“If you take some words at random and put them together, it becomes gibberish, and everyone who knows the meaning of words knows it as such. But if you take unrelated moving images and string them together, there will always be some people who will hold that the resultant strip of celluloid aims at some profundity.” – Satyajit Ray on Cinema
When it comes to career in film, India has witnessed the height of it in Ray. The Oscar Award Winning film maker has established how film making can be an ultimate career choice, which brings money, fame and international awards.
Film-making is a complex process and involves multiple elements including storytelling, direction, screenplay, cinematography, acting, funds and locations for shooting. Film-making is often confused with direction; film-makers are more than director as they are deeply involved most aspects of the film including direction.
The journey of making films is arduous and demands an immense amount of passion and creative energy, to withstand the rigor.
If ‘light camera action!’ are the magic words for you and you have an inherent fervour for storytelling, a career in film-making is just the right thing for you.
Scope of Film-Making in India
The Indian film and television industries contributed $8.1 billion (50 billion rupees) to the country’s economy, representing 0.5 percent of the country’s GDP in 2013, according to a report from financial services firm Deloitte and the Indian office of the Motion Picture Association (MPA). Hollywood and international films generated net box office revenues of $77 million in 2013 — Indian films hit $1.23 billion — reflecting a niche 8 percent market share. Within Indian film revenues, Hindi cinema dominated the box office, grossing $565 million with the cumulative total of all other regional-language films, pulling in $665 million.
Another report by Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India shows Bollywood is valued at more than $2.28 billion. The tremendous growth of the film industry, both at home and in global markets, has created an unprecedented demand for qualified and professional film-makers.
Production houses like Dharma Productions, Balaji Motion Pictures, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, Annapurna Films, Fox Star Studios are some of the renowned companies one can make a career with, provided they have the right kind of qualification and training.
Film-makers now are also much in demand in other domains as audio-visual medium is fast emerging as the most popular and effective mode of communication. Vloggers all over the world are riding the wave of this new demand. Documentation is another area with demand for film makers. Besides, one can also work in fields like social service, freelancing, entrepreneurship, video content development, advertising agencies and marketing firms.
Where to Study film-making?
Some Courses for Drama
1. Film & Television Institute of India Pune: Graduation & Post Graduation
2. National school of Drama Delhi: Graduation & Post Graduation
3. Barry John Acting School Delhi & Bombay: Certificate & Diploma
4. Whistling Woods International Mumbai: Diploma & Graduation
5. Asian Academy of Film & Television Noida: Certificate, UG & PG
6. Roshan Taneja School of Acting Mumbai: Under Graduate
Some Courses for Production, Direction and Management
1. R Sace Mumbai. Bachelor’s Degree in Film Production & Management –
2. Mindscreen Film Institute, Chennai Six months course in Cinematography
3. Digital Academy Mumbai 10 months course in Cinematography –
4. Digital Academy Mumbai. Six months course in Film-making
5. Center for Research in Art of Film and Television (CRAFT), Delhi: 1-year course in Film Direction
6. Whistling Woods International, Mumbai: (3 Year) – Bachelor’s Filmmaking & 2-year Diploma Filmmaking
7. National Institute of Film & Fine Arts, Kolkata: Diploma in Film Direction (18 months / 24 months)
8. Digital Academy-The Film School, Mumbai: PG Diploma course in Film and TV Direction (2 years)
9. Asian Academy of Film and Television, Noida: 3-year B.Sc. Cinema + Diploma in Cinema (Specialization in Direction)
10. Zee Institute of Media Arts (ZIMA), Mumbai: Diploma / Bachelors /in Film Making
11. Matrikas Film School, Delhi: Diploma in Film-making (1 year)
Some Courses for Animation
1. Whistling Woods International school several undergraduate courses in media and animation.
2. Apeejay Institute of Design offers several undergraduate and graduate level courses for graphic designing, visual editing, and filmmaking.
3. Animator Academy high-quality career programs in fields of designing and animation.
4. Picasso Animation College diploma courses and certifications in game art & designing, Palpha VFX or advanced filmmaking
5. Zee Institute of Creative arts bachelor degree program, diploma courses, and certifications
6. Mayo Academy of advanced cinematic (MAAC) courses in animation, VFXFilmmakingng, and gaming.
7. Arena Animation courses offered in D & 3D animation
Last ten years witnessed a paradigm shift in the field of film-making as digital technology disrupted its 100 years’ history. The advent of digital media has made film-making much more intriguing, inexpensive and easy to learn. Tech trends and innovations are shaping the film-making industry in a new avatar!
We at the threshold of a transition! Gen next cinema is further dismantling the age old ideas as millenials are coming up with path breaking ideas! Anyone with a creative mind and digital acumen can now experiment with film making. Go grab your share of pie!