Filmmaking portfolio advice
Your digital portfolio is the perfect opportunity to exhibit your best work, and show us exactly why you're suited to study BA (Hons) Filmmaking at Nottingham Trent University (NTU).
Get some top tips for your portfolio
Everything you need to know
Submitting your portfolio for consideration to the Filmmaking course is an opportunity for you to showcase your skills, interests, style and personality.
It’s also an opportunity to make sure we have the right expertise and resource to support you during your time at NTU.
We understand your work is unique to you, but we've pulled together some useful advice to give you tips on what to consider and what we're looking for in your submission.
What you should consider
Be selective and showcase a range of work which demonstrates who you are and what you are interested in, as well as showing a range of written, photographic or visual art skills.
We are interested in looking at a variety of creative pieces as applicable and relevant to filmmaking. Your portfolio focus may vary but we’d expect to see short films that you have written, directed and/ or produced. We’d also expect to see an example of your screenwriting. Make sure you clearly indicate your role in all collaborative work you submit.
We’d love to see evidence of your working process. The best way for you to showcase this is by photographing pages of relevant workbooks which demonstrate your developmental process. Present these in Powerpoint, Keynote or other presentation formats. This process should relate to specific projects in your portfolio.
Add a piece of creative writing, ideally in the form of a script or short story. This work need not have been completed as part of your studies.
One of the most important things to remember whilst preparing your portfolio is to fill it with passion, showing us your potential as a filmmaker.
What are we looking for?
- A quality range of visual concepts, that evidence innovative thinking.
- Good presentation and the ability to visualise ideas.
- Your ability to handle a variety of design software tools appropriate to filmmaking.
- Your willingness to experiment.
- Good idea development skills.
Submitting your portfolio
- Embed images, written work and movies into a PowerPoint or similar presentation and submit as an attachment to your application.
- Make sure you check that your presentation runs on a computer other than the one you created the presentation on.
- This digital portfolio should be submitted as a single unzipped file not exceeding 10mb.
- Your written statement can be uploaded as a separate file.
Alternatively, upload your work to an online portfolio like Sway, Behance or PebblePad and add the link to your application.
Can I submit my work as single files like JPEGS or PNGs?
No, work must be arranged in presentation software so we can see it in the same order you would show us as if you were presenting it yourself. Your written statement can be uploaded as a separate file.
Will I get a face-to-face interview?
No. However, you may be contacted to clarify an aspect of your application or portfolio.
Should I submit every film I’ve worked on?
No, make sure you prioritise the work that you had the most creative involvement with and indicate this. If you worked on other people’s films, make sure you indicate your role.
Contact Ask NTU if you have any questions or if there's anything you'd like to discuss.
Alternatively, you can contact our Admissions team on +44 (0)115 848 4200.