Meet the Tutors - Jim O'Brien

Our Meet the Tutor series is designed to give you an insight into our tutors and their experience at the Met Film School. 

This week we meet the BAFTA winning Director of The Jewel in the Crown - Jim O'Brien. Jim is the Head of Fiction and teaches on our Degree and One-Year Courses.

What is one thing about your field of expertise or filmmaking in general that excites you? 

That new Directors can create very powerful/very funny stories, and new ways of looking at the world, if they can master some of the elements that cinematic storytelling involves.

Do you have any links to your past/current projects (youtube link, url)?

I can be found on IMDB. Otherwise my films are all a bit long to fit onto youtube.

How would you describe your time teaching at the School?  What do you think is the most challenging element of the course you teach?  

Well, directing is challenging, and teaching directing is every bit as challenging. Developing all the skills that enable you to direct a team that can help you to tell your stories in your own particular way, is a challenge for both students and the tutors that guide them. What is really exciting for me, is to see it be so successful, so often.

What are the key attributes you look for in a student?

A passion for cinematic storytelling, and an insatiable appetite for learning more about filmmaking.

Any useful tips for aspiring filmmaker?

When you graduate your trump cards are that you are the next generation. Be sure that you develop your own voice and your distinctive ways of telling stories. That is the only thing that the industry needs, and is looking for..