film school necessary?

Damn, you weren't kidding, you really are an extrovert.

Sometimes I'm really glad all the users on this site are in different parts of the world....
...far away from me.

:beer:
 
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I was in the pool! I WAS IN THE POOL!​
 
I am still in film school, my 5th year to say the least (long story), but for me, it was something that I needed to put all the thoughts and queries in my head into something practical that I can see for myself.
It may not be necessary for some, but for others it may. But I must admit, socially, you gain much confidence in working with people that are sometimes "not user friendly"
 
Barry_Green said:
Look at Dov Simens. The guy was production manager on four low-budget movies. Learned the ropes the hard way, and decided that he hated that job (and I don't blame him, the production manager job is hateful for anyone but the right personality type). Found out that he really liked teaching though, and set up the Hollywood 2-Day Film School; it's a fantastic experience, extraordinarily informative for anyone new to the biz, I highly recommend it, and Dov definitely found his calling.
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Can these 2 day courses be of benefit? Filmmaking requires a pretty wide spectrum of knowledge and two days isn't a lot of time.

If it were a two day course on a specific aspect of filmmaking like directing, lighting, etc, I'd be more interested.
 
Billz said:
Can these 2 day courses be of benefit? Filmmaking requires a pretty wide spectrum of knowledge and two days isn't a lot of time.

If it were a two day course on a specific aspect of filmmaking like directing, lighting, etc, I'd be more interested.
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Dov's course is also available on DVD. It's apparently a simple two camera video shoot of his 16 hour in-person seminar, taped in front of the participants. It's certainly not "everything you'll ever need to know", but it's great - highly recommended. Check it out here:

http://www.webfilmschool.com/dvd.htm
 
lairhair said:
Im starting to wonder if focusing so much on grades to get into nyu is a waste of time when I could be geting more involved in film. So is film school necessary?
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Before answering whether or not film school is "necessary", I think it's important to understand exactly what your goals are?

Do you want to be the next great filmmaker, or do you want to do something else on set?

Secondly, and more importantly, how BAD do you want it?

Once you answer those two, I think you can begin to evaluate the benefits of film school.

I did graduate from NYU Film in 99, and I'd say there were pros and cons to the experience. I'd be happy to discuss it in depth on a PM, or answer anyone's direct questions.

I was the rare student who went in with absolutely no money, and no financial support from anyone, and left with $700+/month in student loan payments. That certainly limited my options in and out of school, and I wouldn't recommend that as a your safest approach.

On thing I'd like to mention is that pretty much any professor at NYU (in my day) would tell you that you need BOTH film school & pro experience. One famously said that when you graduate NYU it's like graduating kindergarten. You have a base to begin your film industry education, and more importantly, a LONG way to go. So take that for what it's worth.
 
I think the point of Dov's 2-day course is to get you out there shooting, where you'll learn by doing - practice makes perfect kind of thing. Kind of like Robert Rodriguez 10 Minute Film School.

Wasn't it QT or someone else big that took Dov's course?
 
Billz said:
If it were a two day course on a specific aspect of filmmaking like directing, lighting, etc, I'd be more interested.
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Dov's course is two days on producing. He barely lightly skims over directing and writing (like, I don't know, an hour for each) but almost all of his course is on producing.
 
I'm applying to Columbia College Chicago. My focus is documentary film making but I wanna spend a lot of time studying cinematography as well.
 
The AD on one of my projects went to CCC, she's a big fan. It's really pricey, though. You could get an associate's degree from a cheap school and then transfer, get the same bachelor's degree, and save $20,000.
 
ProfessorU said:
The AD on one of my projects went to CCC, she's a big fan. It's really pricey, though. You could get an associate's degree from a cheap school and then transfer, get the same bachelor's degree, and save $20,000.
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Fortunately for me money isn't a problem. Yes saving $20k would be great. I could buy a lot of gear with that but I think the experience i'd get with 2 more years in chicago would be really good for me.
 
Zander said:
Fortunately for me money isn't a problem. Yes saving $20k would be great. I could buy a lot of gear with that but I think the experience i'd get with 2 more years in chicago would be really good for me.
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Also remember that while you are at film school, you may be spending money but you get access to LOTS of film equipment (depends on school) and a bunch of crew members who will work for pizza or less.

So yes school costs money, but you get to take out sweet cameras, get lots and lots of customized lighting kits, and have a young ambitious pool of fellow filmmakers to help you out.

It's an education with a rental house and connections included in the tuition.
 
today most film schools teach digital filmmaking, which is not a bad thing since the whole industry is headed in that direction. If you want to really understand the aesthetics of filmmaking, I would recommend you find a school no matter how small, that starts its basic classes with celluloid film. Preping, lighting, sound (nagra's), shooting (16mm or 35mm), editing (moviola), and exhibiting (projectors) all on celluloid. This combined with film theory and analysis will teach you the "WHY" Barry talks about. It dos not have to cost that much money. Many students skip this and go straight to the digital filmmaking platform. They spend so much time recreating other peoples work.

Film school cannot make you creative, but it can surely teach you how to conceptualize and materialize your creativity. Plus it is college you learn many other important subjects business, art, history, science, economics, sociology etc, which really are all entailed in filmmaking.

That said, you don't need to go to filmschool to make music videos, you probably would to make commercials I don't know.
You can certainly make lots of money, making low budget features earning your way up to big budgeted productions, all without going to film school. Its been tried and proven many many times.

Me I spent my $60,000 on film schools and I am extremely glad, satisfied and happy I did. Directing a film is like performing surgery, you evaluate the patient, prep, perform, post and wait for the results, all the while reassuring yourself and your patient you know what you are doing. I know becos my little brother is a surgeon.

peace
 
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