film school?

mehnkle

mehnkle

Well-known member
When I grow up I want to direct movies. I know going to college isn't neccesary, but will it help me much if I go? I am currently looking at Cal Arts and the Seattle Film Institute. Another aspect of my dream in filmmaking is having enough money to live on. Im sure I will get lots of "only make movies for the fun, and not the money," but I still want to be financially stable if I choose this career. Does directing movies make enough money to live comfortably off of? Thanks a ton!
 
For about 1 in 10,000, yes. For the other 9,999 it's a pay-as-you-go prospect, where you actually pay for your own movies.

There's intense competition... if you want a taste of the competition level, just try to get accepted to the best film schools (NYU and USC, for example) -- it's almost impossible. And those flim schools graduate thousands of new directors every year, who are all competing to direct the maybe 100 Hollywood films that get made each year. And they're competing against each other, and also against Coppola, Spielberg, Eastwood, etc, not to mention they're competing against the thousands of graduates last year, and the thousands who graduated the year before...

In short, if you're thinking that you're going to get a paying job directing movies, it's almost impossible. Best of luck and all, but I don't think this is a sound career choice to be betting your future on. Best to have a backup plan (or, a main plan, actually, and pursue directing on nights/weekends).
 
Well my main back up plan is to be a photographer. Is a career in cinematograaphy as difficult as becoming a director?
 
I would say probably %90 of people that find out how hard becoming a director is, think about cinematography. I'm going to level with you, you can be a director, or a cinematographer, or a writer or a producer. But why does it have to be on a big budget Hollywood flick?

Try to break into the industry doing any job you can get your hands on, and pay your bills. Make independent films, they'll most likely be more rewarding and a hell of a lot better than half of what spews from Hollywood.
 
god bless the quiter's though Barry!, I think in million dollar baby the poster in the gym said something like " a winner does what a loser isn't willing to do" and that's just it for everything especially filmmaking.... there are thousands of filmmakers who go to school and graduate.... but how many really carry threw.. . I mean the competition is serious, but with my filmschool I guarentee that only 25% will ever end up doing something related to the entertainment industry.... and even those that do carry threw.... well, talent will be what either makes or breaks em....

Edit: and like it was said earlier just cause your not directing a 100mill picture doesn't mean you can't make a good living at some sort of videography or related field...while persuing your goal of being a movie director. :thumbsup:
 
I make a living doing ads and video projects around town. It allows me to play with the tools and expirement and grow. Definitely helps.

Now I working on a short script that I want to film. Just gotta trudge through and walk through open doors.
 
Well my main back up plan is to be a photographer. Is a career in cinematograaphy as difficult as becoming a director?
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Any life in the arts is pretty difficult. If you can, take a lesson from Cristof and find yourself a millionaire wife who'll splurge on your "Gates" projects.
 
I know a lot of USC film graduates now making DVD menus for Universal. They are button pushers with $100k in college debt. These are talented people! (and obviously have some intelligence too). A film degree will not make you a director...but it could definitely get you on your way.

My two cents on an issue I am HIGHLY opinated on...

Get a college degree first. Number one priority. If that's in film, great. If that's in English, great. Just get a college education. After that get a job doing whatever in something related to this industry. If you're serving coffee when you first start, FINE! but serve coffee to the best. Get your foot in the door however you can at the best places in the the biz. This way you will be led to where you should be. If your suppose to be director you might just be. If it's something else your destined for, you may find you really love producing, or being an assistant director or whatever it may be. The fact of the matter is your immersed in the industry and you will be affected by the people and the work around you.

It depresses me to see people who have these immense aspirations and somehow things "just get in the way" and they end up working at a rent-a-car place and suddenly they're 40 and have kids and well at that point your priorities have got to change.

Get educated. Get in the door. And do it when your young and have energy. It's a great reward in life to do what you love for a living and spend your free time on your personal life, like having fun, having friends and having family.
 
natob2 said:
It depresses me to see people who have these immense aspirations and somehow things "just get in the way" and they end up working at a rent-a-car place and suddenly they're 40 and have kids and well at that point your priorities have got to change.
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Closing in on 40 (315 days to go), with a wife and 2 kids, my priorities have recently changed. I decided to be a filmmaker. I agree with what you are saying, but it's only "too late" if you stop trying. Most people do sadly let their dreams slip away. They rationalize, then they regret. But it is always your choice and your responsibility.

