Film directing courses: an alternative to tech, or not?

Children are natural dreamers. They love inventing whole worlds and startling their parents with improbable stories. Why not encourage that leaning towards creativity? Plenty of parents think about directing classes for their children. Working out a plot, running a cast of actors, shooting scenes — it sounds genuinely interesting. But will such courses live up to expectations, and are there alternatives? It is worth looking at all the options.

What makes directing courses appealing for children

This kind of course is unconventional and creative. Directing classes give children a set of knowledge and skills:

• an understanding of how a theatre production is staged and how a film is shot;
• the skill of writing a script;
• the fundamentals of acting.

After a few classes a child feels more confident in front of a camera and gets used to working as part of a team. But the main thing directing courses teach is creative thinking — an unconventional approach to familiar situations and the ability to look at things from more than one angle. Those skills can form a foundation for a successful career in television, film or the creative industries.

For all their advantages, parents should still ask themselves how much of a future such training offers. Let's look at that.

Which pays off more: directing courses or programming?

Here we look at the choice from a practical angle. As we said, directing courses develop creativity and teach teamwork — powerful skills that the job market values. On the other hand, more and more school-age children are drawn to technology. They talk to artificial intelligence, play video games and share generated images on social media. In that case programming courses are worth considering. What do they offer?

• Like directing courses, they teach an unconventional approach and develop creativity.
• Studying tech gives a child a better understanding of technology, and even a hand in building innovative products.
• Directing can lose its appeal over time. Programming is an enormously broad field: once a young developer has one set of skills, there are always new directions to take up.

Directing courses teach children to work with visual images and emotion. Tech covers the visual, the technical and the strategic — which means more room to grow professionally.

Frequently asked questions

Does PASV offer programming courses for middle school?
Yes — take a look at Scratch for Kids, for children aged 7 to 10.

Can directing courses be combined with studying tech?
Of course.

Which courses suit children with a technical turn of mind?
For children who show an interest in logic and problem solving we recommend Scratch for Kids or Python for Teens.

What age is Python for Teens aimed at?
It suits children aged 10 to 14.

How often are PASV classes held?
Once or twice a week.