What do they ACTUALLY teach on a btec course?

[Just Some Bloke]

I am afraid that a lot of tutor and so called course managers (businessmen/polititians with no idea of what happens in the industry) who are stopping people getting experience.

 

I think you're right.

 

When I taught at an FE college (3 years before the pangs for 'real theatre' became too great!) we had a student who was a casual at a big professional theatre. He learned the theory with us, practiced it at the pro venue and so got to be extremely good. Because of this, when a job came up for Assistant LX at the theatre he applied and got it. We saw this as a wonderful outcome: we took a student, gave them the skills and a chance to practice them, from which the student got a good job. That's what education should be all about.

 

Unfortunately, the college lost out on a huge amout of funding. Firstly because he didn't finish the course. A large amount of the funding comes from finishing and passing the course. Secondly because he took so much time off to work casually (even though it was all approved by his tutors) that his attendance rate looked bad (you can only put so much of it down as Work Experience and get away with it). That reduced the funding again.

 

Luckily, where I worked the Section Leader was of the same opinion we were: that students come here to train - the proof of which training is getting a good job. We would do anything we could to make that happen. Most Section Leaders aren't able to be as noble as that and have to balance the books. This means that, if you want those Source 4s and a modern lighting board, then you need to get the money. To get the money you can't let people not attend (even if it's to get experience in the very career they want to follow) and you have to pass people if at all possible to get the funding.

 

Thus you get 2 groups of people leaving FE: those who've attended all the sessions and know all about the equipment in college (but nothing about anything the college doesn't have) and those who should have failed but have been passed in order to get funding. Neither way gives industry the staff we want.

[bright spark]

This means that, if you want those Source 4s and a modern lighting board, then you need to get the money

One of my concerns is that so many colleges are teaching students on Fatfrogs (which are good desks), but... within 30 miles of me theres over 50 theatres (am close to west end); out of those only ONE has a Frog and thats semi-pro.

 

So my concern is that people are coming on these courses, going out to pro theatres and expecting Fatfrogs, certainly the majority of the theatres I have worked in have Strand 500 series desks or the occosional ETC Express.

 

I was recently made aware of a tutor who 'didn't do chases'. And I was told by somone on the same course a VL plugs into a Mac to make the Mac work. :) :huh: :) I think I have missed something?

 

However, look at Rose Bruford and GSA courses for example, they have people from Whitelight coming in with Wholehogs, VL2000s and proper kit. But thats 12K PA.

 

Shame though, there good people on BTEC courses, but are being taught absolute rubbish.

[pete LD]

That was the only good thing about my college. they did have a strand 430. old softwhere I know but its simler to a 500 but again the staff dident know how to use it. they had never had moveing lights in the building so patching fixtures, attrebutes and all that dident fecture on the cause. I was called sad and picky when I riged a show I had designed because I wanted lights to match meaning if I had 2 fresnals focused on the stage I would wont 2 preludes or 2 123s not one of each. I dident mind useing old lights it was just that no one understands that a 500w lamp is diffrent to a 650. "oh its only 150w"!! thats loads!! andpars with diffrent lamps in, "oh its just light" yeah but one is a cp60 and another a 62. I was there to lern the diffrence not be told there the same.

im not going to even start on there lack of understanding regarding power distrobution! thats another story!

just some bloke sums everything up very nicely and im sorry about my grammor! they coudent teach english eaither!

:)

[bright spark]

I was reading a topic the other day that said a BTEC tutor was trying to jam a single phase plug into a three phase socket.

 

You have a very good point Pete about old lights and keeping an even coverage.

 

I used to try to correct people, but they don't care - they get confused when you have three dimmers with 1-6 written on them - but see 001, 007, 013 on the screen.

 

If any employers are reading this, please do not condem all BTECs, but you will go into a BTEC course listen to the bullsh!t they throw down your throat, and come out knowing less than you did when you went in.

 

The number of BTEC tutors who will not listen to an outsider (with experience and knowledge) and argue their own way which is bullsh!tted info - and they don't really know the answer; they just wanna prove them self right to not look stoopid.

[Ropelight]

At my old college I have heard that a freelance teacher went in to teach some of the technical lessons, he decided that the first lesson for the second year students would be on " How to set out the auditorium space for a proscenium performance", something these students had been doing week in week out for a year and a bit, not a great use of there time I think you may agree!!

[paulears]

Well the good news, or bad if you have a different viewpoint is that very soon, the casual freelancer who goes in a couple of hours a week, won't be able to unless they hold some kind of recognised teaching qualification. The more hours you do, the more advanced the qualfication - but no qualfiication at all may well mean no work. As for setting out the auditorium, did it need doing for a show? If the answer was yes, then I easily understand why he asked for it to be done. Doing repetitive things like this isn't the only thing that happens on a course, but it has to be done. As in the people who moan they are always having to hang lights up, or connect PA cabs or draw plans or....... These things can in some cases generate grades - and somebody who maybe got just a pass would then have a chance to do better and get a higher grade.

 

It would be great if technical work was always fun and exciting, but life isn't like that. Perhaps they asked the freelance to do it because it was done poorly the first time? I don't know.

