ABTT/ET Technical Training Handb662

[paulears]

This book could be useful to people interested in a career in the entertainments industry. It isn't really a book to read cover to cover, but does have lists of most of the education and industry training available in the UK. It's in sections, so if you need course info without spending hours on the nedt, then it does point you in the right direction - or, if you are already working, the various manufacturers and dealers who offer training are also listed. There are also handy lists of industry associations.

 

The section on how to choose your course isn't very helpful, as it makes the assumption that you know the kind of course you want already. The most tricky part of using the book is that the various pages, edited by the individual colleges and unis don't follow a standard template. This means that one place has a course (for example) detailing an MA in Theatre and Performance Studies, and another entry reads BTEC First Diploma in Performance (Production). The book assumes people understand the differences between FD, NA, FA, HND, HNC, Fda, BA, BSc, MA with the implication for level of study, course content and most importantly, finance. Most people do know, or know where to find the info, but I was surprised that no attempt to explain these things is evident. If you do know the differences, then the bok is a handy one-stop source of data. It isn't comprehensive - a few places are missing, but that's more likely to be down to the difficulty of making contact both ways.

 

There is a small section on lighting and sound, with some 'quaint' photos - the image of a Dansette record player was a surprise, and for once, the picture of a Light Console isn't the common one - but then it came from the STLD!

 

If you are having trouble putting together where to spend a few years of your life - it isn't a bad use for £22.95 inc p+p.

 

My only comment is that reading the blurb supplied by the unis, I do wonder what exactly some of the courses are about? Some are carefully crafted, broad based adverts for their course, that actually say very little. Many concentrate on theory, and only a few give any substance to the technical content, and list facilities - odd for a listing in a technical training handbook.