Film portfolio

I’m applying to few Scotland based films courses at university this year (Napier, Edinburgh and possibly Sterling) and I’m still very stuck on what to make for the portfolio (I only need one short film of under 5 minutes) does any one have any advice for the best things to do or the best things to avoid when making a short film for university applications.
Thanks

Reply 1

WolvesRep1

Official Rep

Hi,

I'm glad to hear that you are looking into a film course, I studied film and tv production in Wolverhampton and it was amazing and extremely beneficial to the next step in my career.

For the portfolio it's important that you remember that they won't be looking for a perfectly polished film as you're going to University to study the skills you will need for that and would advertise not to get yourself caught up in that prospect.

What type of short filming are you leaning more towards? Documentary or narrative? Either styles have good ways of finding inspiration, and one place to start is the area around you, see what stories you can find by talking to people or even looking into your own experiences. Remember not all films have to be based off an event it can be based off an emotion, maybe an emotion based from an event and see how you can visualise that. Or take a question and make a documentary of asking people their interpretation/answer of that question this can give a really interesting look into people's viewpoints on certain topics.

Research is always a huge thing, watch other short films on YouTube from students, explore the genre's you like and why you like them and see if you can recreate!

Again, don't overwhelm yourself, and remember that they will not be expecting a polished short film, you're applying to the courses to get the skills to polish!

I hope this helps and good luck.

Kind regards,
Katie (Film Graduate)
University of Wolverhampton