Are film schools worth it?
- Thread starter Ironman
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Ironman
Active member
2wheelfilms
Active member
I used to work at Madison Media Institute, a media school, not quite a film school. Looking back on that experience, I think film/media schools are a 50/50 shot in terms of being worth it.
To me, media schools have to teach down to a bare minimum. Several classes I taught were based on one of the Adobe "In a Classroom" series of books. I always added additional projects and bunches of other stuff, but still the core of the class was based on a book. To me this added no value. Hopefully the projects etc. did.
And of course there are always the wide range of demographics that every class in a trade/media school tends to get. Invariably, a few can't really read and/or type, or they have some learning issue or anxiety, etc. Those people are to be admired for their determination to at least try, but for the more advanced students, the net effect is that the bottom percentile slows down everyone else because of their special needs and the in-class time the teacher ends up spending on just those few rather than the whole. This is a tough issue and variably affects you depending on where you fall as a learner.
But.....the school has the computers, the software, and the time period in which you can devote yourself to learning the TOOLS of a piece of software. And in the end, those three things MAY make a media school worth it. You are paying for access to expensive software and a decent computer to run it on, as well as the OPEN LAB hours in which you can do your own work outside of class strictures. For many just starting out access makes the difference. They may have the internal motivation and the interest, but they do not have the hard or soft ware. And the media school does.
I never did find a one size fits all answer for your question and I got it a bazillion times. Worth depends on where you are at in life, in learning, and in time and money.
my .02
JB
To me, media schools have to teach down to a bare minimum. Several classes I taught were based on one of the Adobe "In a Classroom" series of books. I always added additional projects and bunches of other stuff, but still the core of the class was based on a book. To me this added no value. Hopefully the projects etc. did.
And of course there are always the wide range of demographics that every class in a trade/media school tends to get. Invariably, a few can't really read and/or type, or they have some learning issue or anxiety, etc. Those people are to be admired for their determination to at least try, but for the more advanced students, the net effect is that the bottom percentile slows down everyone else because of their special needs and the in-class time the teacher ends up spending on just those few rather than the whole. This is a tough issue and variably affects you depending on where you fall as a learner.
But.....the school has the computers, the software, and the time period in which you can devote yourself to learning the TOOLS of a piece of software. And in the end, those three things MAY make a media school worth it. You are paying for access to expensive software and a decent computer to run it on, as well as the OPEN LAB hours in which you can do your own work outside of class strictures. For many just starting out access makes the difference. They may have the internal motivation and the interest, but they do not have the hard or soft ware. And the media school does.
I never did find a one size fits all answer for your question and I got it a bazillion times. Worth depends on where you are at in life, in learning, and in time and money.
my .02
JB
Michael T
Well-known member
Look at Brooks Institute in California, they have a great reputation. School is as much who you will meet there as what you will learn. Make and keep a large collection of info on everyone you meet. What there major is and what they do and where they work if they do. This info can be of more use to you later than what you learn. So be the best and work the hardest but develop a great database of contacts.
Last edited:
Jon Starr
Veteran
There are almost as many of these as there are "film vs video" threads.
My two cents? A lot of people say "Tarantino didn't go to film school and look at where it got him." And I respond, "yes, but look at how many people in the industry DID go to film school."
Is it worth it? Somewhat. Sometimes you don't learn much. Obviously you'll learn a lot more on set. But I gotta say I'm surprised with what I'm learning at school (some film aesthetics and technical things that I never thought to think of), and the contacts I'm making are invaluable. I know people that didn't go to film school and are working on say, commercials, and they're in awe how I can call at least 20 people to help fill a position on set. I know a few of us (including myself) are already forming a production company so that when we get out of school we're getting into it right away.