Directors are selected by committee review, personal interview and faculty assessment of the student's overall class performance. Successful students are chosen for camera positions by a negotiation process between the directors and producers of the selected projects. In addition to production related courses, the film program offers classes in Feature Script Analysis, a course designed to assist the development of screenwriting skills for feature length scripts, and Film Aesthetics, a course introducing thework of master directors as a way of imparting an holistic understanding of the remarkable art form that underlies the process of taking a story and putting it on screen. The film industry has a rigorous protocol for the proper treatment, maintenance and handling of equipment. This protocol is taught in technical workshops dealing with camera, sound, lighting, grip and editing equipment.
Students also master basic operational functions and safety procedures.
Independent Projects Upon completion of crewed projects, each student has the option to produce a two to three minute film, independently or in groups of two. These are shot on video and edited on digital non-linear workstations. Graduation, Festivals and Publicity Students prepare professional promotional packages for their films for festival entry and invite cast, industry and public to a screening of class work. Co-op Program Vancouver Film School is approved by the BC Institute of Film Professionals as an authorized training institution for the Film Training Tax Credit. This program offers a financial incentive to producers to hire qualified VFS film graduates.