Four film and media students were thrilled to be offered a work experience placement on a film set for an independent short film, ‘Wolves Gone Hunting’. 

Kieran Black, Laura McDonald, Patrick Fijalkowski and Callum Jones were tasked with a range of jobs whilst on set, giving them experience in all aspects of film-making. They began working as Grips, setting up the camera stabilisation equipment for the Director of Photography. They learnt to set up and use industry standard equipment such as large jibs, camera tracks, gimbals and various lighting equipment.

They went on to work directly with the Head of Lighting, known as the Gaffer.  This involved positioning the lights for each scene enabling them to show their creative side when discussing how the scenes were lit.  They worked with the Director of Photography as camera assistants, looking at the focus pulling and peaking levels through the external recorder, which gave them a technical insight into the work of a cinematographers.  Students also had a go at using the infamous slate at the beginning of each scene, which although relatively easy, is a really important task as it organises the footage for when the editing takes place.  

Ex-student Junior Day organised the work experience for the students and commented on how crucial it is to gain work experience in this industry.  “I was keen to get College students involved in my project as I know how difficult it can be to obtain work experience placements in the media and film industry. Any experience is invaluable to someone who wants to pursue a career in film.  It is imperative you learn about the whole process, on a short film or an independent film, seeing how a film set is run and the procedures that take place is essential.  Setting up a scene, shooting it, the equipment needed and how to use it is something not easily learnt in the classroom.

There is also a fantastic opportunity to meet lots of people on sets and find your way into the industry by networking.  Work experience can put you in touch with people who are on the lookout for talented, hardworking individuals.  When I was working on my first independent short film, I met the location manager for a popular Netflix series ‘Stranger Things’ who has now invited me to work on a feature length war film.

It was fantastic working with the students and they did a brilliant job!”