I spent the best part of three years at LFS (1998 - 2001) and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. You don't just attend the film school, you live it, morning, noon and night, total immersion in all aspects of film-making.

The opportunity to learn like this - and this is the school's great strength, fostering this safe environment in which to learn as much as you can find the time to cram in, to find skills in yourself you never dreamt you had - is simply unique. For someone who had spent years as an amateur, directing on Hi-8 video, and who didn't really understand F-stops never mind T-stops, within two years I was focus-pulling 35mm anamorphic and subsequently spent seven years working as a camera assistant. And because I'd worked on upwards of fifty films in my three years, becoming familiar with so much equipment (and their individual skills), I've also been able - when the need has arisen - to earn a living both as a sound recordist and an editor.

Like a large proportion of students at the school my ultimate goal has always been to direct, and the opportunity to become adept at working all these other positions on the crew is beyond value; it just gives you a much deeper understanding of how a film set works. Again, this is a crucial part of LFS, being given the chance to soak up the reality of how film sets work, being trained not for academic qualification but for the professional world, the "real" world.

As for me, after seven years of being a technician and re-writing scripts for ex-LFS students on the side, I'm now working full-time as a scriptwriter. I've just written the new "Sherlock Holmes" feature for Warner Bros, and they have subsequently offered me a blind deal to write features for them. There's no way I'd be here now, doing this, if I hadn't spent three glorious, quality years at LFS. No doubt about it.

If you're serious (and I mean serious) about a career in the film industry, this is the place for you.

Graduated 2001