Film school in Camborne

5:43pm Monday 14th April 2008

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The observant will have noticed some strange activity around Cornwall College these past two weeks: students lugging around high tech equipment - video cameras, huge microphones and various props. And then the suspicious looking characters: young men dressed as old crones, people wearing strange hats, faces caked in circus make up.

You could be forgiven for assuming you had walked straight onto a film set and, what's more, you'd be right. For this is the third consecutive year of the Camborne college's success story that is Film School'.

The brainchild of Rory Mason, National Diploma Media course manager, and Denzil Monk, development director of Hi8us', Film School aims to take ND students out of their everyday learning environment and expose them to the realities and pressures of the film industry.

Rory said: "Denzil was working on my course teaching scriptwriting for two hours a week, but it was an incredibly dry way to deliver the scriptwriting process. The students would create amazing scripts but never see them through to final production. So, after much thought we decided to compress all the teaching hours into a two week intensive film making process."

Film School involves the students generating original ideas for a film script, devising all aspects of pre-production, shooting, editing and creating sound effects and music for a finished short film, all with guidance from director of photography John Crooks.

Alongside John is steadicam operator Morgan Lowndes who allowed students to benefit from using his £15,000 camera.

The students then produce a marketing package and pitch the whole project to an X Factor style judging panel of industry experts, including Mike Cunliffe, development director of SevenStones Media, and Pippa Best, director of Cornwall Film. The finished film is then premiered in mid-November at the internationally recognised Cornwall Film Festival in Falmouth.

"The project creates a situation comparable to life in the industry," says Denzil Monk.

"The students work to a real deadline and gain valuable experience working with professionals."

Another professional who has willingly come on board is scriptwriter Jane Pugh. Jane's CV would be enough to impress the most imperious of students, having been Script Editor for the television hit Ballykissangel and winning an Oscar in 1995 for best student film Scarborough Ahoy!', which she produced.

"One thing I really like about working with students is that you get a lot of fresh ideas and a lot of input, and on a personal level I learnt something from that experience too," said Jane.

By the end of a hectic first day of Film School, the students have already voted on their favourite script from the group. This is not necessarily the best idea, but is the most achievable and realistic given the time limitations.

To issue a taster, but not reveal too much, this year's chosen script follows the story of a man who is constantly down on his luck and has a fervent dislike for the elderly. He loses a winning lottery ticket, and so visits a fortune teller who tells him Coulson Rutter, 17, of Greenwood Crescent, Penryn added: "It was a great experience to really comprehend the complexities of making a film."

For more information on the Cornwall Film Festival 2008, where you can see Film School's film premiere for yourself, visit www.cornwall-film-festival.co.uk