Imran
Bachelor of Digital Screen with Honours majoring in Cinematic Arts
Hometown: Auckland
What drew you to UC’s Digital Screen degree?
I was the social media person for my high school and I really enjoyed it. I was making videos and learning how to use all these programmes, and I just fell in love with the process. I saw an ad for UC’s Digital Screen degree, and I thought “hey, that’s cool – I could go into this”.
What I like about making films is the making itself. I want to be able to make art that touches on other people's feelings in the same way that I feel when I watch movies or read books.
What sets UC’s programme apart?
It’s more geared towards the industry. It teaches you the skills and how to use the equipment, but it also teaches you about the industry itself and shows you what it’s really like.
What have been some highlights of your studies so far?
The projects that we've been able to do. I’ve seen my peers make films from all different genres, whether it be horror or a documentary or a rom com. I think that creative freedom really enables us to produce awesome work.
It’s amazing that we get to do these projects as students, and there’s no limit to what we can do. They don’t give us a creative block – they let us flourish and do what we want.
Can you share a memorable project you’ve worked on?
It would have to be our main capstone project in our second year. It was a short ten-minute film, but there was one day of shooting where everything went wrong for us. What I really enjoyed about that was the experience of it all. In the industry, there are going to be times where things don’t go smoothly, and you just have to go with the flow. Experiencing the challenges and setbacks helps you prepare for an actual industry shoot.
What sort of facilities and equipment do you enjoy using?
We have access to a lot of facilities. I like the Mac studio computers and all the industry apps that we get to use. It helps tremendously with our learning. You can even branch out to different things. I'm a Cinematic Arts major and I usually use DaVinci and Avid, but I can try out things in Reaper, Nuke, Blender, and heaps of other programmes.
What is your cohort like?
The Digital Screen community is welcoming and collaborative. Everyone mingles together, no matter what you’re specialising in. The collaborative nature of our assignments allows us to branch out to different majors.
For example, if I need to do sound for one of my films, I can just go over to the sound majors and be like, “Hey, I need help”. It's a very inviting environment and everyone feels like they know each other.
Have you had a chance to connect with industry professionals?
Some of our facilities are actually used by industry people and companies that shoot here. As students, we sometimes have the opportunity to intern for them. It's a cool experience that you don't really see anywhere else.
I've definitely been building my own network, not just with students, but also with more experienced industry people like our lecturers or the technicians. They have years of experience that we get to connect with. One of my lecturers, for example, is an industry professional. He's worked as a Director of Photography for feature films.
Did you live in the halls?
I lived in University Hall during my first year. Moving from Auckland without really knowing anyone here, the hall was great because there was a lot of community around and it was really easy to make friends. The halls are one of the best places to establish a good friend group, and I still have mates from the halls – I’m even living with some of them now.
What’s it like being a student in Christchurch?
I like that UC really feels like a campus, like those American ones you see in movies. It's very walkable and surrounded by nature. When it comes to springtime, the flowers and trees that blossom look amazing. Especially all the cherry blossoms around Hagley Park. It’s really beautiful here.
Have you seen yourself grow since starting at UC?
I have seen myself grow 100% both physically and mentally from my first year. I've also grown a lot as a filmmaker, and that's all to do with the help that I get from our lecturers and my peers. I feel like they've pushed me to strive to do better, to match to their level.
