May 25, 2012

Metropolitan Film School

by MovieMaker Staff | Published February 12, 2007

London’s Metropolitan Film School (MFS) proves that a lot can be accomplished in three years. Since the school’s founding in 2003, the MFS has become the city’s leading provider of digital moviemaking courses. In this time, the school has gone from offering primarily short-term moviemaking seminars to longer, more intensive courses in writing, editing, directing and other skills essential to the film craft. The school’s flagship course, “From Story to Screen in Eight Weeks,” remains one of MFS’ most popular tracks. Over two months, students go through every step of the moviemaking process, culminating in the production of their very own short film.

MFS students do not need prior film experience to enroll in the school, but marketing director Jonathan Peake notes that â€œthe ideal MFS student already has a relatively realistic idea of where they would like their career within the film industry to take them. They would have had some experience working on creative projects in the past. But most importantly they bring to the course bags of enthusiasm, dedication and desire to learn from their mistakes.”

Most recently, the MFS announced the launch of a two-year BA program in Practical Filmmaking, which expands upon the schoolâ€™s current one-year program to provide students with experience in the development, production, marketing and distribution of a live feature film during their second year. â€œAll of our programs are highly practical,â€ continues Peake. â€œWe recognized early on that a traditional film degree with a large bias toward film theory is not going to help you find work in the industry. Our ethos when we launched was to inspire the next generation of independent filmmakers. This is as true today as it was three years ago.â€

For more information on MFS, visit www.metfilmschool.co.uk

Sound Off: Do you think that the age of theory-based film school has passed? Is there still a need to study moviemaking from a more intellectual perspective? Weigh in by posting in the comments section!