Collaborating at University: Creativity in Everything

This article was written by Film BA(Hons) student Ben.

When people ask me to describe Falmouth University, I find no better way than to say a beautiful place, seeping with creativity in everything.

When walking though the campus, it’s hard not to look at all the creativity, the passion & energy that floods from every department, all the student work hanging through the corridors and the many students you talk to, who are all so keen to talk about their art.

When deciding which course would be best to study, it can be a difficult one, but if you are at all concerned that you will become boxed into modules and assessments, I can assure you that will not be the case at Falmouth. Collaboration and creativity are strongly encouraged through the courses, meaning students almost never work exclusively with students on their course. Often, collaboration, both within your course and outside, is an assessed element of modules. And I have never had an issue finding students to collaborate with - we all chose Falmouth University for our passion & dedication to our art and so it is easy to find people, who are keen to collaborate, expand on their portfolio and do the work that they love.

As a Film student, when working on a large project, there are very few departments we don’t work alongside. Key to our production design, we work with students from the Costume Design for Film and Television course, who specialise in creating garments and costume designs that will elevate the production design of the project to professional level. We work closely with Graphic Design students, but also others throughout the School of Communication, on titles, posters and promotional material. We work with the Academy of Music and Theatre Arts, AMATA, and their actors, for table reads, test shoots and getting high-level performances on film. There have been students who have collaborated with the Games Academy and computing labs, on building virtual spaces, experimental virtual reality films and large scale VFX. We work with Photography students, for on-set photography, promotional material and Marine and Natural History Photography students for their expertise in underwater shooting. We work with Fine Art students for set-design and art pieces. There really is no limit to the extent of collaboration capable at Falmouth University and these are just cases that I myself have been involved in.

Key to the concept of all courses, is collaboration. In particular, with making short films, we work in crews of six, with a Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Sound Designer, Production Designer and Editor. Key to this group working effectively and creatively, is collaboration. It is crucial that all departments are communicating their ideas and bringing the expert knowledge that hey have in their department, to bring a new level of creativity and energy to the project.