Lights, camera… career!

As much as a career in film making seems attractive, young aspirants should be well prepared for the risks

Apeksha Kaushik, TimesJobs.com Bureau

Films are an important media, not only for entertainment and information, but also for communication. As a job, film making encompasses an assortment of tasks, roles, skills and talent. It is an art and science, wherein a film maker is required to have a knack for technology and creativity.
To be or not to be…
Though, film making as a profession is highly lucrative, it is also extremely competitive and uncertain. Where there is scope and opportunities for everybody who has a desire to be a film maker, not everyone can become one. “To be a film maker one has to have an absolute love for the art and every aspect of filmmaking, be it story, music, art, acting or any other thing, which is part of a film. Believe in yourself and your choices search your soul to know if this is your calling. It requires a lot of mental and physical strength to put together a film,” said Abhishek Chauhan, Strategy, Creative Planning Head, Pixel Party, a Delhi based studio involved in TV Channel packaging, promo design, TVCs corporate and motion graphics.
Honing those skills…
Apart from being creative, imaginative and innovative, a film maker has to be ingenious. “The ability to get a film made with minimum resources either by begging, borrowing or even conning is the most essential thing. The independent filmmaker has to be resourceful, fast and driven,” articulated Neeraj Udhwani, bollywood script writer of films like ‘Dil toh baccha hai ji’ and the recently released ‘Mere dad ki maruti’.
“To be an independent filmmaker you must have the entrepreneurial spirit. Marketing, planning, finance, sales, distribution will all be a part of their daily job role. They should also cultivate a strong network, meet people and make the most of opportunities given,” added Chaitanya Chinchlikar, Vice-President – Business Development & Chief Technology Officer, Whistling Woods International.
Lending support…
Though educational qualifications are not deemed essential to be a successful film maker, it helps in better understanding of the fundamentals of film making, as a profession. “Educational qualification is not mandatory but it definitely helps you to understand concepts and various aspects of film making,” stated Nandini Hegde, who teaches film making at Jain Animation School. “It is best to take up a course that requires you to do internships as it helps you to test the waters before jumping into it,” she added.
Highlighting the importance of film schools, Chaitanya said that film school is as important to a filmmaker as going to medical school is for a doctor. “The key aspect of film education is to understand the craft, learn the techniques and enable yourself with the skills to create great pieces of audio-visual content and turn a profit while doing so,” he asserted.
Many aspirants leave their settled careers to pursue their dream of film making. However, there are opportunities, today, where a working professional can learn the basics of film making at their convenience. Corporate Online Institute of Professional Learning (COIPL) is one such institution which provides a platform to working professionals to study the nuances of film making at their comfort. “For professionals who are interested to make a career in film making, we offer online courses like audio engineering, graphic designing and publishing and multimedia and video,” divulged Rahul Walia, Founder & Director, COIPL. This also helps as a self-assessment tool in analyzing whether a career in film maker is right for them.
Light at the end of tunnel…
As much as a career in film making seems attractive there are risks. Young aspirants should be prepared to face the ground realities with dignity and endurance.
“Be prepared for heartbreaks at every stage. Be prepared to see your school mates or college mates earn more money, be more financially secure as compared to you. However, you will be waking up every morning looking forward to the day’s work and that’s what makes everything worthwhile,” sums up Neeraj on this encouraging note