Filmschool Rant...

Adam J McKay

Adam J McKay

Veteran
So I took the plunge and decided to go back to University. I chose Capilano University because it seemed like it had a great program, loved the location and the Faculty seemed liked they were pretty well respected, which they are. However, I am starting to think this is one of the worst investments I have ever made.

To start, I spent the last few years reading up on filmmaking, browsing these boards, making a few films here and there etc. I figured the amount of knowledge I had going into the program would be slightly above average...if that. Boy was I wrong.

The majority of the kids in the first year have never made any sort of short film ever and are fresh out of the highschool... The gear we are using is ancient aka Sony PD150, yes with the dumb battery issues. We are also not allowed to use our own gear in the name of keeping everyone on the same playing field. So if I stay for the second year which will be another $10,000. I will get to use a dvx100a. It's also not until second year where we get to use our first light. Did I mention this school also teaches only video and not any sort of film technique whatsoever? Because according to some of the educated 3rd year kids...film is dead. No good cinematographers shoot film anymore and within 10 years nobody will...REALLY? I guess Roger Deakins is all washed up... These are also the same kids that were puzzled when I mentioned follow focus...

Needless to say I don't think I will be coming back for the second year. This is the most inspiring thing I have ever done in regards to motivating me to make the film I need to make. I have met a lot of great people and it may be worth the money on the networking side of things alone. It has also aided me with some perks at this years Vancouver International Film Festival. This past weekend I got to meet Charlie Kauffman after a Q&A. Pretty spectacular as well as Ellen Curas and Fred Elmes for you cinematography folks. I learned more in those Q&A then I have at film school thus far...

Long rant short,
If you want to get into films, have the money, and don't have a clue what white balance is...then first year at Capilano is right for you.
It's just frustrating for someone like myself with even a small amount of experience, going into debt to teach other kids what some of the weaker teachers arn't...

Ahhhh
 
I'd have to imagine the program is geared towards directing rather than cinematography. This was certainly the case when I was an undergrad at USC. I already had experience as a broadcast news cameraman, so the introductory courses were fairly elementary to me on the technical level, so I concentrated on learning what I could in regards to storytelling and theory. There's always something you haven't yet mastered.
 
You don't go to film school to learn. You go for the networking and the alumni networks.

Trust me, been there and doing that.
 
I hate to say it but VFS is the place to get " connected " in Vancouver, but I don't know if it's worth the cost. I got my connections shooting and learning on my own, but I'm not a movie maker. I like to do everything so I make docs. and art crap for other productions.
 
A college degree is a good thing to have. Learning how to learn and the structured challenges of college will be valuable to you down the road; maybe not in filmmaking, but in life over all.
I am not degreed and it is one of those little regrets I have. My father died at the end of my freshman year, and while I was able to get a couple more years of college under my belt, that funny thing called life kind of caught up with me and I was not able to finish my degree. I have continued my education on my own and have a strong respect for "Book learning". However, filmmaking is a unique industry, and a sheep skin does not guarantee any level of success in it.
If you have the resources to finish the college degree, then I would say go for it. It will make you a better person in the long run and you will look back on these years with great fondness.

That being said, don't expect that the education that you are getting is all of the learning you will need for a successful career in filmmaking. What I would suggests is that you take the curriculum that your school has, kick it into high gear and use it as the basis of your own education. Go through the books you have and check every, that's right EVERY, footnote. Find the source documents for the footnote and make that part of your library. Make sure that you watch and re-watch every movie discussed in your classes and books and understand why they are worthy of discussion in a university level film class. Do your own research on these films and watch comparable films. The one thing that I have found that most successful modern filmmakers, like Scorsese. Spielberg, and Tarantino, have in common is an encyclopedic knowledge of film and film history. Take the opportunity of film school to also develop that knowledge. Watch every film you can and read every book on filmmaking that you can get your hands on. Make sure that you have a NetFlix account, a subscription to American Cinematographer and that you scour your schools film and video library and watch everything you can. Keep a notebook and right notes on all of the films you see, all the books you read, all the articles you read on filmmaking, all the lectures you hear on filmmaking and all the projects you work on. Cross reference these notebooks and continually update them with new knowledge. I would also suggest that you structure your minor to help you be a better filmmaker. I would also study literature, theatre, philosophy, history, politics and science, among other subjects.

If you take this film school education and make it your own, if you get damn near zen with film and discipline yourself, for 3 more years, to learning everything you can, and dedicate your life to continued learning, you will come out of this school with a leg up, and, maybe, just maybe, might be the kind of filmmaker that deserves to be able to make great films.

I would suggest that you keep an image in your mind of being, in 5 or 6 years from now when you are premiering your first feature at Caan. You are setting in front of a throng of reporters and they are in rapt attention as you discuss your film and it's place in the history of cinema. The school you are at now may not teach you how to thread a Panavison camera, or the work flow needed for a film shot with the Red camera, but, if you make the curriculum your own, your film school education just might make your speech at Caan something to remember.

Dude, it is just 3 more years, what you make of it is up to you. Go for it.
 
I am 22, I have done University once for Theatre. My problem now is that I have gone into debt and learned only a few snippets about the business end of things. But another good thing about first year at Capilano is that you leave with a certificate, relatively meaningless yes, but apparently the faculty is connected enough that they can get you a job on bigger budget film sets. I am hoping to get into a union and work in the camera department and learn as much as I can whilst getting paid. I am also reworking a script I have previously attempted to make for submission to the Canadian Film Center. If accepted they fund it, help develop and distribute it both domestically and internationally. So that's my focus right now, as well doing everything I can for the remainder of at least this year.
 
I'm 43 with an IQ of 147-152 depending on the test. I have started college 6 times and never finished.

