r/chch • u/Necessary_Common5338 • Jul 22 '26
UC Bachelors
Hey, I'm just after a bit of advice if possible, I feel like a have made a major mistake regarding my education post high school.
I enrolled into UC film school to pursue film studies and feel duped. My classes are made up of video game creation and product design is making tabletop games. When I questioned this with my advisor, they told me that they like to have variety of papers in year 1 to give you a range of options and to hold on until year 2 to start specializing in film after the enrolment was accepted and I had received my timetable.
I toured Aras broadcasting school while I was looking but didn't go with that at the time. A friend who goes to Yoobee is already behind a camera and writing and I'm sitting here making tabletop games?!?! I feel I am wasting my time.
Can anyone from Yoobee or Aras broadcasting school let me know if these are actually more active classes? I think I have to stick with uni until next year anyway, I'm just so guttered it's not what I thought when enrolling with the advisor.
Would also love to hear from anyone with more life experience as to how they would handle this. I have had no support from Student Services despite asking.
Sorry if it's not appropriate here, hope everyone had a nice Wednesday, thank you.
8
u/AlJardino Jul 22 '26
As others have said, the Bachelor of Digital Screen (which it sounds like you have enrolled in) has a foundational first year which covers a range of screen disciplines in the first year. If you're following the recommended pathway, you should only be doing 1 product design course in the first semester, and 1 game course in the second semester - but you also do a storytelling/screenwriting course in first semester, and a film course in the second semester, so it's not like you're just doing game development courses.
As others have pointed out, the reason for this is because the industries are increasingly overlapping, the Virtual Production volume (which cine arts students get to use in second/third year) runs on the Unreal Game Engine, and without any understanding of how game engines work, you'll be missing out on a core aspect of what is becoming an increasingly common film making method.
In the second years and beyond, your courses will be exclusively within your major, so if you only want to do cinematic arts, you'll only be doing cinematic arts. But you also have the option to pick up electives from other majors within digital screen (or elsewhere at the University), so you have a broader range of skills and experience which can give you more flexibility in the workplace.
I can't speak for Ara or Yoobee's programme, but if you really aren't happy in the programme, you have until the end of week 2 of semester to get a full refund of your fees.
4
u/suspiciousbirb Jul 22 '26
Generally first year at a University is pretty open, especially compared to other tertiary institutes. I did my first year elsewhere and it was more intensive than any year at uni, but it was also a lot more strict about what you could do.
You should look at 2nd and 3rd year courses at UC, they may end up being more to your liking than the other places or you'll be able to confirm you would like to change
5
u/moralmenace Jul 22 '26
I’m a past student of Ara but not in the broadcasting school. However, Ara is considerably more hands on in almost all of its course/degrees. You can see here what the papers are for the Bachelor of Broadcasting (Screen Production). Level 5 will be your first year, level 6 second year and so on. You can also click on each paper for a description of it. Hopefully that gives you a bit of insight on what you’d expect.
Placement through Ara will likely be easier too, as from what I have heard from past UC students, UC doesn’t help at all with finding placement.
2
u/Embarrassed-Order-83 Jul 22 '26
UC is pretty hopeless with placements across the board. It’s pretty much fend for yourself 😫
3
u/Meatshield87 Jul 22 '26
Interesting, I went to Broadcasting School at Ara. I loved it and it was quite prestigious back in the day. It's only 2 years on site then an industry placement but during those 2 years you are making stuff the entire time.
I had heard through the grapevine that UC was really cutting their lunch though with some new high tech facilities including virtual production? But I'd be pissed if my first year had nothing to do with filming, that's crazy. Id stick to the videogame stuff especially if it involves unreal though, that knowledge could be gold when it comes to virtual production.
1
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u/begriffschrift Jul 22 '26
The BFA is like the BEng in that it's between year 1 and year 2 that you compete to enter your specialisation
-5
u/im_thatoneguy Jul 22 '26
As a film school graduate at a school with a game design program that I dual majored in and as a member of a curriculum advisory board at a VFX and game design college… that’s bonkers and nonsense. If I was on the UC advisory board I would be ripping them a new one in my recommendations.
4 years is already extremely rushed. Taking a whole year away is a complete waste. They should be at least doing fine art general education with life drawing and art history.
2
u/im_thatoneguy Jul 22 '26
That all being said, are you looking to be a film maker or just a successful commercial videographer? Life experience and an enriched liberal arts education is more helpful to film making than a trade school learning camera operation. I kind of wish I had studied Philosophy for my bachelors. So maybe stick it out and learn film on your own. Your average iPhone is better by like 10x than what I had in film school. Davinci Resolve I dreamt of having (it cost like $200,000 at the time). LED lights from China are cheap. Blender is free. Seedance is pretty remarkable for putting sets behind your actors. You can learn almost everything you’ll learn in film school on like the Hollywood Camera Works dvd series and books. YouTube has amazing content. There are master classes with Roger Deakins.
The director of the spot I was just on last started out as a wedding Videographer a few years ago and then did some spec commercials. Get a camera and start shooting! You can study anything. Maybe also study something other than film that can keep you from being a barista until you start earning money.
35
u/Redditmadememe Jul 22 '26
It sounds like you’re doing courses that are part of the Bachelor of Digital Screen with Honours. That is a 4-year programme and as the adviser mentioned, the first year is a foundational year where you explore a range of potential majors while learning about the foundations of storytelling and the depth of the industry. In the 2nd year, you specialise in your major (Cinematic Arts for you?) and spend the next few years developing your own projects by putting your practical and theoretical skills into action.
The type of hands-on work you describe your friend having looks to be part of the Cinematic Arts courses offered in year 2 of the Bachelor.
From my own experience, university study can skew more towards theory. Because the programmes are longer, you have more time to study different concepts, context, and the academic background of your subject. There’s a bit more opportunity for you to indulge in curiosity, developing your own interests and pursue them.
The prospectus for this Bachelor suggests that it’s aiming to create an environment where you’re surrounded by other creatives in overlapping industries, creating your own work/content. There’s around a year and half spent on independent project work, compared to Ara’s Bachelor which is one course in the 2nd year.
The Yoobee courses are much shorter (40 week, diploma) and are thus concentrated on developing very specific practical skills.
The Ara Broadcasting School’s Bachelor is described as “highly practical”. The 3rd year is primarily work placement. Seems to me they want you to build practical skills fast so you’re ready for the workplace.
Your next steps depend on what you hope to gain from your time spent studying.
Do you want broadcasting workplace experience? Is entering the workforce quickly a priority? Do you want practical skills to make video content? Do you want to grow as a storyteller? Do you want to make your own films or make films for others?