ENS Louis-Lumière

A great public school of image and sound

The École nationale supérieure Louis-Lumière is a public institution of higher education, heir to the school of photography and cinematography created in Paris in the 1920s. Located in Saint-Denis, in the area of La Plaine Saint-Denis, it occupies premises equipped with soundstages, laboratories, sound studios and screening rooms.

Along with La Fémis, it is one of the two great French public film schools, but with its own identity: an approach to the image and sound professions that is at once technical, scientific and artistic.

Three specialties

The training is divided into three sections: cinema (cinematography, lighting, image postproduction), photography and sound. The curriculum, at master's level, combines theoretical courses (optics, colorimetry, acoustics, history and aesthetics), practical work, collective shooting exercises and a research thesis, often supported by an experimental project.

The school maintains close ties with technical industries, laboratories and professional associations; graduates go on notably to positions such as director of photography, camera assistant, colorist, sound engineer, mixer, or towards author and commissioned photography.

Admission

Recruitment takes place through a demanding competitive examination, at bac+2 level, with scientific and technical tests as well as artistic tests and an interview. Many candidates go through a classe préparatoire or a first university cycle (sciences, audiovisual, arts) before applying.