Film and photography : Your skills

Studying film and photography gives you a diverse range of skills including:

• the ability to initiate, develop and realise distinctive and creative work in various media, such as digital photography and audiovisual formats;
• the ability to work flexibly and independently with self-discipline and self-direction;
• communication, including interpersonal skills and the ability to present an argument;
• how to evaluate and reflect on your own work;
• teamwork, including listening, contributing and leadership;
• project management, including financial awareness;
• problem-solving;
• working to a deadline;
• entrepreneurship;
• research;
• technical skills, such as IT, media production, multimedia and web-based technologies.

Courses are likely to explore:

• visual representation;
• modes of communication through various channels;
• cultural and communicative activities that shape everyday social, political and psychological life;
• how identities are constructed and contested through engagement with culture;
• communication, representation and meaning within society;
• the economic issues that affect the creative and media industries;
• the construction of public and private culture and how people engage with it;
• access to and inclusion within the media;
• professional practice within the creative and media industries.

Courses also teach a blend of history, ideology, contemporary development and debate. Film and photography may be studied as part of a joint honours degree and students graduate with a wide and varied skills base, which they may apply in a variety of employment sectors.

Consider the skills developed on your course as well as through your other activities, such as paid work, volunteering, family responsibilities, sport, membership of societies, leadership roles, etc. Think about how these can be used as evidence of your skills and personal attributes. Then you can start to market and sell who you really are, identify what you may be lacking and consider how to improve your profile. Take a look at job application advice for some useful tips.