You can make movies, or you can make excuses, but you can't do both.
 
Getting paid for something you love to do is a lot more rare then TV has us believe. That's one of the problems with society right now, we all have got this impression that we're entitled to do what we want and be paid for it exactly what we think we deserve.

The truth is that we get paid to do only something someone else values as important, and it's incredibly hard to match the thing you love doing with the person who values it as important. But more so then that, people aren't usually satisfied with being in a position, they want to be doing specific work.

Denny's has cooks, but no one attending CIA has any intention of working at one. Glamour Shots always needs photographers, but most enthusiasts would rather sell cameras then stoop to using one for shopping mall portraits. Saying you want to be this or that is only half the puzzle…and the important part isn’t what you want to do, it’s what you want to accomplish. When people say they want to direct, they usually haven’t though about WHAT they want to direct…they’re just enamored with the role.

My only advice for someone who wants to be a director is to know exactly what you want to direct, and then plan your life in a way that you can self-finance that pursuit.

There is a difference between working directors and screenwriters and non-working directors and screenwriters...but I don't think it's a matter of funding or resources. It's a matter of market value.

Working directors aren't working simply because they have financing behind them, they're working because they are usually a proven value on the market, either in terms of profitability or successful project management. The difference between you and them is that you haven’t proved anything. Talent, vision, etc...they are all good commodities, but they are all bad investments because they’re based entirely on potential rather then results. If you really want to be a director, you’ve got to go out and make your own results.

I don't think anyone can seriously use the excuse that they don't have the resources of a big-budget director, that isn’t what is stopping all these people from attaining their dreams. You can make a competitive film for under 40k and it will prove a hell of a lot more then your raw desire or imagined talent.

They all say that the best way to become a director is to direct. It’s true, but what that means specifically for everyone interested out there is that you need to bust your ass and make a film. You need to bust your ass and raise funding, find a script, get a crew, hire a cast and make a film that states clearly and concisely that YOU ARE A DIRECTOR.

Bingo, now you’re a director.

Oh, wait…you said paid director. Well, only the market can decide if you’re worth paying…but you’ve got to bring something to the market before you know if that’s going to happen.
 
Making your own film doesn't only show what abilities you have as a director in the artistic and technical sense. It also shows how motivated you are. Anybody can talk about it, read about, research it...but as we have all seen, very few people actually do it.

My partner often works as an art director for director in MN who does a lot of commercial work. He has talked about doing a feature for years. My partner and I even wrote a screenplay for him (which is how I got railroaded into being a filmmaker, I just wanted to write). When my partner (Dave), returned to MN after our last shoot (which was the first one we did together), he mentioned to this guy what he was doing while out here in CO. The guy and his other director buddies were shocked. They could not believe that we had written, produced and directed a 30 minute film. It was beyond them to actually consider DOING what they always whined about.

I'm not against film school (having never been) as a learning and networking tool. But I wouldn't expect it to get you a job directing. People place too much value on a degree. The value should be on the knowledge and the determination, not the piece of paper.

My .02
 
go ninja go ninja go

go ninja go ninja go

To be honest, if you want to direct, you have to know how to write. Hollwood isn't looking for directors. Tehy have enough already. What they are looking for is good material.

Learn to write. That should be your biggest priority right now.

Get Screenwriters Bible, Story, Heroes Journey, and Syd Fields book (name?). If you can't afford software like Final Draft 7 or Movie Magic, just format it in Microsoft Word. It's harder but it wil do the trick. Also start reading screenplays on line for free, like Drew's script o rama.

Sell a screenplay and finance the film yourself or try like hell to get yourself attached as director.

You could make the GREATEST short film of all time, but if you've got no screenplay and have no idea how to write one, it all has been done in vain.

Now I don't know if you are going to follow my advice, but if not, your odds of getting $$$ just dropped substantially.

The next best thing is to concentrate on is either EDITING of SOUND DESIGN. They may seem a bit boring compared to directing, but check it out anyways. You may just find out that you are good at it. Plus, they are the jobs in most demand right now.

Hell, a few friends of mine are working as freelance editors in Cally. It pays the bills and allows you to at least be in the loop.

As far as whether to attend film school or not, I'm the wrong person to ask. I'm still deciding myself.

