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Newport Film School

Newport, United Kingdom

Average Rating
★★★★
(11) Write a review

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School of Art, Media & Design
University of Wales
City Campus
Usk Way
Newport, Wales NP20 2BP
United Kingdom

Tel. + 44 1633 432432
Email. via the contact form
Web. www.newport.ac.uk/artmediadesign/newportfilmschool/Pages/film.aspx

Are foreign students accepted?
Yes

Courses Offered
Under Graduate Degree (Bachelors), Graduate Degree (Masters), Short Professional Courses

Majors/Specialisms
Animation, Directing (Fiction), Directing (Documentary), Cinematography (Film)

Camera Formats Used
MiniDV, Pro DV (DVCAM/DVCPRO), HDCAM/HDTV, 16mm

Post-Production Systems Used
Avid Xpress/DV, Avid (High End), Final Cut Pro

Average Age of Equipment
Less than 2 years


Reviews of Newport Film School

★★★★★
John Burgan Faculty Member, 01-Feb-2011
Newport Film School - the original name of the International Film School Wales - is now a full member of CILECT (Centre International de Liaison des Ecoles de Cinéma et de Télévision), one of only a handful in the UK and the only film school in Wales to receive this accolade. Practically this means direct access to partner film schools across the world, opening up new opportunities for student/staff exchange programmes and other forms of collaboration with schools in locations such as Australia, Canada, China and Germany. The Newport Film School, originally founded by John Grierson in the mid 1960's (see link below) has just moved into a brand new £35 million City Campus in the heart of Newport. http://www.newport.ac.uk/artmediadesign/newportfilmschool/Pages/History.aspx
★★★★★
laura Former Student, 26-Oct-2010
Documentary TV and Film at Newport international film school, has been one of the biggest highlights of my life to date, and im only 24.I have been into films and the whole film making process since i was very young, so to find a course that lets you explore your own talents in the wonderful setting of the welsh country is in my opinion, fantastic!! The course leaders became my family, supporting me every step of the way, encouraging film ideas,and giving insightful knowledge of their own experiences within the media industry. This is a course where real passion guides you, not something you learn/read in a book, you cant learn how to be a filmmaker, you have to have the ideas, the enthusiasm, the creative energy and then your given the freedom to express this into film with very supportive tutors. At the end of the degree like most things in life you have to go out there and get it, nothing just lands at your feet, so you have to put as much energy into getting your film noticed as you do with your actual film. If you do this then you can not fail. The documenttary film course and leaders give a big helpful shove in the right direction. Cheers guys!
★★★★★
Tara Former Student, 21-Oct-2010
The DFT course is absolutely amazing! Fantastic tutors, hands on practical work, lots of support, good contacts for jobs & future - I had an incredible few years! Would highly recommend to anyone! 'Documentaries' are never boring on this course.. very open to creative minds!! Lots of fun... basically loved it! : )
★★★★
Stephen Thomas Former Student, 20-Oct-2010
The documentary film & TV course at this school can be invaluable. I stress the word 'can' here, because like all good things, you have to put the work in to make it worthwhile. You're given the freedom to persue your own ideas and most valuable of all, you're given the chance to fail. Failure is the best way to learn and is a vital skill to master if you're to work in film outside of education.
★★★★
Rabea Former Student, 20-Oct-2010
I can only recommend the Documentary Film and Television Course of the International Film School Wales to anyone passionate to become a Filmmaker! A great course with excellent teachers- 3 years well spent!!
★★★★
oggitomic.com Former Student, 20-Oct-2010
Great course to meet people from all over the world and extend your knowledge in filmmaking taught by filmmakers/tutors who work within the industry.
★★★★★
Debs Former Student, 20-Oct-2010
I started in the 3d year Documentary Film and Television Course at the Univeristy of Wales, Newport. I came to this univeristy as an Erasmus-student from Belgium. After doing my first two years in Belgium, and not even being sure that making documentaries or films was what I really wanted to do, the DFT-course opened my eyes. I realised that making documentaries and films is just so much fun! I learned more in that one year about hard work, production and editing than I had learned in the years before. I found my passion again! Also, Welsh people (and Wales an sich) are amazing! I had the best year of my life in Wales and the DFT-course at the University of Wales, Newport. After graduating I immediately found a job teaching film-editing and photography in a school in Belgium and I am now starting my own production company. Go Wales!
★★★★
Daya Dodds Former Student, 20-Oct-2010
Hello I graduated in 2008 from the film school. It was great but it is what you make it. If you want to make films you really will. You have to be passionate about making films to make them! I did doc film and TV, I changed from film and video. The people that teach you are filmmakers there for real and will give you there time they do care. So to some it up, its in your hands. It will be as good as you want it to be you just need to make the films and have the ideas and the rest will happen, just do not think your going to be paid to direct straight out of Uni. Maybe one word of advice, try to work out what you want to do before you go in...camera, edit, produce e.g. Thank you Daya
