Film School

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parabola10

Member
I've been going back and forth on whether I want to spend the money on film school...still haven't decided. I was looking into Full Sail in Orlando Fl. It's supposed to be a really good school but I was also looking into NYFA and have read some of the negative comments here that have been written about that place. I was wondering if anyone here has had any experience with Full Sail or knows anyone who has been there?
 
well, i guess it dpeends, what do you expect it to do for you? Cause i can tell you right now that what im getting out of it is not what i had expected.
 
Just out of question, what are you getting out of it? I'm also considering Full Sail and I'm essentially looking fore someplace to teach me everything i'll need to be prepared with for a career in film and maybe some free time and space to build my portfolio.
 
PaPa said:
well, i guess it dpeends, what do you expect it to do for you? Cause i can tell you right now that what im getting out of it is not what i had expected.
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Could you elaborate on that?

What did you expect and how is it different?
 
Don't do it. It's a scam and titantic waste of money. Save your money.
Get a real education or go to Nursing school.
 
What do I expect to get out of it...well, I really want to become a director and I figure my two choices are move to the L.A. area and try to work in a production company and hope that I can "sell" some of my ideas (I'm in the process of working on some short films and screenplays) or I can go to film school. I know that people on here will say that the best way is to get out there and make films and learn from it... and I wholeheartedly agree but there are some things that I just don't have a lot of knowledge/experience with, like editing for instance; and I figured that going to school would help teach me those things. So, I guess what I expect to get out of it is an all around knowledge of filmmaking.

Papa... you said that Full Sail hasn't been what you expected. Could you elaborate on that a bit.
 
I went to film school and it taught me what not to do in the industry. It was ridiculous. However it was good for establishing working relationships with great people.
 
hey parabola10, this is what i think.

if you are just out of high school and have never been to a 2 or 4 year collage then its totally worth it. after all you should go to collage once in your life!

if you have already been to collage and are now thinking about changing career then you need to ask can i learn everything i need to learn about filmmaking without spending another 100K by going to film school then yes. Its going to be hard but the answer is yes.

Also please know that going to a film school does not mean that you will be a successful in this career. you still need to be very good and to some extent lucky to make it.

my 2 cents!

Cheers and goodluck
 
krish said:
Also please know that going to a film school does not mean that you will be a successful in this career. you still need to be very good and to some extent lucky to make it.
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Right. If there's any more than the slightest misconception about this it should be dispelled immediately. No art school (graphic arts, music, film, acting, writing, dance, architecture...you name it) will make you a success. Hard work, people skills, and *very* substantial talent will. And yes, like most things in life, luck will be a factor too.

I've been a successful music recording engineer for a long time now, and didn't go to school for it (there weren't any such schools - at least not accredited ones - back then, though there are many now), and in my experience only a tiny fraction of the newbies I started out working alongside (when I was a newbie) made successful careers of it.

"The arts" only has 'economic headroom' if you will, for those who at least excel. Real greatness is generally required for high levels of success. Sure we can all cite the arguably 'not great' types who did succeed, but what you don't see is the thousands and thousands of others who tried very hard, but ultimately didn't have what it took, and didn't succeed. Most people don't know (hardly) anyone in this huge demographic because their lack of success made them invisible, which of course, proves the point.

The point is, a "pretty good" banker, schoolteacher, lawyer, doctor, salesman, corporate employee etc. with proper training can usually do just fine in life; in particular, financially. A "pretty good" artist all too often...well...starves, basically, or pretty close to it. Sadly, I know a *lot* of such individuals, and they're not in that plight because they haven't worked hard or have no talent. On the contrary.

A successful life as an artist is tough to build. Real tough. No matter where and by whom you got trained.

Not to advocate by any means against film school by the way - I'm very much in favor of it. As an actor I've worked on numerous student films and I'm generally very impressed with their skill set compared to some projects I've been on with more self-trained types. Film school *will* help. Just know what you're getting, and what you *can't* get from it.