A couple months ago I decided that I would try my best to educate myself in film so I could see whether or not it was worth it. I got a Netflix 8 at a time rental plan and a thousand page book on the history of Film.

I could lecture for hours, literally, about French Impressionism, German Expressionism, and the Soviet Montage movment. I've read 6 books on writing screenplays and will start one by the end of the week. I can go on and on about how I am teaching my self the ropes with watching movies, reading books, and talking to other filmmakers.

You'll hear alot of people tell you that you needn't go to film school in order to get into this business. True. Unfortunately, When most people hear this they think that it therefore excuses them from learning about the mediums past attempting to understand the medium itself.

I would hate to sound cliche, but knowledge is power. You can go on ahead a make films all you like but if you never stop to understand why this or that is the way it is then your depriving yourself of a great opportunity to evolve.

So few people get into the biz not because just because it's hard, but because they quit to easy. Plain and simple. Now me, I'm a pit bull. I won't quit. I won't. I'm going to Cally next year. This is all I got in this life and if anyone stands in my way they are going to get knocked on their ass. I'll lie cheat kill and steal. I think I'll fit in nicely.

If your(as in everyone) not in the biz yet, your not trying hard enough. Everyone tells you that it's so hard? Right now, it has never been easier to make a film. With new technology and emerging new media, You got the world on a string and everything else is #@#*ing peach fuzz.

Of course, with all these advancements, you also got that many more people making films. But not to worry. They'll quit soon enough. They're only human. They're weak. True filmmakers are not human. I think they lie somewhere between liquid sh!t and molten adrenalin. They say you gotta be crazy to be in this biz. Check.

When you exhaust all opportunities and you tried everything to get in the door and failed, then come and see me. I bet we'll never meet.

Whatever you choose to do, I wish you good luck. It may be hard, but that's part of the fun. Believe me, the rewards are more than going to be make up for your toubles. It's worth it.
 
nice,

Hey Super Trooper, that was one the best posts I've seen on a should I go to film school thread.
 
Go Full Steam!

Go Full Steam!

There will be many who have gone before you and failed at what they want in life. There are many reasons for this, but mostly it's because someone told them that it would be "hard" and to have a "backup plan." I studied film in college and thought, "Is this worth the time and money?" How foolish I was to doubt and question. If this is what you want to do, do it, just do it. People will say it's a one in a million shot, well, that means one person makes it. Why can't it be you? You find out what you have inside you that's better then anyone else and then you hone in on that. It may only be your solid desire to succeed at this, and that's all you need. Move forward, don't expect results right away, but don't lose sight of what you want. The people that fail don't fail because it's hard or there aren't enough spots or they aren't the best thing to come out of Hollywood, ever. They fail because they gave up. Enjoy the journey, but work toward your goals. Here's a book to read: Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. Keep going, don't let anyuone discourage you. I have a family, a wife and two little boys. I always make it work, support them. I know being a filmmaker is what I am to do in life, so why quit destiny? Look at Lance Armstrong, at what point should he have given up, but didn't? What made him different? What makes any of us different? This is a unique forum, designed aroung a camera that lets anyone make movies. We need to encourage those in our special community, believe me, they are getting enough discouragement at home, from those that should be closest to them and encouraging them the most. They know the reality of it all, lets help each other meet our potential and create a new reality (for lack of a less cheesy phrase). That's all I need to say about that!
 
that's true, if you want to direct write... just look at David Duchovney, I mean where the hell did he go... connie and carla? but now he wrote and directed the house of D which is getting critical aclaim and will probably be a new start for him..... , of coarse it would also be a bonus if your some one famous's son like Breck Isner who's michael isner's son and directed Sahara...... Personally I think it's better odds that if you actually sit down and write something, carry threw the whole process and end up with a completed project that you'll get some kind of reckognition.... in my city there was a guy that made a no budget film on DV and after that ended up getting hired to shoot Horror B movie's in Toronto..... Maybe it's not what he was shooting for but he's directing movie's now for a living....
 
vjbrennan said:
You can make movies, or you can make excuses, but you can't do both.
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That is an awesome quote. I'm going to write it down someplace where I have to see it every day.

(Like backwards on my forehead so I can read it in the mirror in the morning.)
 
Thanks TC. I heard it used in another context a long time ago. I don't remember what exactly. But, it applies to everything.
 
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