Academics

Programme offered under an agreement with Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development- an Institute of National Importance

The objective of this 2-year, 4-semester post graduate course is to create complete filmmaking professionals. Over the course of their study, students will have classes in theory of filmmaking and its various specializations along with hands-on practical instruction. This learning leads to multiple projects during the course – some individual and many in groups. Students are also introduced to works of master filmmakers through screenings and analyses. Frequent Master Classes by practicing filmmakers round out their learning. Besides, General Education classes will round out their learning.

Award: MA in Filmmaking
Duration: 2 Years

SWOT Analysis of the Indian Film Industry
Strengths

• The Indian Film Industry is the largest film industry in the world making roughly 1200 films every year in 11+ languages.
• The Indian film industry has been growing at 10-11% per year for the last 10 years. This growth is predicted to continue.
• Ticket sales in 2012 were 4 billion +
• There are very few avenues of entertainment in India – especially in the interiors thus films will continue to be a prime source of entertainment.
• Film is recession proof.

Weaknesses

• Even though films have a huge impact on the culture and psyche of most Indians, they are low revenue generating
• Filmmaking in India is a high volume, low value industry
• Indian films primarily make money from domestic markets. Except for a pocket or two around the world where Indian films are seen, the only other revenue Indian films make is from NRIs.
• Unlike Hollywood where 70% of the revenues come from outside the US, in India, 75% of the revenues come from domestic theatrical release. Most of the rest comes from domestic ancillaries.
• Getting to market is a high barrier for pan Indian films. Today films cost anywhere from Rs. 6 – 20 crores to market. Of course, this is lesser for regional films.

Opportunities

• Today Indian films (Bollywood) are becoming more and more popular in Western countries. More people are aware of the Indian industry
• Technology is making films less expensive to make and this low entry fee allows more filmmakers to express themselves in this medium
• Distribution patterns are going through major flux with the digital domain changing everything.
• More and more theaters and TV channels are coming up giving more opportunities to filmmakers to show their work.
• The Indian government is framing rules and regulations to help the entertainment industry.

Threats

• The primary threat to the film industry as it exists today is from digital downloading of films
• Theater ticket prices keep rising making theater going inaccessible to many Indians.
• There is no stigma to downloading films and watching them.
• The film industry might go the way of the music industry in India where, overnight, the industry collapsed because it couldn’t deal with the new paradigm opened up by digital downloading of music.
• Piracy continues to be a threat.

Eligibility for Admission
Any student who has an undergraduate degree in any discipline from any university within or outside India is eligible for admission.

Employability
The Indian film industry has been growing at around 12% and television industry at over 15% over the last decade. It is estimated that by 2018 the required manpower by the Indian Entertainment industry will be around 5 million personnel.

It is also estimated that 70% of the core personnel in the Entertainment Industry (the creative personnel) are not trained. The opportunities for trained personnel is immense in the near and long term future.

Course Structure
The first semester of the course is the Foundation Semester. In this semester long foundation program, all students are exposed to the many disciplines of filmmaking – Screenwriting, Producing, Direction, Acting, Cinematography, Editing and Sound Design. Students receive instruction through a powerful integration of student productions, classroom theoretical instruction, motion picture screenings and analyses, workshops and interactions with global filmmakers. Along with core filmmaking courses, students also take classes in Contextual Studies (General Education). These subjects will help students understand their core subjects better and create complete filmmakers.

The film foundation semester develops within students their own unique story development and filmmaking perspectives and vision. The course also promotes individual professional conduct, communication skills and leadership qualities.

Types of Courses: Over the course of their programme, students will have the following types of courses, some mandated while others can be chosen by students:

1. General Education Courses: These courses offer a context to students learning, enabling them to understand historical developments in their specific areas of interest as well as allied areas such as classical and folk art, cinema, photography, urban mythology and digital art etc.
2. Core Courses: These courses are mandated by the Program Head of a course and all students in the Program have to take them.
3. Specialization: In the second and third years of the Program, students take up one area of Specialization as mentioned above. In each of their Semesters III, IV, V and VI, they are mandated to take all the Specialization courses that are offered by their department.