training & development

training & development

There are thousands of courses and funding opportunities available to help you acquire the skills to make your film.




film training courses
Courses in filmmaking range from four-year degrees to one-to-two day workshops. They can be as broad as Media Production or as specific as Romantic Comedy, or the Sony PD150 Digital Camera. You may also be eligible to receive some financial support towards a training course. (see later in this section and ask the course providers themselves).

One of the most comprehensive sites for finding out about the various media courses on offer is: www.bfi.org.uk/education/...

This website has been put together by Skillset (the Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries, which is jointly funded by industry and government) and by the BFI (British Film Institute). This directory lists over 4,500 courses in film, television, video, radio and web authoring that are running across the UK. It is regularly updated and checked for accuracy and you can search or browse the directory to find the course that is right for you.

Another useful resource, from a slightly different angle, is the Media Desk website: www.mediadesk.co.uk

In its training section, Media Desk presents a full list of pan-European training courses, sorted by deadline or course focus. By clicking on a course name, users can access a full breakdown of what each course contains, as well as contact details, links to the website, course costs and information on filmmakers who have attended in the past.

As well as these national websites, you are also able to cross-reference these databases with training offered via your regional screen agency. Each local screen agency has training as an objective and will be able to offer information and advice from a local perspective.


online courses
A number of the courses on offer, particularly the pan-European and New Technology courses, have an online learning element. This means that, in addition to residential workshops, there are ‘e-learning’ options that run via the Internet. So you can be based anywhere and simply go online to participate in a workshop. The Media Desk website identifies whether the courses on offer have an online element, but you could also try: www.bbctraining.com/...


bursaries and funding opportunities
There are lots of training bursaries available to help individuals meet the costs of certain media courses on offer.

Nationally, there is support available through Skillset’s Film Skills Fund: www.skillset.org/...

This prioritises particular areas of the industry like Business or New Media, and offers financial support for courses in these areas.

Locally, a filmmaker may be eligible to apply for financial assistance for training courses via their regional screen agency, see right-hand links.