★★★★
Documentary Filmmaker Current Student, 12-Apr-2009
Documentary Film course is probably the best one they've got at IFSW (University of Wales, Newport).
★★
☆☆☆
Toby Fletcher Former Student, 22-Mar-2006
May I start by saying this is a wonderful website and I wish I'd known about it sooner! I was in Co Tran's year too at the University of Wales, Newport and I can't help but agree with some of his comments. WE WERE left to our own devices when it came to organising & shooting our own films. Though I did have a lot of fun I can see (with hindsight) that we were no more than wannabes running around with DV cams. I too finished the course totally befuddled and exhausted as to where to go next - in terms of getting my foot in the door. I must admit I got to the 2nd year and kinda wasn't enjoying it, I made a complaint that all the assignments seemed the same - they just changed the title over the top. Each assignment just felt like going through the motions - get an idea, find the crew, find the actors, shoot, cut and hand in. Though of course this is standard procedure for filmmaking (i.e. pre production, production and post) there was no variation to what we were doing. Instead we spent three years making shorts (though the genres/styles of film did vary) and finally made a 10 min short as a grad piece. THE BEST PART of the course was being able to work with professional actors (though this was something we organised - without help of the uni). When you're learning more technical/industry advice off the actors you're working with rather than the lecturers - I guess that's when alarm bells should be ringing!! I wanted to go to Newport on the strength of Kirk Jones (director of WAKING NED DEVINE) I loved the film and thought if he had gone to Newport and come out doing WAKING NED then there must be something to it. I learnt more faster in 2 years doing my college BTEC in Media than I did at Newport (GULP!). THOUGH THIS IS SOMETHING I WISH I understood sooner & would leave as advice to anyone considering film school. There are 3 different types - your industry, your independent & your experimental. (Well dur! I hear you cry). YOU NEED TO CONSIDER CAREFULLY WHAT YOU WANT OUT OF A COURSE! (Easier said than done when you're an eager 18 yr old - like I was - I just wanted to GO - just eager to carry on filmmaking!). Something that the uni prospectus does not tell you - is that you'll be bullied into making SERIOUS ISSUE BASED FILMS. Films about illegal immigrants, the homeless and lesbians (I kid you not - if I wanted to do that I would've joined the documentary courses there are 4 of them!!). The uni's view is that film is a MESSAGE TOOL for the masses (have a view & ram it down people's throats!). I just wanted to make entertainment albeit with a brain. In hindsight I wish I'd gone for the National Film & TV School. I still can I guess - I've got the degree (an entry requirement). I DID LEARN exactly what its like to work in a team and get a film made. You do have to be commited to stand in the cold, deal with an awkward crew, keep a smile on your face and prey that people wont walk away! In hindsight I'd go for a specific technicial course. Rather than one that marks you on the strength of ideas (the uni's argument being that they are "creative" rather than "technical" coz they can't afford the technical staff in order to teach you cinematography etc). OH, you'll spend YOU'RE OWN MONEY making you're films too. In hindsight again we were a group of young cinema lovers/wannabe filmmakers who might as have just been meeting at weekends to make shorts considering the amount of support you got from the uni. In short the uni provided with just a base to meet. I have wonderful memories though I think I enjoyed the company of the people I met there more than what I gained from the course. I'd look elsehwhere - I'm none the wiser than when I left college!
☆☆☆☆
Co Tran Former Student, 21-Mar-2006
I don't know how to began to express my frustration with this school. I'm was disappointed with it and as it's been almost a year since my graduation and the school still manages to disappoint me. I was in University of Wales, Newport. I enrolled their Film&Video course, which was a three year undergraduate course. I'm from Finland, so I was a foreign student there. As I enrolled to the school I was immediately confused by the large number of the students. There were 80 students enrolled to the course and we were packed to a large room were hands-out were given. I felt like a cattle in there. Packed into a small van ready for slaughter. This feeling followed me through the whole course. As I’m a introverted person and it takes a while before I really can socialize with people I became even more introverted during my education years at UWC. I never bonded well with the lectures and never trusted them. When we worked on our first assignment and had our first tutorials, I was given good feedback and when I got the work back after marking I got D5, which is barely pass. This was the most confusing thing I ever experienced. I though I done a good job, since in tutorials everything was fine. Well, I learned something, don’t trust what the teachers says to you. As we began to make our first project and the group