We spoke to two young award-winning filmmakers about how to make it in the film industry

Amidst exams, revision, coursework, lectures and somehow maintaining a social life, trying to carve out a career in something creative can seem like a juggling act. It’s easy to feel in the dark about pursuing a career in the arts when there’s no set path, and the majority of careers advice out there is focused on suiting up and heading to the city.

But, fear not – careers in the creative industries on the rise and now is your chance to get ahead of the game. We went behind the scenes at Sundance Film Festival: London with Adobe and spoke to Aaron Dunleavy and Luna Carmoon – two UK filmmakers who are part of the Sundance Ignite Programme – to get their thoughts on how to get a head start in the film industry before graduating.

Adobe are also running a competition where you could get access to their full Creative Cloud, from video editing and to illustration software, free for a whole a year – all you need to do is sign up to their competition here.

Adobe’s Creative Cloud has all the tools you need to get started in filmmaking – click here to find out more

Aaron Dunleavy, UAL grad 

Aaron Dunleavy is a filmmaker from Blackburn. His debut student short ‘Throw Me to the Dogs’ won 10 awards on the festival circuit, screening at some of the most prestigious BAFTA® and Oscar® qualifying festivals around the world. Aaron’s films explore stories of working-class youth; using non-professional young actors and street-casting. He is currently making a follow-up series to his BBC Three documentary ‘Alfie, The Odd-Job Boy of Clitheroe’.

You can win full access to Creative Cloud for a year with Adobe – click here to enter

A still from Aaron’s film ‘Throw me to the Dogs’.

Was it difficult trying to build a creative portfolio whilst studying?

During uni, I was lucky enough to be able to travel back home and make two short films inspired by my childhood. It can be difficult juggling the two, but my time studying actually helped me find my style as a filmmaker whilst also giving me the space to make mistakes.

Being surrounded by like-minded people at uni was also a huge help. I relied on crowdfunding whilst at uni which gave me the chance to make as many films as possible without having to seek official funding elsewhere. 

Do you think it matters if you don’t have a degree in film or the arts?

Definitely not. Obviously, studying film at university was helpful as I came out with a lot of work I could use for a portfolio, but it’s not like you need a 2:1 or anything like that. You just have to have great work behind you.

You can win access to Adobe’s full package on their Creative Could for a year through their new competition – enter here

 

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Alfie #shortfilm #film #documentary #bbcthree

A post shared by Aaron Dunleavy (@aarondunleavy) on Aug 2, 2018 at 2:38pm PDT

How do you get recognised for your work?

The more stuff you create, the more your name will get out there and the more contacts you’ll make. Also, always ensure you’re easily contactable online – it’s surprising the number of people who have randomly reached out to me with career opportunities. You do, however, need to find a balance between making art for yourself and for commercial use. Everyone has to eat, but try not to compromise too much. If you can express a strong voice through your work, you’ll often find that the people who reach out for paid projects will respect your direction even more.

What advice would you give to students looking to get involved in the film industry?

Use your time at university wisely – it’s a lot harder to make your own work alongside a full-time job when you haven’t figured out what you want to do yet. Having that space set me up to continue filmmaking post-graduation and, luckily, make a living from it.

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 Adobe’s Creative Cloud has all you need to start building your film portfolio alongside uni – find out more here

Luna Carmoon

Luna Carmoon is a London-based filmmaker whose first short film ‘NOSEBLEED’ premiered at the BFI London Film Festival this year, as well as being selected to be part of the LFF Network programme. A self-taught writer-director, Luna was one of six filmmakers selected to make a film as part of the ShortFLIX initiative, which searches for underrepresented talent in the UK.

How did you become interested in film?

When I was at school, someone told me to watch Gregg Araki’s ‘Doom Generation’. At the time I’d never seen anything like that and I’ve been hooked on film ever since. I now watch about three films a day, and basically eat and sleep film. It’s my form of escapism, so it makes sense that I went into it.

Do you think it’s necessary to have a degree in film or the arts to make it in this industry?

I didn’t, and I’d say I’m doing okay. If you want something enough there’s no question that you can do it. People will invest in you if they can clearly see your passion for your work, and if you have something to say. The more you make and upload online, the better chance you have – this was one of the reasons I was picked for the second stage of ShortFLIX. I also used to check Creative England’s website for schemes to get on, which can be a great starting point. The BFI Network is also super useful as they can help you secure funding.

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A post shared by NOSEBLEED (@nosebleedfilm) on Feb 14, 2019 at 5:23am PST

What challenges have you faced so far?

I think dealing with critique has been quite difficult for me – especially when it’s coming from people that don’t have the same background.  A lot of my work is based around quite gritty, real-life events, so for people who don’t understand that it can be hard getting on board with it. If you have conviction though, no one can question you. You have to trust your intuition and gut if you want people to take your work seriously.

Is social media important for building a career in film?

I don’t think you necessarily need it – I know plenty of people who don’t use social media at all. But, for me, it’s really helped to use my social media as an archive, basically acting as a catalogue for the films I watch and images I love. Now, I often use this when applying for schemes so they can get a little glimpse into what I like visually and who I am.

Do you have a creative network around you? 

Although I didn’t come from an artsy family, everyone has always been really supportive – even down to the family friends who have let me film in their houses. I do have a creative network now, but when I didn’t, I’d go to workshops, meet people, go out alone to events and start chatting in real life. You don’t have to know people, you can build creative networks yourself.

Win a year’s membership to Creative Could, with Adobe’s full package of software here 

Enter their competition here and make the first step in your career in the film industry

Looking for more inspiration? See the coverage from Sundance Film Festival in London below, with advice from industry experts including Sophie Hyde (director of ‘Animals’), to see what it takes to stand out from the crowd.