Filmmakers develop directing skills with industry professionals

Filmmaking students have been working with a professional director and actors as they develop their directing skills.

Experienced film director and actor trainer Darren Gordon spent a week with third-year students on the optional Directing module. Over the five days they explored the development and delivery of creative work from the role of a director.

We spoke to Darren about the sessions.

What have you been doing in these sessions?
We start the week by preparing students to work with professional actors. We focus on helping them clearly articulate their vision and select the right material. Towards the end of day three, we bring the actors in and begin filming for two days, followed by detailed feedback sessions with the students.

Image: Darren Gordon

How have you found the students?
Brilliant. They’re positive, eager to learn, humble, attentive, ambitious and incredibly welcoming. That’s one of the things I love about LIPA - everyone makes you feel at home, from security to the canteen staff.

If students take just one thing from these sessions, what do you hope it would be?
I hope they learn to be themselves in their work. In the creative industries especially, it’s so important to celebrate who you are and bring that into what you create. I hope they leave feeling confident enough to do exactly that.

Find out more about our Filmmaking & Creative Technologies course

Photography: Brian Roberts