Film school

beebs

beebs

Active member
i started my final year of highschool yesterday and that got me thinking about my future. i want to go to a film school, but is it worth it? did you guys go to film school? do you recommend a certain school? also, i havnt seen a gpa/act requirment for film yet. do they care much about grades, or do they look at a students work more?
 
Take the money you're going to spend on film school and make a movie instead. Go to the library and read as many books on filmmaking as you can--for FREE! Listen to all the director commentaries on the DVDs you watch and take notes.
 
Unless you can get into USC, UCLA, NYU, COLUMBIA or AFI, filmschool won't do much for you. If you go to one of those schools, you'll meet people who can help with your career later, as many grads go on to be agents, entertainment lawyers, execs and producers in the buisness. If not, you'll learn more trying to shoot your own stuff. After four years of trial and error you'll be much further ahead than most grads.
 
right now im primarily looking at schools in/near hollywood so i should be able to find work. i was looking at La film school, chapman, and NYFA. it's gonna be hard getting in though..
 
Join the Navy: See the world, save some $$, buy equipment, write often, shoot when you can, take some college classes (yes, at sea), and do this:

Tlalconetl said:
Take the money you're going to spend on film school and make a movie instead. Go to the library and read as many books on filmmaking as you can--for FREE! Listen to all the director commentaries on the DVDs you watch and take notes.
Click to expand...

When you get out after 4 years, then decide: film school or DIY. Oh, don't get married or have kids (not that it is bad... just hold off a while).

Tell the recruiter that you want to enlist as a photographer’s mate (and go to a photographer’s mate "A" school right after boot camp) or you won't sign squat.

You will of course have to put up with a certain level of BS.

P.S. I'm 100% serious
 
snodart said:
Join the Navy: See the world, save some $$, buy equipment, write often, shoot when you can, take some college classes (yes, at sea), and do this:



When you get out after 4 years, then decide: film school or DIY. Oh, don't get married or have kids (not that it is bad... just hold off a while).

Tell the recruiter that you want to enlist as a photographer’s mate (and go to a photographer’s mate "A" school right after boot camp) or you won't sign squat.

You will of course have to put up with a certain level of BS.

P.S. I'm 100% serious
Click to expand...

Never heard that answer before...
 
traveling the world seems nice, but taking orders and following rules....im not feeling that. the skip college and make your own film sounds risky, its like you either hit or you miss. did anyone here actually go to film school?
 
Go to school... film if you must, with a minor in something you find really interesting, but is unrelated. Frankly, we need you to do something or at least learn something
interesting so you have stories worth telling :)

Military route is interesting.. had a few GI Bill guys in film classes with me... but you
do know where you're going. Its a tough decision.
 
my jaded experience: film school is full of know it alls who are actually the least qualified storytellers on the planet. If you insist on college, get a degree in something that will pay the bills. And aim for the school with the most prestige, because reputation is all that matters; the 'quality of education' is bullshit anywhere you go, from state school all the way up to ivy league. At least a school with pedigree will help you get your foot in the door.
 
I go to Full Sail, for film right now, and no one else can, or can't tell you wether or not film school is worth it. It's what YOU put into it, that you will get in return. I would strongly recommend doing it.
 
DerrickTempleton said:
And aim for the school with the most prestige, because reputation is all that matters.
Click to expand...

disagree, No doubt prestige helps, but if you have nothing for a reel, all you have is a degree.

I go to California State - Northridge. I personally would suggest this plan. Go to community college in California for 2 years, transfer to Northridge. It's becoming a pretty good school for its price. State colleges are cheap in CA, Chapman is great, but its in Orange County, which makes it hard to get jobs/internships at the legit studios while going to school.

If you parents have deep pockets, and you have what it takes, apply to USC. You'll be in LA, not the everglades. They have master classes by real directors/writers/producers.

I don't have anything against Full Sail, but I just think its in a really bad place.

Work in the industry while in school, so when you graduate you already have connections.
 
beebs said:
right now im primarily looking at schools in/near hollywood so i should be able to find work. i was looking at La film school, chapman, and NYFA. it's gonna be hard getting in though..
Click to expand...