By the way - please forgive me if what I said in the second paragraph makes me sound like I think I'm some sort of "audio engineering hot shot". I'm not. I've done fine, but am still not all that close to the top of that particular, all too typically ultra-narrow at the top and ultra-wide at the bottom, pyramid.
 
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Having Gone to UCLA film School...I would say

Having Gone to UCLA film School...I would say

Having Gone to UCLA film School...I would say most film schools are not worth it IMHO. I think if you can get into a top film school that is going to give you a chance to get into the industry then maybe...USC, UCLA, maybe NYU. But for the most part I do not think that it is going to be worth it. Don't get me wrong, it does give you tons of connections, and I learned a lot from going to UCLA. No question. But, I think this is the rule you should follow......

If you want to be a director, then......get into USC or UCLA or.....maybe NYU but if not. I would not spend the money on other film schools. I know this sounds elitist and what not, but that is the truth. I just do not want to see you wasting money when you are not going to get your return on investment. Why....a few reasons.

1)Your work is shown to many people in the industry. Does this mean they will buy your movie, or hire you on as a director? Not usually, but it means you meet a lot of people, and if they like your work they might let you come work for them. Internships are pretty easy to get at UCLA, I would imagine at USC also. The other schools, I do not think so.

2)A film school based in LA, where most of the studios are located, means % wise you have a better chance of securing work during and after film school. If you do well and make a lot of friends and help each other out, your contacts and friends will help you out if they make it. I can say I have had 4 job offers to work at various studios because of the people I met at film school. I have helped them out on their projects, and now that they have broken into the door of the film world they like returning the favor. Can this happen at other film schools...maybe but not at the same level. They are just not going to be able to network as well as SC or UCLA.

3)The things you learn at film school are in a sense universal. How to light, how to write, how to direct, edit, sound design, all of that stuff you can learn at any film school. It is cool when the pros from Hollywood come in and you get to talk to them directly and ask questions. Yes this is a cool perk from UCLA and USC, but I think the principles are the same, but the difference is at these schools, you have a good chance to go on set and work with them. I became good friends with a few Special Effects guys and editors. This has led to job offers and contacts in the industry. This gives you an edge. That is why I would only really go to film school at UCLA or USC or maybe NYU. If you go to the other film schools, make sure it is very low cost because you are going to have a very tough time breaking into the biz most of the time.

4)If you are just looking to learn the art of filming and not so much for the contacts, then I think film school can be a good thing. As long as it is a reputable school and does not cost too much money...go for it. You can also learn from books and other media (on line, magazines, and from other sources)

Final Thoughts...

If you want to be a director...you do not need to go to film school. You need to do all you can to learn your craft. Here is what I would recommend to you instead.

OK first buy this book..(if you are poor then check it out from library or go to a bookstore and take the book out and read it cover to cover)

1st Book.....The Guerrilla Film Makers Handbook (I have it on my shelf right now)
I use this book all the time. It is worth the money.

2nd Book....Creative Producing from A to Z. I had the author as my teacher. The guys is one of the best teachers I had at UCLA. He brought in Keifer Sutherland as our guest speaker. He even said that he uses the book as his guide. Lol

3rd Book....Screenwriting..The art,craft and business of film and TV writing. Richard Walters is amazing and I think it would help you out to read this book.

Other books that I like and use a lot.
Lighting for DV and Video and Sound for DV and Video.
Also use internet sources. Read all of the posts in DVX user and you will learn a ton. I read a lot of stuff and try to increase my knowledge.

Do not take no for an answer....

Final thought.

My friend once wanted to go to make movies. He was semi rich and really wanted to intern for Steven Spielberg. I told him that if he did what I said that he would get the shot.
This is what I told him to do......
GO to Steven's office very day and request a 5 minute meeting with him to express why he wanted to work with him. Bring flowers for the secretary and do this every day for the next year. He looked at me strangely, and said how do you know if this is going to work. I said just trust me. He said no. He will try his way.
I talked to Peter Gruber..(who used to run a few movie studios about this) and he told me that it would have worked. He said that if a guy did that to me after a few months I would have hired him even though I told him to go away everyday. Why? Persistence. If a guy is willing to show up everyday for even 3 months, this is a guy I want to hire.

