This represents a major change from the apprenticeship-type training that most industry leaders underwent where work in the film and commercial industries began at the lowest wrung and if talent was shown, progress was up the ladder. 'Graduates' these days seem to want to be a Director from day one.
I'm the first to concede that this attitude today may be old fashioned or exclusionary, but the reality is that I, as an employer, am bombarded with applications from people who believe they can do the job that I'm looking to fill. The reality is that they can't and, while my irritation with poor standards is not be leveled at all teaching institutions, people who are not competent should not be given a certificate to say they are. Parents also get sucked up in the media hype that is sometimes created about a "film boom" about to happen and send their kids off to a film or animation school, even though they may not have the aptitude or inclination to be involved in the film industry. The same happened years ago when everybody wanted to be a website designer.
Today the reality is that very few students get full time employment. Students also believe that the film industry is bigger than it actually is and don't understand the creative and technical differences between movies, documentaries, broadcast, commercial and corporate productions - all of which require a unique set of skills.
Next month I'll be traveling to Cannes to attend MIPTV, the world's largest content market, the focus of which is new technologies and the convergence of commercial messages with content. Technology is going to have a huge impact not only on content delivery and production but also on how brands become part of that content as a result of digital video recorders which allow ad-skipping.
More than ever, in today's unfolding technology environment, young people who have a feel for technology and its marketing applications are needed. The problem from my vantage point is not that there is insufficient talent nor that fresh ideas are not forthcoming, but that there is an arrogance which results from receiving high marks from institutions that pander to learners rather than the industry which will employ them.
Owning the technology does not make one an editor nor having a camera, a movie director. The fact that technology is markedly more affordable than ever before means that financial resources are no longer the barrier to entry. It does mean that someone completing even a three-month course now believes they can take up a position at a high profile business working on high-profile clients.
The reality is that while our industry needs young guns it also needs the wisdom and experience to mould excited adolescence into understanding what the future of content production is going to be and guide them in the right direction. What is needed are training institutions that take more responsibility in understanding the future content market. It is pointless for institutions to keep accepting students, passing them and sending them out into the workplace with little or no understanding of the realities of the industry and where it is going.
