How to Build Your Portfolio as a Film Student
How do you build a strong portfolio as a film student? Click here to find out.
Having your own portfolio of work is important in any creative industry and the world of filmmaking is no different. As a film student, you might not have the necessary experience yet, but you should still be thinking about your portfolio. Now is the time to start – you don’t want to be scrambling around trying to collate something last minute when you’ve got a job interview in the future. As a student, you should aim to work on your portfolio as you go along, adding to it each time you create something new.
For most positions in the film industry, a strong portfolio that showcases all of your best work and experience is essential. Your portfolio is a representation of your technical skills and artistic vision. This can be especially hard when you’re just starting out because you don’t yet have the same experience as someone who’s worked in the industry for years. But how exactly do you build a strong portfolio as a film student? Here are our top tips.
Think outside the box
Ultimately, you might want to eventually specialise in a specific genre of filmmaking, but try not to let that limit where you go creatively in the meantime. It is important to get as much experience as you can to build your portfolio, so don’t be afraid of going outside your comfort zone and trying something different. For instance, say your ambition is to be a successful documentary filmmaker. Whilst you should absolutely aim to demonstrate your documentary-making abilities as much as possible in your folio, it will not do any harm to add a few other projects. You might consider contacting local musicians to offer your services on their music videos or you might approach journalism students and offer to help them create newsreels. You could even help drama students compile their own portfolio by creating a film short and having them acting in it. Remember if you’re using music in your projects, always ask permission from the artist or use royalty free music.
Another potential avenue you could look at is corporate videos. Consider approaching local business people and offer to use your filmmaking skills. You could contribute to their online marketing campaigns, make advertisement features, or create social media video content for them. This will show initiative and a genuine interest in filmmaking as a whole, not just in your specialist subject. It might also help you later on when trying to find jobs. Not many people are lucky to get work in their chosen field immediately after graduating, so be prepared to start out doing different types of filmmaking while you establish yourself professionally.
Include all creative projects
Be imaginative when building your portfolio and don’t be afraid to include things like passion projects or work you did just for fun as a creative outlet. It might not be up to the standard you hope to be at one day, but it will demonstrate your passion for your subject and will show your creative development as you begin to include more recent works. It will also help to show your individual style without any external limitations while adding some dimension to your identity as an artistic individual.
Don’t forget to include any projects you did as coursework, even if they are team collaborations. Again, this will demonstrate your skills progression, while also showing that you can work as part of a group. The more varied projects you have at this early stage, the better as it will show your creative range out with your specialisation and give an insight into what you could be capable of given the opportunity.
Later on, as you gain more experience, you can always edit these early works down to something shorter within your folio. For example, you might create a showreel demonstrating a selection of your student work.
Network
Not only is networking ideal for getting acquainted with key contacts in the industry, it could also help with building your portfolio if you’re just starting out. You don’t need to be a social media influencer with a massive following, but it is a good idea to establish some kind of online presence. Having an online platform for your work will encourage you to create more content on a regular basis, as well as help you with networking.
Think about using leading video communities, such as YouTube and IMDb Pro, to host your channel and link back to it in your portfolio. Having a digital channel will help to give your work some exposure within the community, while also providing you with some more relevant experience. As well as publishing shorts and video reels, think about producing a series for your channel. Producing and completing a video series will demonstrate a strong work ethic and show that you can follow a project through to completion. The hashtag tool on YouTube allows you to add keywords, which will help to boost your online reach.
You can also use other social media sites to get your name and work out there further. While not traditionally known for long video content, platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok can also help. You can use these accounts to post snippets of your videos and behind-the-scenes footage as teasers to encourage users to follow your main YouTube or IMDb Pro channel. Don’t forget to keep your channel up to date with fresh content. You want to look proactive and busy.
Include additional info
A good tip is to include additional information alongside any works within your portfolio. This will provide more context and clarity to your projects and will also provide a deeper insight into your contribution to them and the themes and context behind them. For instance, you might include original scripts and storyboards from a project to show the direction you went with it from initial idea to development.
It is also a good idea to add any background information to the films in your portfolio, for example the number of people involved, filming duration, and equipment used. Providing this added information in your folio will help prospective employers see how you used the time and resources available to you and what technical skills and experience you gained from your projects.
Conclusion
A varied and compelling portfolio of work is vital if you are hoping to break into the film industry. You should start building your portfolio as a student and aim to include everything you work on as you go along. A strong portfolio will demonstrate your skills and artistic range to help you get noticed in the film industry and get your foot in the door.