Enhance Your Creative and Technical Skills with Broadcast and Film Training

It’s quiet on the set, the actors are in place, the cameras are rolling and you’re right in the thicket of the excitement, either behind the camera or in another role. This type of exciting moment can be yours everyday in the field of broadcasting and film. The roles of this extensive industry vary, but you only need one program to be prepared for all of them.

Centennial College in Toronto, offers its Broadcasting and Film program to those who want to learn both the creative and technical skills they’ll need to make a career in film, television and radio. In the program, students are placed directly in the action with the school’s unique HDTV broadcasting studios where they get a feel for being behind the camera as well as in front of it. The practical experience of the in-house studio also allows students to develop a balance between artistic and commercial aspects of the industry. They also participate in student films and TV as well as a student-produced news magazine TV show that airs live and online. All of these experiences prepare them for a 15-week industry field placement. During this placement students apply practice to real life situations at radio and TV stations, production houses and much more. But don’t take my word for it. Shannon Loftus is a Unit Assistant and a graduate of the Broadcasting and Film program. This is what she had to say: “…I learned what I liked and what I didn’t, and I gained the confidence and knowledge to follow my dreams for a career at CityTV. You can’t substitute the internship experience that Centennial offers.”

Before students apply for Broadcasting and Film, they should consider the prerequisites. Centennial College expects students to present at minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent or be 19 years of age or older. Students must also have completed compulsory English 12C or U, or a skills assessment, or equivalent. There are also important non-academic requirements for the Broadcasting and Film program, such as an admission session, writing test, English proficiency as well as a portfolio of work. The portfolio should demonstrate your skill and ability to tell a story using two of the following: videotape/ DVD, audiotape/ CD/ mini disc/ digital images/ photographic prints, scripted material in any format that was used. For more detailed information, check out the Film and Broadcasting Admission page.

Upon meeting the prerequisites and successfully completing training, graduates work in radio and TV stations, commercial sound and video production companies, corporate video houses and more. Their roles at these difference companies include writers, directors, producers, production crew and studio executives. Let’s take a look at three common paths that graduates pursue. The first is being a producer, which is the head role in broadcasting and film. He or she selects a screenplay and initiates the process of filmmaking. More specifically, an executive producer normally has a financial interest in the production. He or she oversees matters such as fundraising, hiring key personnel and arranging distribution. Below the producer is the film director, who is responsible for overseeing creative aspects of a film by turning the script into a sequence of shots. He or she develops the vision for a project and carries it out by approving camera angles, lens effects, lighting, and set design. The director also plays a key role in post-production, working with the editor to ensure the shots reflect his or her vision. Helping to carry out a director’s vision is the film crew, which is divided into art department, hair and makeup, wardrobe, camera, production sound, electrical, editorial, visual effects and information technology. Each of the departments is further broken down into even more specific roles for which students from Film and Broadcasting at Centennial are prepared.

- Article By Jason WhiteArticle Courtesy: Film & Broadcasting Education Program – http://www.centennialcollege.ca