Kristina Ohst – Film & Media – Level 3
AUT University, New Zealand
The University and courses
My Exchange at AUT University, enriched me with new perspective and experiences. Not due to its location but also due to the universities size. Located in the heart of Auckland, AUT University is the second biggest university in Auckland and provides a lot of technical courses and equipment.
As a film student it helped me a lot to work with a new camera and a greater variety of sound equipment and lenses, which Queen Margaret University, as a small university, cannot provide. Throughout the term my technical skills improved through course required homework, longer hours with hand on approach and more smaller assignments spread throughout the term. This, forces the students and provides them with more practice.
Different to Queen Margaret University, the courses involve homework, longer hours with hand on approach and more smaller assignments spread out throughout the term. This provides the students with more practice. I attended the courses: creative screen practice, which is like the QMU course video production, but it felt like a further extension of this course, where individual crew roles are more clearly distinguished and take turns between the different projects, resulting in everyone getting to experience each role. Pre-production management, which specialized in organizing and planning a shoot, was one of my most hated and most loved modules. It was the most tiring to visit but I believe one of the most essentials to attend.
I wish I had known the skills and elements of pre-production planning prior to other film projects during the last years in Queen Margaret university. It would have increased my films quality. Another module was story lab, which is equivalent to screenwriting. We had several little screenwriting task and homework thought the term and it was the most time intense module of my courses. However, the deep module on screenwriting helped to improve my stories and our teacher was brilliant in guiding us through the module.
Cinematic process was my last module and there is no equivalent in QMU. It was an amazing course, where we shot on 16mm film with old film cameras, Bolex 16mm. The final deadline was focused on the experimental approach to filming, developing and postproduction rather than the actual outcome. I made a mistake during the shoot and my film was not exposed, unfortunately, I could only see it after the developing stage. However, it is a brilliant experience for everyone interested on working with old film cameras and film and it was my most easy-going course.
There is also a course at AUT that is available, which informs about the Māori culture and their way of life originally and nowadays. Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand and a big part of the community and society there. I only heard good things of the course from friends.
Budget and cost of living
My budget was mainly spent on housing, food, the in and outbound flight and traveling throughout the semester. The in and outbound flight should be planned with around 2,000 pounds, the accommodations around 3,000 pounds for the entire time. Food cost me approximately 100 pound per week and I had one of the lowest grocery costs among my friends.
For transport, Auckland has a hop card, which will need to be purchased at the airport to use public transport. You can add money through the app. Due to the central location, you will be able to walk a lot but for longer distances you should plan around ten pounds round trip. I would really advise to look into the recommended living cost in Auckland prior and then add the cost of potential travel and flights.
Accommodation
I lived in the city campus accommodations at AUT. They were quite pricey, but if lucky you get a great view over the harbour and downtown and are located in flats with other exchange students. This really helps to find people to travel with especially during the start. The accommodation has a common area downstairs, where you can study, watch movies, play pool or table tennis. It further has a volleyball net and basketball court. In the fresher’s week they host many events which help making connections. You can also buy a linen package at the halls, which includes beddings, blankets and towels.
Auckland city and surrounding
Auckland itself offers a lot of activities, within the university, for entertainment, stunning beaches, Volcano islands, mountains and a vibrant nightlife. The transport is also affordable, compared to Europe, however, groceries are very expensive.
I would recommend visiting Long Beach, Takapuna Beach or Waiheke Island during the warmer months. Waiheke is an island that can be reached by ferry but should be booked in advance to ensure a place, same with the ferry to the volcano island Rangitoto.
You can do a daytrip to Piha which has a beautiful black sand beach and great hikes, however, to get there you require a car. Not far from Auckland are also several glow worm caves, more unknown can be found north of Auckland and they are free. Also visiting Mount Eden is worth it, it’s a nice walk through the city and provides an overview over the city.
Travel
I would strongly recommend taking time to travel during the exchange. New Zealand is an amazing country, with a stunning landscape and huge variety within. You can visit giant sand-dunes in the north peak of the country, colorful fish and a tropical feeling in the bay of island or beautiful high stunning mountains and glaciers on the South Island. New Zealand is close to Australia and the pacific island like Fiji and Samoa which are fairly cheap and close to visit by plane. I visited Sydney and Samoa after my university term ended and loved both, the modernity and beaches of Sydney and the slow and communal appeal of tropical Samoa, where we slept in beach Fales. A car is recommended for travel within New Zealand, especially the South Island. To drive and rental a car you will need an international driver’s license which can take 6 months to be processed and arrive, or a translation, which can be purchased in Auckland within 2 weeks for about 50 pounds.
This exchange was enriching and wonderful on different area, personally, socially, professionally, skill wise and for my independence and organization. Regarding budgeting, I was lucky to receive funding but would recommend saving up money beforehand to fully embrace and enjoy the exchange and be able to take all opportunities without thinking about the finances too much.
The time in New Zealand was amazing and I could not have gone without the additional funding of Santander which I am grateful for and would recommend attempting to get when arranging your exchange semester abroad.
