Description
ESRA International offers a state recognized International Filmmaking Bachelor program in Paris and the Côte d’Azur composed of lectures, workshops, short film projects and professional internships.
The Bachelor program offers students a chance to perfect their skills as they prepare to enter the professional world of film and television, students must choose a major for the third year, in one of five branches: Directing for Fiction, Directing for TV , Cinematography, Editing / Visual Effects, and Production. The program is entirely taught in English for three years.
LECTURES
The main goal of lecture classes is to provide students with a solid understanding of narrative storytelling, technical notions, and film production. Students gain essential knowledge about audio-visual production and the technical aspects of photography, video, and sound. They also study the history of cinema and analyse films to develop their critical sense, and better understand the dynamics of ‘mise en scène’ and stage directing.
WORKSHOPS
The goal of workshops is to develop students’ ‘hands-on’ practical filmmaking skills. There is a variety of workshops: from technical photography, camera operating, lighting, and sound recording, to writing, video editing, sound editing, color editing, and directing actors. Depending on students’ orientations, specialized technical workshops, such as steadicam use or advanced editing, are offered the third year of study.
STUDENT PROJECTS
Student projects are essential to the putting into practice of what is learned in lectures and workshops. Students work in pairs and groups on various types of audio-visual and short film projects (fiction, documentary, advertising). While the first year’s projects can be important exercises, second and third year projects must show mastery and reach professional standards of production. Students can also borrow equipment to film their own extracurricular projects and can ask teachers for guidance and feedback.
INTERNSHIPS
Internships give students the opportunity to become familiar with the real-life working environment and constraints of professional life in the film, television, and media industry. As they perform tasks as an intern, they put into practice what they have learned, develop a better understanding of professional standards of production, and see how an audiovisual company is managed according to its specificity (development, production, television, fiction film, documentary, advertising, institutional movies, etc). Internships can help students with choosing a specific professional path and building a network of contacts. The internship is optional at the end of the first year. The second and third year, students are required to participate in 8 weeks of internship and to write internship reports in order to validate their ESRA certificate. Although students can be assisted in their search by receiving a letter of support from ESRA as well as information about CV and letter writing, it is the responsibility of students to search for internship opportunities and to apply.
The school has more than 8000 alumni working in the audiovisual industry and more than 3000 companies offering internships.