Career in film and television

As a child we always get fascinated by the glamour and the fame that a television personality carries. All of us must have at least once fantasized about our appearance on the big screen. We always used to think; it must be such an amazing feeling, a fantastic experience, when thousands of people take you as their idol and dream model, when lacs of youngsters scream your name to catch one look of yours, when you become a point of attraction almost everywhere you go and many more dreamy feelings. Well all these dreams are easier to fulfill to now, with the courses and degrees available in the field of Films and Television in a large number of institutes across the country.

With the growing popularity and expansion in the film industry, more number of people are adopting various careers in the field of film and television. Looking at the increasing demand, many colleges have started providing educational degrees in this field. Professional courses form a part of the courses in film and television area. Also, feeling the need for skilled actors, photographers, directors and script writers, many production houses has associated themselves with the famous art and media institutes.

Though it all looks very flashy and exciting, a lot of hard work and mind boggling is involved for developing a career in the field of media. Struggle and patience are the keywords here; no one reaches the top at the blink of an eye, you need to be very tolerant and optimistic to achieve success. A student from very starting of his career can opt for mass communication courses and then applying for the specialized field in the same as a post graduation degree.

The various career opportunities that a mass communication student withholds are:

v     Journalism and media

v     Director

v     Editor- photo, movie, script or sound

v     Producer

v     Actor

v     Cinematographer

v     Videographer

v     Music composer

v     Lyricist

v     Visual mixer

v     Researcher

v     Script writer

v     Cameraman

v     Photographer

v     Radio/ Video Jockey

v     Public Relation officers

v     Marketing persons

v     Event planning

v     Radio production

A person with multi- tasking qualities is a must, as during the starting of his career, one has to deal with all the aspects of this career, whether its cinematography or direction, acting or script writing, you must carry the enthusiasm of learning all. Also, one has to be very creative and imaginative to work in this industry. Some of the colleges and institutes providing courses in Film and Television are:

v     Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi

v     Film and Television Institute of India, Pune

v     Asian Academy of Film and Television, Film City, Noida

v     A J Kidwai Mass Communication Research Centre, New Delhi

v     Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Kolkata

v     Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication, Pune

v     National Institute of Design, Ahemdabad

v     Film & Television Institute of Tamil Nadu, Chennai

v     Wigan & Leigh College

v     Xavier's Institute of Communications, Mumbai

Other than these, there are many other private and government colleges providing courses in the field of Film and Television. The admission criterion for the same differs according to the course and its level. Most of these courses have entrance examinations due to the less number of seats available. Also the infrastructure needed for a professional training in these courses is very necessary, due to the importance of practical training and the fact that theoretical sessions cannot make a student learn the technical aspects of the field. Training or internships under the professionals are a must, that makes you take the feel of the work culture and makes you aware of more ‘n’ number of opportunities in the same field, realizing the extensiveness of this career.