Who here HASN'T been to film school?

Thanks Kegan. I personally think that everyone should get as much education as they can, no matter what kind. One of my best friends in school was a double major in film and Classics. Yeah, she's every bit as weird as you'd expect, but never a dull conversation...
 
Of course education <> schooling.

You can - and plenty of people have - acquired graduate-level knowledge through directed self-study and work experience, in plenty of disciplines.
 
Eastside - I get what you're trying to get across and good on you for having already made the connections and being apart of those films. You've done well for yourself, but I think what he was trying to get across was that not EVERYONE gets those opportunities. Maybe its because they don't take advantage of the time they spend there, but it is true - few people get to work on blockbuster features right out of school or during.

Karl - I agree with you and it is true that people do gain the knowledge through self study and work experience. Not only in film, which is a very valid point you brought up.

Film It - No harm, no foul. I just thought you were speaking ill of education and that's a big pet peeve of mine.

-Kegan
 
No Film school here, just luck. I got picked up by one of the top working DoP in europe at 19 and he taught me everything I know over the next 6 years. Then I moved to LA and worked there for 6 years. I moved out to the east coast for a change and now have the money,time and the desire to goto film school.

But I'm too old (35) for that so I go to rockport workshops couple times a year for fun. It's like summer camp.
 
Kegan Sant said:
Eastside - I get what you're trying to get across and good on you for having already made the connections and being apart of those films. You've done well for yourself, but I think what he was trying to get across was that not EVERYONE gets those opportunities. Maybe its because they don't take advantage of the time they spend there, but it is true - few people get to work on blockbuster features right out of school or during.
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Of course not everyone gets those opportunities, and that's because most of the people who go to film school are not hard workers. Too many people just assume they'll get jobs because they have a degree. Everyone wants success but so few people are willing to work for it.
 
^ This is weirdly, horribly true...I had a classmate in undergrad school who, when asked by a grad student about his plans, said something like well, I'll move out to Hollywood, and, like, I'll be "here I am," and they'll see I'm good, and they'll hire me.

No kidding.

I don't know what he does now, but I'd bet a week's salary that it has zip-doo nuthin' to do, with film or tv production.
 
if making lucky guesses and faking it were more valued than education and talent, i would be a much more sought after commodity. sigh.
 
ugafan said:
if making lucky guesses and faking it were more valued than education and talent, i would be a much more sought after commodity. sigh.
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Um...

...lucky guesses and faking it, are the very lifeblood of a successful Hollywood career...
 
No film school here either. Got a BS and MS in Chemical engineering and not a single film class. Though I got a DVX100A and about 3 years of acting lessons. Want ot make my own films now. I'm having trouble figuring out where to start. FOr now I am just gonna learn at least one new thing about filming everyday.
 
Eastside Parkway said:
most of the people who go to film school are not hard workers. Too many people just assume they'll get jobs because they have a degree. Everyone wants success but so few people are willing to work for it.
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That may be true but ya gotta remember that 'FILM' is a VERY unique MAJOR with which to major. Many people go to school for a degree and don't wind up working for that respective field. So, finding a new avenue is common. But with FILM there are so many other facets to consider. You go to school for Medicine you become a doctor. You go to Law school you become a lawyer. But, Film School is vague. You go to Film School you might as well just major in Liberal Arts. You don't always get the backing of the University or other departments. And you certainly aren't given the kind of specific "workflow" knowledge to work in the field. Its usually a very generalized, yet technical education. So, you can't fault the Film Grads for moving on to other things. It's not always laziness. Working in the biz is a combo of a lot of things...luck being a major one of them...
 
It's also an incredibly demanding business, full of unhealthy people. I know lots of people have opted out of it, because they'd rather have a sane life with regular hours where they can be there for their families. Or they decided they'd rather live somewhere that has no film industry to speak of. Nothing wrong with any of that.
 
brianluce said:
Not just in Hollywood. A valuable talent in any discipline. Vastly underrated.
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Good point. We all remember Ed Wood, for example.

Being talented and good at what your doing is not enough. You have to be able to sell yourself and know how to play "the game"- socialize, kiss ass, and be fierce and merciless to get to the top. Unfortunately, I'm not good in most of those skills.

So I trully need to excel in my shorts and if possible in festival recognition to get somewhere. Notice that most current Hollywood directors (not the auteurs, but the ones directing the American Pies, the "One Night in Vegas", etc. came not from Festival winning curriculums. They probably worked their way to the top in the business.

The Shyamalan's, Cronembergs, Nolans all came from the Indie crowd...
 
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