Raindance Postgraduate

No, my pros and cons are not a mistake. The best thing about Raindance also makes it the hardest. There is nobody spoon-feeding you; laying out out a series of tick boxes or Reese's Pieces for you to follow. You design your degree based on your interests and passions. The fantastic Raindance mentors and staff help you meet the uni requirements based on your plan.

Just as in real life, you'll get sometimes conflicting advice on which path to follow. But you'll suck it up, make your mistakes and forge on. These are some of the most valuable lessons in the program.

Having come from a couple of years at a traditional film school, the program was a breath of creative and independent fresh air. It was exactly what I needed to complete my degree. The Raindance community is filled with talented, generous, encouraging, and genuinely kind people. I hope to remain a "Raindancer" for the rest of my film career, whatever shape that takes.

If you want to sit in a class and follow someone else's path, avoid Raindance. If you want to follow your own...I can't recommend it highly enough.

Many people will advise that the best film school is on-set experience. This program ensures you can get that while also being supported academically and professionally in researching your negotiated program.

People taking this course include emerging filmmakers and people with decades of experience.

Refining and renegotiating your program to accommodate what you have learned is expected (ie: not a hassle)

The program can be fit into a working filmmaker's life.

As a student of Raindance Postgrad since Nov. 2015, I can only say that this is the perfect school for persons seeking to study in concert with other commitments, whether that be work, family or the inability to travel this distance education package allows you the freedom to choose your own adventure. My experience has been fantastic, both my mentor and advisor have been enormously helpful and at times mind blowing. But here's the catch: YOU must be incredibly focused and have a can do spirit. YOU must be willing to spend on equipment if you don't have any. YOU must be prepared for what can be some harsh criticism.

This program will not bother you, it will not send you a reminder that the deadline is coming up, it will not give you a bunch of boxes to tick, it will not provide you with any physical help. While my mentor and advisor have been most helpful in developing screenplays and assisting me with incite into the pitfalls of the industry, the real focus is on producing graduate level work and research.

This type of education model really works for me. I don't need to check in, I don't feel the need for robust 'student services' (and maybe Raindance has them I have just never looked into it), and I don't care if someone is 'looking out' for my scholarly needs (I'll do it myself thank you very much). The feed back on your module papers is pretty good, but it takes some getting used to the english system of grading. This program depends on how much you are willing to put into it. If you want to engage with fellow student via the web, great. If not, that's great too. If you want someone to review your paper before you submit, done, just make sure you are two weeks before the deadline. I find that this program is designed for independent filmmakers, with entrepreneurial hearts.

For me, in the middle of nowhere, running a small renovation company with 3 kids and a wife with a great career locally, this program is awesome. It has opened up the world of independent filmmaking all the while giving me the opportunity to get an internationally recognized MA from a decent UK university. With many collages now getting after some of their more experienced staff for not having an MA, this is also a great opportunity for some to get that accreditation as Raindance post grad will recognize your industry experience in lieu of an undergraduate degree (depending and you would have to ask them of course). I can not recommend this program enough, provided you are not expecting to phone it in. I enjoy the academic challenge and have found this program to be extremely rewarding.