Honest Course Review: B.Voc Visual Media and Filmmaking

I had applied to two colleges, Christ University and St. Joseph's Autonomous College, Bangalore. Even though I got admission at Christ University, I was not very keen on learning about psychology and it was just a backup option. However, the admission process at St. Joseph's College was quite simple. The first step was to attend a written entrance examination. Once you clear the exam, you will be called for an interview with two of the professors from the Communication department. The professors were very welcoming and I did not feel intimidated. And before the academic year starts, there will be an orientation day where the professors would give the students a brief introduction about the college and the course. I didn't avail any quotas for admission and it was purely based on the entrance exam and interview. Regarding the minimum marks and age, there are no such restrictions as far as I know.

I am very passionate about photography and cinematography. Hence, a filmmaking course is what I wanted to do after my 12th grade. In each semester we had six subjects and had six different professors for each subject for a class of around 40 students. And during my time at St. Joseph's College, I had the opportunity to be trained and molded by exceptionally knowledgeable and highly qualified professors who made sure that the students are able to capture the in-depth nuances of filmmaking and appreciate it. I treasured all the classes to the fullest because the professors made them genuinely enjoyable. The term exams always took place on time with three theory and three practical examinations. These examinations are quite simple if the students prepare well for the exams and study according to the syllabus given by the professors.

I had the opportunity to get an internship at a digital news agency, The Bastion, as their multimedia intern. The stipend was around Rs.10,000. My job was to edit videos for their website and YouTube channel and to also make posts for their social media accounts. During the third year of the course, all students are required to complete an internship at any production house or news agency for a minimum of 400 hrs. Hence, I also had the amazing opportunity to be an intern at Zee Kannada during this period which gave me an insight into how the media and the entertainment industry works in our country.

The fee was affordable compared to other courses since it was a government-aided course. The fees hike policy is pretty satisfactory and the cost to study was around Rs.47,000-Rs.50,000 per year which was quite affordable. There are scholarships and financial aids for certain students who pass certain criteria. The professors help you with intership and job opportunities whenever possible. Other than that, they bring professionals working in the industry to conduct workshops which is very helpful in gaining hands-on knowledge about how the industry works.

The annual fest, VISAGES, is a huge part of the SJC campus life which is usually held in the month of December or January. The fest can go up to 2-3 days with a variety of programs to entertain the students. Students and faculty members work equally hard every year to make the annual fest better than the previous year. Other than the annual fest, there are various fests conducted by different departments in the college which includes Rushes National Film Festival, Meraki, and Allura hosted by the Communication department. The library is quite big with a large variety of books. All classrooms have projectors which makes the learning process very interactive. There are all sorts of sports and extracurricular activities available on campus such as basketball, football, athletics, dance, choir, etc. and there is also an on-campus gymnasium. There is an Instagram account for the SJC Communication department.