4.5 – Describe areas for development in your current knowledge and understanding of skills

What is your current knowledge and understanding of film?

Before coming to BFI Film Academy, I believe I had a decent knowledge of film from a spectator perspective as a result of watching a wide variety of films and becoming accustomed to looking at it from an analytical point as a result of the techniques I've been taught in my Media Studies AS level. I try to look at how a director is expressing his ideas through various film techniques such as lighting, camera angles, mise-en-scene and use of colour as well as dialogue. I also try to write reviews of the films I see regularly, in order to keep me looking at film critically.

Prior to the Academy, I had a very limited practical knowledge and understanding of working on and making a film production as I had only previously helped make short films using just a DSLR camera and actors. From working on this project, I have gained a much wider knowledge of all the fields that come together to create a film and the process in which they come together, such as filming, script-writing, production design and sound effects. I've also learned the mass variety of styles of animation and live-action which can be blended together to create some very unique and interesting filmmaking. Along with this, I have learned of various time constraints that come with making a film and how organised, safe and hard-working you have to be in order to work on a film production effectively.

What skills do you have?

My main skills were in scriptwriting, as I had previous experience from writing scripts in my own time and for coursework in the past, which spurred me on to work with the script team on this project. I also had some knowledge of using editing software - specifically Adobe Premiere Pro - from using it when working on short films and coursework pieces outside of the Academy, as well as basic skills with operating a DSLR camera, such as using shallow focusing as well a decent idea of how to construct a shot. This knowledge was increased upon greatly from working with my peers and tutors at the BFI Film Academy.

How would you like you develop your knowledge and skills? Give reasons.

I would like to develop my skills in screenwriting in the future, gaining a greater skill in constructing stories and narratives which I can utilise in my future to try and get working in the film industry.
I would also love to develop my knowledge and skills in filming live action, by trying other more experimental techniques and styles in order to make my future work more unique and interesting. As a natural extension of this, I am interested in developing my knowledge of post-production editing software such as After Effects as this can open up your filmmaking to a wider variety of capabilities I didn't know was capable as an amateur filmmaker.