Good luck to you. Let me know how it goes.
 
Thanks everyone for the advice. Actually, I have had a couple years of college and am currently in the Air Force. Part of the reason I had considered film school was because I have the G.I. bill. However, I definitly agree that going to film school is not a must and does not guarantee anything. Also I'm not sure that I want to spend another four years in college...hence why I was looking into Full Sail (two year program).
Sinfear 11, I will definitly check out those books and thankx again...I will take your advice to heart.
 
Amerikan123 said:
Hey PaPa, what were your expectations. How did your actual experience add up and why was it so different?
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hey, sorry it has taken me so long to get back.

i am in my second year at mel hoppenheim school of cinema, which is a division of Concordia University in montreal and is supposedly the strongest film school across canada. So right away i had very large expectations. But here is where i was foolish and arrogant. Prior to university, i had never taken a film or video class, but did it as a hobby and spent months/a year or two learning stuff from this very forum. so by hte tiem i got into film school, i already knew most of the stuff we were learning, therefor i had hoped there would be more hands on rather than theory and textbook learning.

Last year i took film hitory ( boring ) film aesthetics ( boring ) film production 1 and a class that all creative arts majors had to take. We used a bolex and made one non sync film that year. This year i have image 1, which deals with types of equipment, lenses, lighting, contrast ratios, film stocks and so on, which i learned already a great deal on this board. The only thing that hadn't been covered, or that i hadn't learned about were things such as circles of confusion..... etc

taking montage 1 ( editing )is, so far, a waste of time as we are spending more time learning how to use the editing suite than learning editing techniques, but the last few weeks have shown that were finally starting to move on and gain some interesting knowledge, so props to that.

Sound 1 and 2 are coming up as well as writing classes, directing classes, moving camera aesthetics and so on. but alas, through taking years of acting school, i have learened that the best way to becoming a better performer is by performing!!! taking the knowledge that you haev learned in class and applying it in a practical application. But so far, making one film a year, having the equipment available from the school for no more than 4 days, is very unsatisfying. Things are different becausei have spent a gargantuan amount on my own equipment, lighting, camera, sound equipment, adapters, blah blah. so i encourage friends to make stuff out of school. and i think that is the key of film school, making connections, meeting people, and starting new relationships thta will hopefully last a long time!

I also expected that there would be less film purists. I have shot film, love it, and definitely see the advantages of working with such a large latitude, but the future is in both film and digital, so why waste our time learning about these old machines? Why not spend time using these old machines to shoot instead of learning about them through pictures, inside out, to become a first... AC ? hmm. I guess one can never get perfection out of a school that is in the digital transition, it would just be nice to be able ot produce more than one film a year. Oh and by the way, our final year of university, which is year three, has an option for film 3. But one must have a GPA of 3.5 of higher ( not sure what the US equipvalent would be ) so this may be my last year to make something on film... if not at all, since in my industry class, only 6 ideas out of 18 are chosen to produce their own 5 minute short. So if i don't get an idea chosen, the only work that i will have really been able to do, in terms of my own project, will have been my first year on a bolex... :(

but yeah, i guess you can't get everything you want!
 
I met this guy who went to full sail, he had alot of equipment, he knew about film and stuff ya know but when it came down to work(filming) he was just a talking head, talk and talk and talk about film, he ended up been a lazy bud.

Film school wont do any good for you unless you're serious about it.

Get a small camera and start practicing.
 
I just finished the program 8 wk program at NYFA and here is my 2 cents on this specific program.

1.) Most teachers offer lots of help but never deliver it
2.) Small class sizes weren't respected, in fact, they combined 2 classes in one we were almost 20 instead of 15. We were put in rooms that could barely hold 14.
3.) The technical staff don't answer your questions, they always try to make sure you know they know more then you do without giving you valid answers
4.) The curriculum is completely off. We learnt pre-production and scheduling after we shot 3/4 of our projects.

The school wasn't all bad but if anyone has specific questions about the program give me a shout and I'll let you know what I honestly thought.
 
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