Based in Cape Town and representing a well-established international
education brand, the SAE Institute South Africa provides a range of film and
television courses to school-leavers looking to make a career in this challenging
industry. Screen Africa asked SAE’s director and principal, David McLean about
the courses on offer.
SCREEN AFRICA: WHAT IS THE UNDERLYING PHILOSOPHY OF
SAE’S FILM COURSE CURRICULA AND HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM OTHER,
SIMILAR COURSES BEING OFFERED?
David McLean: Our self-imposed mandate is to produce
mature, humble and receptive filmmakers that are prepared to pay their dues
and evolve steadily over a lifetime. The context of “if you don’t earn a living from
it, it is nothing more than a hobby’ underpins every aspect of our culture and
tuition, and consequently all of our curricula focus as much on the business of
filmmaking as the creative and technical aspects.
WHAT SORT OF TRACK RECORD DOES SAE HAVE WHEN IT COMES TO
PRODUCING FILM, TV AND NEW MEDIA PROFESSIONALS? HOW LONG HAVE THE
COURSES BEEN IN OPERATION?
David McLean: SAE has a significant pedigree across the
world with regard to the delivery of our highly credible film qualifications that
marry very practical training with high levels of academic rigor. In South Africa
we have been offering our highly regarded one-year Higher Certificate
programme in Digital Film Production since 2009, and launched our Bachelor of
Arts in Film Production degree in February 2014.
SAE OFFERS BOTH CERTIFICATE AND DEGREE COURSES. WHAT IS THE
DIFFERENCE IN THE CONTENT OF THESE TWO COURSES THAT SET THE TWO
QUALIFICATIONS APART? WHAT SHOULD POTENTIAL STUDENTS CONSIDER WHEN
DECIDING WHICH ONE TO ENROL FOR?
David McLean: The overarching intention of our various film
production curricula is the same, with regard to producing graduates that are
truly employable, based upon humility and maturity, as much as technical and
creative skill. Apart from the obvious difference in duration of the Certificate and
Degree programmes (one year and three years respectively), there is a higher
level of academic rigor within the degree programme, and based upon the
longer duration of study, the degree students are exposed to additional
subjects.
The primary influences on whether a student enrolls for the Certificate or Degree
are whether they graduated from high school with a university exemption
(required for enrolment in the degree programme), and their budget.
In addition, SAE’s one-year programmes are world renowned for producing
stellar graduates “after only one year’ due to the intensity of the syllabus and
the quality of trainers and facilities employed. We never give our degree
students preferential treatment or privileges over their certificate peers.
WITH THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF NEW MEDIA IN THE INDUSTRY,
HOW IS SAE PREPARING ITS STUDENTS TO CREATE AND DISTRIBUTE CONTENT IN
THE WORLD OF IPTV AND OTT, FOR EXAMPLE?
David McLean: The historic barriers of entry into the film
industry have significantly lowered in the past decade due to more accessible
and affordable equipment, and the internet as a vehicle for distribution and
networking. We were early adopters of the reality that new media offers
extensive job opportunities, and consequently forms an essential component of
a professional’s context and skill set.
The current distribution channels are in flux and so to future-proof our students
we focus equally on quality narrative and an entrepreneurial spirit.
WHO ARE THE STAFF INVOLVED IN TEACHING THE FILM COURSE AT
SAE?
David McLean: Our Head of Film in Cape Town is Bryce
Hepburn who is not only a highly ambitious filmmaker and passionate educator
but also an MBA graduate who brings his energised business savvy and
entrepreneurial spirit to the film department. Bryce’s teaching team consists of
Michael Brennan, Grant Birch, Christopher Bisset, Hein Ungerer, and Vicki Bawcombe.
Dr Elsabe
Pepler is our Head of Academics who partners with Bryce to ensure a
powerful marriage of the art, science and business of the film industry.
HOW DOES SAE STRIKE A BALANCE OF THEORY AND PRACTICAL IN ITS
COURSES AND WHAT DOES EACH COMPONENT CONSIST OF?
David McLean: We strike the challenging balance between
the essential practical skills required for employment, and the substantial
academic rigor necessary to foster and support a high level of intellectual
enquiry in our students, to produce graduates whom are not only talented and
skilled professionals, but who are equally valuable to society through their
mature citizenship and contribution to the economy.
WHAT OUTCOMES ARE STUDENTS REQUIRED TO DELIVER DURING THE
COURSE?
David McLean: The variety of assessments that we
utilise is diverse. There is a large portion of practical assignments that assess
narrative, creative and technical skills, juxtaposed with numerous academic
papers that assess our students’ critical thinking competencies.
Our focus is short form with an emphasis on documentary, music video, and
television, TVC, PSA and short film.
Another aspect of the SAE culture that supports the production of high calibre
show reels is that our film production students collaborate with their peers and
the spectacular equipment and studios of the sound production department. The
result is superior sound-to-picture quality relative to many film schools that do
not have the luxury of dedicated audio engineers and equipment on campus.
WHAT ARE THE STANDARDS BY WHICH STUDENT WORK IS GRADED?
OBVIOUSLY EVERY PROJECT WILL BE DIFFERENT, BUT WHAT ARE THE
ASSESSMENT STANDARDS APPLIED TO THEM?
David McLean: The source of every practical or theoretical
assignment at SAE must adhere to the following criteria; “does it appropriately
stretch the mind?’ and; “is this directly relevant to an employment pathway?’ The
exactitude of grading and standards of delivery increases exponentially as the
course progresses, in the same fashion as the workflow and expectations of
professionals within high pressure working environments do.
The spirit of our approach to assessment is to compassionately support the
initial anxiety and lack of confidence all people experience when embarking on
something new and complex, with the standards and work ethic of a commercial
environment.
We foster a culture of mentorship and support, not only between the lecturers
and students, but equally between senior students and students in new
cohorts.
