul Wheeler, who taught me so much about everything from exposure to composition, but most importantly taught me that there's nothing to be ashamed of in being keen to learn, even when you're older. Even now, when I visit mates on other shoots, one eye is on them but the other is on their work, looking for ideas to nick!

As for part-time courses, look at the people who are running them and only join courses where you respect the tutor and he has a decent CV in the fields you're interested in. There are a lot of people out there who have set themselves up as "instructors" who haven't actually done the job properly themselves.

Whatever you decide... Good luck and I hope you enjoy it.