Who here HASN'T been to film school?

ha... yea never taken a video class. started video about 2 years ago with a canon elura 100. moved on to a panasonic gs500 in about 6 months...

then started making money... made enough in the following 6 months to purchase an fx7 with a bunch of extras. now im working on making enough through video gigs to buy a macpro.

now im 20, majoring in biblical studies, working at a middle school, and shooting live events mostly on weekends.
 
no film school. learned on and off set and followed around a Line Producer for a bit so I learned budgeting and scheduling first. Really impacts how I write scripts...
 
Started a film and communications major at Jim Cameron's alma mater and quit when I got hired on my first show.

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I guess I have to disapoint and say yes:

I'm currently studying at the best film school in the world,

its called DVXuser :D
 
I have better things to spend my money on. I also live in Hollywood, grew up in the industry and know that you are just as well off not going, and I believe there are better things to spend your money on.

A very high percentage (I just did a Google search and found numbers ranging from 60-80%. I cant say "80%" and be 100% sure that's correct.) of college graduates end up working in areas outside of their field of study. This includes film students.

I have also talked to alot of film grads lately, and I mention my feelings and then say "But I guess the best reason to go is networking." and they have ALL said that is not the case. Considering most dont even end up in film, the networking doesnt work out that great. You would have to pick the right 30% to have networked with.

Take the money, buy yourself some gear, and spend the rest on shooting a feature. You will learn far more from that than you will from going to film school.

ALSO... if you dont want to MAKE films, but want to WORK IN film, move to Hollywood and get PA work on some low budgets (not crappy NO-budgets. GENUINE low budgets - $2-5M) network with THOSE guys, then work your way up. This is the way it actually happens in Hollywood, whether you have gone to film school or not.

If you want a degree, you have to go to school. If you want to work in film, school wont help you.
 
Well...film school MIGHT help some people. Especially younger people who are going to college anyhow. Might as well study something you're passionate about, and spend all those hours studying and writing about film, as well as shooting, rather than studying and writing about Medieval history. And it might be especially beneficial for those who don't even know where to begin or don't want to move to Hollywood.

But I agree with everyone else's posts that state if you can motivate yourself, then you can learn everything you need to learn by getting out and making films and working in the industry. For every dollar saved on NOT going to film school, you can invest it in camera equipment and shooting. School doesn't make filmmakers. It's just a great place for filmmakers to screw around if they're going to go to school anyhow! :-)
 
sean said:
Especially younger people who are going to college anyhow.
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me said:
If you want a degree, you have to go to school.
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However, I highly suggest that if you are going to spend that much money or go that far into debt to go to school, study an area that will be beneficial when you get out.

I'm a big fan of furthering education, but you dont have to go to college to do so. If your degree is not going to help you when you get out (doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc NEED that degree) then dont waste your time.


It's just a great place for filmmakers to screw around if they're going to go to school anyhow!
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I guess I'm just not that big a fan of screwing around. Especially spending that kind of money to do it.


And it might be especially beneficial for those who don't even know where to begin or don't want to move to Hollywood.
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Again, find a script, pick up a camera, and start shooting. That's where you begin. As for Hollywood, it's not for everyone, but if you wanted to work with polar ice caps I'd suggest you go to one of the Poles.

Also, lets be clear that I am specifically talking about FILM SCHOOL. If someone takes a "Film History" glass on their way to their MD, then I have no issue with that. You might as well take some things that interest you outside your field. I am only talking about specialized FILM SCHOOL as a means to working in film.
 
GageFX said:
If you want to work in film, school wont help you.
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That is such an unbelievable load of bullshit I don't even know where to begin. All I will say, though, is that the majority of people who go to film school think it will make them filmmakers overnight. The reality is, just like everything else in life, you get out as much as you put into it. If you dedicate yourself and work hard, then it certainly will help you. And I speak from personal experience, so don't even try to tell me I'm wrong.
 
LOL. I dont doubt you went to film school, then got a job in "film". I'm just saying you could have done the same thing, just as easily, without it.
 
GageFX said:
LOL. I dont doubt you went to film school, then got a job in "film". I'm just saying you could have done the same thing, just as easily, without it.
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Why do you have to put the word "film" in quotes like that?

You could be a little less obnoxious about this.
 
GageFX said:
I have also talked to alot of film grads lately, and I mention my feelings and then say "But I guess the best reason to go is networking." and they have ALL said that is not the case. Considering most dont even end up in film, the networking doesnt work out that great. You would have to pick the right 30% to have networked with.
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Well, now that we've met and talked, I can at least be the dissenting opinion. I met GREAT people in school and I don't know where I'd be without them now. My 3 business partners are all people I went to school with. The thing about going to a decent school is it acts as a quality filter for the people you'll meet. So many people in Hollywood or "making films" anywhere are so completely full of crap, and completely talentless. It can take a lot of energy to figure out which people are genuine, which have talent. So it's nice to let an admissions board do it for you!

Also, a good friend of mine from school is now a post super. He's worked his way up there based on his first job after school working on The West Wing. A professor hooked him up with the job. One of my professors helped me land freelance design work for a while.

No one's going to just hand you a directing job, ever. But getting a job on a crew, working in post, as a composer, even as a writer... these are areas where school can really help you out, in my experience.

If you care about what your diploma says on it, then you're in the wrong place. Gage is right, no one cares. But school is about a lot more than that.

Finally, as for the whole "School's expensive! Take the money and make a film instead!" argument... that's ridiculous. Do you know even a single person who paid for school with cash? I don't. I went on a 3/4 scholarship, the rest in loans. Almost everyone I know went on similar terms, or fully on loans. No one's going to be handing any 18-year-old kid any $80,000 low-interest loans to buy a camera and make a movie.
 
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