[Tomo]

Well the good news, or bad if you have a different viewpoint is that very soon, the casual freelancer who goes in a couple of hours a week, won't be able to unless they hold some kind of recognised teaching qualification.

I can see quite a few experienced professional theatre technicians wanting to go into a college and providing a little tuition essentially for the 'feel-good' factor, and this will prevent them from doing so as it takes quite a lot of time and money to gain a teaching qualification.

If they are doing it for fun, very few people will be able to justify that expenditure!

 

On the other hand, I expect that the idea is to prevent 'random Joe Bloggs' who have no clue teaching incorrect and possibly dangerous ideas.

It won't fully have this effect as the teaching qualification probably doesn't have to be in the subject they are covering - my mum is a qualified maths teacher, and is often called upon to teach completely unrelated subjects, which ends up being a crazy amount of work for her as she has to spend ages researching the new subject.

 

I'm sure a lot of people won't do that research.

 

It would be great if technical work was always fun and exciting, but life isn't like that. Perhaps they asked the freelance to do it because it was done poorly the first time? I don't know.

There is no job on Earth that is always fun and exciting. You have to get used to that!

 

I find it kind of odd that auditorium arrangement was considered such an important area, rather than going over some aspect of the safety requirements of a space, but maybe the students showed that they didn't understand the first time around.

[paulears]

Don't forget that not everywhere spend every hour on education, sometimes it is just work that needs doing, with no educational merit - normal, I'm afraid.

 

As for the qualification, it is usually provided free by the place you want to work at - after all, if you give up because of it, they lose a valuable teacher. The pain is that it only teaches you educational theory really, and is dreadfully boring from start to finish.

[Light Console]

I have just been asked to be a part time teacher of a BTEC course at a secondary school. Unsure what exactly yet, but so far points to be covered are:

Lantern types, parts, use, focusing, maintainance.

Rigging/focusing lanterns.

Basic controls - DMX setting and desk operation. After this I will show them how to use more desks.

More to follow in March/April!

[Just Some Bloke]

As for the qualification... the pain is that it only teaches you educational theory really, and is dreadfully boring from start to finish.

 

Here here! :unsure: B-) :)

 

Nevertheless, I have to say that, 8 years after coming out of lecturing, my local college (not where I taught before) asked me to fill a gap between one Technical Theatre lecturer leaving and another starting, by doing one day a week for 4 weeks. I agreed.

 

Suddenly being thrown back into it again, it's amazing how much I found I'd learned from both the 3 years of teaching before and the PGCE course I did in tandem with the teaching. When you stand in a room full of students you don't know, realising that what you tell them will influence what type of person goes out into the marketplace looking for a job, the importance of what you do hits you and you pull on all those skills you didn't realise you'd picked up.

 

The first years' session went well and a 4-week assignment was set and started, but then, as I was about to start on the nicely prepared 'scheme of work' I'd done for the second years, I found out they'd just covered exactly the same thing with the previous lecturer. Very quickly I had to ammend my plans and teach something else. To be honest, without the qualificationand the experience, I think I'd have had a real problem! :o

 

I guess it must have gone OK as they've asked my back this term as a guest lecturer!

[Nikki]

The problme with the BETEC courses is that you can do a couple of tiny shows with 20 year old equipment that their school has been donated and alot of theory work cause their teacher is a drama techer and come out with the same BETEC as someone who did 12 medium scale shows a small tour with fairly up to date equipment taught by staff still working in the industry.

 

I did the second kind of BTEC but I still went into HE and have learn't alot more still. The problem with the BTEC is the way it's written. I saw alot of the module outlines so I could blag some written work to prove I had lighting designed shows, made costume ect. And for example the Stage Manager module had things like checking fire extinguishers, and making a schedule, doing risk aasements. But what it needs is doing a production schedule to equity or bectu rules, doing a proper risk assment. The other problem is a DSM module has things about risk assments as well but nothing about call sheets or even production meeting minutes. In the hands of the right skilled teacher the BTEC can be taught well but if the techer doens't know the industry the BTEC guidelines leave a student poorly equiped for the industry

 

Nikki

[shaune71]

Hi there

 

I am Currently on a btec course in performing arts production! To be honest I wish I found a course elsewhere. I have been taught a few things that I didnt know but I tell you what I am a first class person in removals because thats all I seem to do.

 

The college im at is bedford and they decided to sell the only performing space we had with actual lighting bars in and now we have nothing (hmmm how does that work?). We occasionaly get to work in theatres when the college gives us money to do them.

 

As the college decided they were going to sell the building they gave us a new place to go the old art and design block and got some people in to kit it out with new stuff! So they had three quotes from the ccompanys that got chose to tender. They measured it all up and chose one this was sept 2005. And yet we are still waiting for the stuff to arrive. So we have done not alot really in the past couple of months.

 

NOW THATS WHAT THEY TEACH ON A BTEC COURSE

 

Shaun

[Nikki]

I hear about so many places offering the performing arts production course with no facilities to support it, there are teo places I know worth going to the BRIT school of performings arts in South London and Yale in North Wales. I havent heard of anywhere else that fully supports it's production courses