Honestly, I wouldn't bother going to any of those schools for a film degree. As stated, you're better off getting a degree in something else like business. Knowing how to raise money will put you way ahead of the game. You can practice and learn the craft on your own. There are tons of resources out there (like this site), the tools to do stuff are the best and the cheapest they've ever been and will only get better, and as far as writing goes, all you need is pen and paper. The filmmaking process may seem intimidating but once you strip away all the non-essentials it's not that complicated. Hard to master, but easy to learn. Learn to write, learn to edit, and most importantly, learn to shoot and you'll be unstoppable...This is coming from someone who went to filmschool, directed some decent student films, but still, has learned WAY, WAY more by shooting my own stuff. Once I took responsibility for creating the imagery myself filmmaking became demystified. I think a lot of young filmmakers start out seeing the process as some mysterious, magical thing, but really, it's just a lot of hard work. The sooner you start doing that work the better.
 
ya. but not like really strict navy and army rules. my cousin goes to west point and says you must swallow your food after 2 bites and all this other stuff...
 
Film school accomplishes more than you may realize. The first and most important in my opinion is the people you will meet. I am gearing up for a big corporate shoot and two of the people on my crew are very talented people I met in Film school. The second is equipment - how else will you shoot 16mm film, get the chance to radically fail and do it again? You can read books and for the most part it is a must, but holding those gorgeous Zeiss lenses in your hand is another thing entirely - I came from a family with no money, so for me this was amazing. It also gives you a chance to realize a few things - can you handle the workflow? Do you want to be an editor or a DP? For me film school was a blessing, after I got out I had a much more realistic foundation for talking people out of their money for my films. Whatever you choose, DO NOT have a backup plan. Make film your only path. By the way, I went to Chapman University in OC. Highly recommend! Good Luck.
 
The film school question is always interesting...I agree with the posters that said if you can't get into USC or whatever then you're probably better off doing the hard hards on your own. I mean put it this way - film school doesn't teach creativity. But it CAN teach you what to DO with your creativity.

It all comes down to what kind of person you are really, AND what film school you can go to. There's no point paying thousands of dollars to play around with a DVX when you can buy one yourself and make 100 short films in the time your classmate friends will make two, if they're lucky.

Having said that, if you can get into a film school which lets you play with film, has really good courses and lecturers, lots of hands-on tech stuff, then sure, go for it.

I live in New Zealand and I would love to go to one of the American filmschools where I could dab in film and meet some new filmmakers. Right now it sucks --there's only a handful of people around my age that are as interested in filmmaking as I am, but I don't have the $70,000 or whatever (something crazy) it costs to go to one of those top film schools as an international student.

It's ridiculous. I'm currently at University learning pretty much nothing, considering what I'm going to do next year...pretty rough when you live in the other side of the world with no real filmmaking culture. I wonder if there are any courses overseas at least that wouldn't cost me a fortune!

Of course, film school isn't my only option... but given the lack of people to work with over here, I would probably appreciate it greatly. It would be nice. :violin: My goal is to make my "breakthrough short film" before I'm 25. I've got a maximum seven years to achieve that goal. Film school or not.


Chris
 
I did a 1 year TAFE course in Film & TV at brisbane, Australia and it was excellent. They threw us in the deep end, we shot 2 x 16mm spots and I got to direct a 35mm short. My Uni mate's paid a lot more and got a lot less, I think. My point is it really depends on the course.

If you go to film school then use your time wisely there; borrow eq. if possible and shoot all the time. The good thing is you will always have a few keen people to help.

Hey Chris, seems like you're in the same position as me. I want to live in the states and one of the only ways to get there is to study which is a lot of money that I could be investing. Community Colledge is all I could come up with but it's still pretty dear for an international student.
 
tmnt, sounds cool. I have been seriously considering movin' to Australia next year to do something like that. Heck, at least it'd be more fun than wanking over art-music that sounds like it was put together by 5 year olds (ie my current university course in composition). :)

Chris
 
I don't have anything against Full Sail, but I just think its in a really bad place.
Click to expand...

Definitely true, Nomadic. It's a sacrifice being across the country from where I want to be, but the program is great, and if you are passionate, you can make connections from anywhere, really. I have already been making some great contacts out in LA, and I've never even been there.
 
Agree with Batutta. And to answer your question, whether it's grades or portfolio/credits they weigh more heavily, it depends on the school. Also, at USC, a personal recommendation from the right donor will slide you in. At UCLA, for example, that doesn't fly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top