was formed, I expected support on organising the group, but that was left to the students themselves. I know this is a common practise, but it doesn’t mean it’s acceptable. We are students and it’s their duty to help the students how to organise them to a functioning group as this is what separates us from the professionals. Of course later when I mentioned about this they said they the lectures were available for that, but considering there were only one tutor for 15 groups, somehow they weren’t available. I’m not here to complain about any of the lecturers as they were overworked, and possibly underpaid, but as I mentioned before I never bonded with them or trusted any of them and that never got a chance to be corrected. Everyone is always interested how well are the school facilities are and how well are the equipments. The school had some, but I would never call it good. But that doesn’t matter, since there wasn’t really anyone who really could help you with them. We had workshops, but something like introductory how to operate DV camera and don’t use the zoom since it’s not natural. All these things you could easily learn from one day film course. And when you needed help, with the equipments or any other technical stuff, forget it. There were only three technicians for the entire course. How many they really can help, when everyone is there asking for advise. But I stayed at the school after first year, even tough I though of leaving. We made a complain and wrote a letter about it. One of us even went to see the board, whom were shocked about it, because they didn’t expect students would do so. So they promised to make changes according our demand, but it was an empty promise. The course continued to go on as the same. My disappointments grew and my confusion grew even bigger. As I never experienced such thing as after tutorial your mark goes down. I never heard such. In tutorials they would say I will get C10 if I return the assignment as such, so of course I wanted to improve my job and made changes to the assignment according the advice and feedback I got from the tutor, but then it was marked C9. How amazing is that? OK, I’m dumb as a mule and twice as ugly, but isn’t the tutor there to help me improve my work and help me to over come my stupidity? And it wasn’t something that happened only once. I really don’t know what they were teaching us. I gave them feedback after every semester and expressed my dissatisfaction about the course. This continued until the course was basically over. Nobody came out to face me and have good talk with me, to express their concern about a dissatisfied student and what could they do to help him. Well, since I felt the whole course was a shamble it was something I expected. They were ignoring me and hoping the problem will disappear by itself, I though. But they did something, they had a survey company to call me and ask what they could do to improve the course. And that was pointed out well; they specifically wanted them to ask me that. It was so outrages, I was so mad. Only a coward would do such a thing. Like a heartless corporation hiring somebody to fire people. I felt like I wasn’t in a University anymore. I was afraid. It took me over two months to find a tutor for my dissertation, who was busy all the time. I was afraid I would pass and had to enrol to the school again. I did pass, but then again I was worried about my future profession wise. Within these three years I didn’t felt I learned enough to survive the real world. The school did not give me enough knowledge to jump into the professional world. What would I do in the future? I got ill for that and I’m still seeing a therapist for it. Now I’m graduated and I though I could forget the whole school and let it go, but then this happen. I haven’t received my bond back from my landlady. A private house I rented with some friends, the is listed by the University’s accommodation office. I have tried to contact the landlady and have her return my bond, but there is no respond. So I asked the University to help me to get my bond back. After a month they replied to my e-mail, the landlady’s phone number was on it and they told me to contact her. What can I do now? This is not the first time I haven’t received my bond back. First time when I was on the second year the landlord also didn’t return my bond. Well they were kind enough to contact him and I got it back. Of course I was still studying there, they had to help me, but now I think it doesn’t matter anymore. Well, now I don’t want the bond money anymore as long as I don’t have be in contact with the school I’m ready to lose the money. They all can go to hell and I can keep my sanity. For me the school was from hell and don’t want to get back there. I regret going there, but can only blame own stupidity and now the prise is paid. Anybody thinking of going there think twice. P.S I don’t regret going to a film school, since I felt it was necessary for me and I did manage to learn something during my three years there, but that’s due to other students and people I managed to know and work with. I salute them here.

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Guide to Film School Ratings

★★★★★

Awesome - this school rocks!

★★★★

Good - worth the effort.

★★★
☆☆

Adequate - you'll learn something useful.

★★
☆☆☆

Poor - but beggars can't be choosers.

☆☆☆☆

Dire - don't waste your time!

☆☆☆☆☆

Unrated - the jury is still out

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