I'm not saying film school (or any other college) is bad. I'm just saying it's not for everybody. We all learn differently and our school system as a whole does not recognize that. Luckily for us, we work (or aspire to work) in a field that values results more than credentials most of the time.

Never let school interfere with your education.
 
Film school is great. Watch movies in class, oggle the girls, day dream about your next big movie. Real life is rough, so stretch out your fun as long as you can. You're only 22 so I imagine you can still get away with losing a year or two on misadventures.
 
I'm only at school for two reasons:

1) To get to use and learn with REAL film. We shoot 16mm all three years and I'm glad for this. Shooting on the anton this year. We also had access to most equipment, including lighting kits from as early as first year. Oh and second year we've had access to and can use at any time a steenbeck (used it for one project, and can do our own side projects). Though we edit on final cut.

2) Contacts... but even that is meh. I've got better contacts working as a PA doing internships.

Cause you're right, with this board and books etc... you come into school, like me, being more knowledgeable than others. However some have come in to the first year already working on music videos, doing their own shorts, etc... so my program has felt a bit more advanced.

Oh and tuition fees are low here in Quebec for residents. $1500 a semester or so.
 
Man I wish... Tuition is 5000 a semester here and I dont know why its so high. We use outdated gear some of which is held together with duct tape, were not allowed lights, there are no film fees to worry about...
 
zergtherobot said:
Man I wish... Tuition is 5000 a semester here and I dont know why its so high. We use outdated gear some of which is held together with duct tape, were not allowed lights, there are no film fees to worry about...
Click to expand...

Well Quebec has always had some of the lowest tuition fees around. Of course they're trying to change that. :( Plus foreigners have to pay like double that. Of course we have to pay for most film fees (once in a while they provide a roll, or in year 1 they paid for the development and transfer of three rolls).

Heh, we have some old gear too, from the 80s. Old Bolex Cameras and Anton cameras. But it's sturdy survive nuclear holocaust kind of stuff. Plus the year three Anton cameras just arrived from a tune up in LA.

But the fact that your school doesn't allow lights till year 3 is completely ridiculous. Lighting is hard to learn, especially for newbies. They need to get started ASAP. I say leave that place, it's not worth it. Find a better film school or just learn on your own.

Or maybe it's a focus on documentaries? Our program has a choice of a few streams, one of them is video. I would never go into it because it's a focus on documentaries and experimental stuff. I doubt they use lights, or they don't teach much about them (not that I need to learn much about them). They use crappy digital cams as well. their cams aren't even on the same level as a DVX or XL1.
 
zergtherobot said:
So I took the plunge and decided to go back to University. I chose Capilano University because it seemed like it had a great program, loved the location and the Faculty seemed liked they were pretty well respected, which they are. However, I am starting to think this is one of the worst investments I have ever made.

To start, I spent the last few years reading up on filmmaking, browsing these boards, making a few films here and there etc. I figured the amount of knowledge I had going into the program would be slightly above average...if that. Boy was I wrong.

The majority of the kids in the first year have never made any sort of short film ever and are fresh out of the highschool... The gear we are using is ancient aka Sony PD150, yes with the dumb battery issues. We are also not allowed to use our own gear in the name of keeping everyone on the same playing field. So if I stay for the second year which will be another $10,000. I will get to use a dvx100a. It's also not until second year where we get to use our first light. Did I mention this school also teaches only video and not any sort of film technique whatsoever? Because according to some of the educated 3rd year kids...film is dead. No good cinematographers shoot film anymore and within 10 years nobody will...REALLY? I guess Roger Deakins is all washed up... These are also the same kids that were puzzled when I mentioned follow focus...

Needless to say I don't think I will be coming back for the second year. This is the most inspiring thing I have ever done in regards to motivating me to make the film I need to make. I have met a lot of great people and it may be worth the money on the networking side of things alone. It has also aided me with some perks at this years Vancouver International Film Festival. This past weekend I got to meet Charlie Kauffman after a Q&A. Pretty spectacular as well as Ellen Curas and Fred Elmes for you cinematography folks. I learned more in those Q&A then I have at film school thus far...

Long rant short,
If you want to get into films, have the money, and don't have a clue what white balance is...then first year at Capilano is right for you.
It's just frustrating for someone like myself with even a small amount of experience, going into debt to teach other kids what some of the weaker teachers arn't...

Ahhhh
Click to expand...

As far as I am concerned, a film education is far more useful than a 'film production' education. Learning about the history of Cinema, where it came from, and where it is (might be) headed.

These 'film schools' or 'film programs' are nothing more than a video class in disguise on a syllabus..

They also need to cater to the lowest common denominator.
 
Anton, or Aaton...?

Heck, you can learn your craft with older cameras. Our equipment cage at SU held an old Maurer and a dozen Canon Scoopics...
 
lhdor said:
Having a degree in anything opens doors. Not having a degree can close them.
Click to expand...

Indeed. One of our department heads on my current show moved out to LA after highschool. She couldn't get through any doors and went back to college to get a 2 year degree to get her foot in the door.

The piece of paper is really important. Even if you don't end up doing what you studied.

PS> I love how people are complaining about 5k a semester. I'm looking at 20k a semester. A little more. We [Ithaca College] are 44,000 a year (ish)
 
The thing is, college is a good idea. Period. So why not study film while attending college? That's the way I see it. It's hard to make it in the real world with just a high school diploma. So why not study what you love?

And ditto to Mattykins. I'm taking this year off before going to college, and if I get in to the school that I want, I'll be looking at about $45-50k a year. My safety school would be around $18k.
 
Yeah. The idea that everybody ought to do a 4-year undergrad program is actually kind of pernicious.
 
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