Book part:

Why a formal training for TV and Filmmaking?

Training future producers of movies and TV is a very exclusive type of education, with a very high demand on entrance qualifications, and with a sophisticated and critical public interest, not only because the training of artists is a culturally sensitive and sometimes controversial topic, but also because it is a very expensive type of education. In spite of the high costs and prestige of those types of education, there seem to exist little formally described knowledge about what is considered a good education, effective training methods, norms and rules of teaching, supervision and assessment. Informal knowledge is most often situated and carried with the instructors and supervisors as embodied knowledge that unfolds in situations and contexts. The success or failure of the training is measured by the number of students who make their careers in the entertainment industry after graduation. There seems to be a considerable lack of descriptions and analysis of what it takes to develop the talent of students, and the “hows” and “whys” of alternative methods, strategies and processes. The research literature on the subject is moderate and rarely put forward as prescriptive or suggestive for improvements. The main focus of this article is to identify the trends that influence the construction of film schools and their curricula and to elicit explicit reflections and discussions concerning the intentions and basic values underpinning film schools. Based on historical perspectives we have found it interesting to differentiate between educational institutions and relate them to three separate positions or approaches in a curriculum triangle: the arts, the profession and the academy as nodes.