Filmschool Rant...

Chamber005 said:
Thats my point, though -- if you're unable (e.g. desperately do not wish to) complete college, then college is not for you; college then is for all the people who are able to (want to) complete it. Maybe an obvious statement, but a lot of people force themselves through college because they believe it to be the only way. It's the way for people who want to and can complete it. For everyone else -- don't feel bad or discouraged if it's not for you.

And I didn't say everyone. I said everyone in our society.
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I am not denying that having a degree can help your income. I'm not saying that going to college doesn't have many benefits. But your original post said:

college is ALWAYS the best way to go in our society.

That is stating that anyone who chooses not to got to college is not making the best choice. I completely disagree with that.

Chamber005 said:
For most people, though, the education system in our country works and can help them succeed financially (and sometimes personally).
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I am currently working with a research project at the University of Northern Colorado. Their findings indicate (and have been supported through many documented studies) that our educational system does not in fact work for most people. That depends of course on what you mean by "works". It is in fact a system that is skewed towards a certain type of person with a certain type of goals. It allows little acceptance or encouragement for any deviation from a predetermined norm. It favors regurgitated curriculum over cognitive and intellectual development.

Above all the bulk of our educational system fails where it is most important (IMHO), in that it does not teach you how to maximize how you, as an individual, learn. Once you have that down, everything else comes a little easier.
 
Back when I went to university I had a plan to get two degrees. One in electrical engineering and the other in fine arts. The engineering degree looked fairly straight forward but I thought getting a BFA first might give me a more unique point of view in the engineering program. So I chose to do the BFA first.

There was no film program of any kind and so no equipment either. In my second year, one of the courses listed under interdisciplinary studies was called The Art of Film and was a basic film criticism course. The two main assignments before the final exam were to write two term papers on the films we were studying. The prof. glibbly offered an alternative by saying we could if we chose, make two films instead, knowing full well there were zero resources.

Me being me, decided to make the two films, though I had no equipment, money or experience of any kind. I then schmoozed everything from the equipment to the money and blew away everyone including the course professor and the department head considering the second film was a twenty minute live action narrative science fiction drama with full interior sets, model miniatures, special effects, lots of characters and a dozen locations. This was also 1976 and everything was shot on 16mm film and the sync sound was recorded all analog on a nagra system to 1/4 inch tape which needed to be transfered to mag perf for the edit.

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I was only 19 at the time.

Now as I listen to the OP rant about the equipment he is forced to use, it doesn't even rate a violin accompanyment.

We're in charge of our own learning and our own lives. Get on with making cool stuff!

"If you can dream it, you can do it!" - Walt Disney
 
craigbowman said:
Me being me, decided to make the two films, though I had no equipment, money or experience of any kind. I then schmoozed everything from the equipment to the money and blew away everyone including the course professor and the department head considering the second film was a twenty minute live action narrative science fiction drama with full interior sets, model miniatures, special effects, lots of characters and a dozen locations.

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me3.png
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You know now, we HAVE to see this film, right? Come on, throw us a bone. Put that shizzle up on vimeo.
 
This may sound simplistic but I think:

If Film School is for you, then go to Film School.

If It isn't for you, then learn on your own, on sets, through books, through internships, etc.

Personally I've been under the thumb of the "film bug" for 5+ years now, and I've learned ALOT from books, sets, shooting, renting, interning, working for free, working for cash, experimenting, etc. etc. etc.....but I want to go to film school, lol. I'm 32 years old for gods sake, and I'll prolly be the oldest most experienced student there...prolly the only one with footage, contacts, books, equipment, etc. etc.....but I think that'll be a major advantage.

Follow your dreams, but never blindly. Always be learning, always applying, and always testing your limits. Be that which you deserve to be, and nothing less...and other flowery prose...
 
The reason why this topic always comes back is because the question should be: "Is school required for learning an artistic craft?"

Instead, the dead horse gets a beating due to people incorrectly reasoning that they wouldn't want their brain surgeon to be self-taught. Of course you wouldn't want that, but the brain surgeon is not an artist. Neither is the nuclear physicist, computer programmer, or the electrician working on a set...not in the classical sense anyway.

Now apply this to attending film school, and it should be clearer why there probably are benefits for certain things, and why there probably are no benefits for other things. It all depends what your ultimate goal is.

My 2 Canadian cents
 
I was reading through John August (screenwriter for CHarlie's Angels, Charlie and THe CHocolate Factory, The Nines), which is often a good read.

He had this bit where he quoted from a USA Article and added a bit of his own advice

It also has a bunch of comments from his readers. It isn't about film school, but college in general.
 
bp2001 said:
a Workshop would be cheaper if you only go for that.
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Do you work with the same general crew for 4 years at a workshop? I don't think a two day workshop can ever compete with a film school. You form long lasting relationships and friendships in a college program. You find a go-to team. You find producing partners. You work on dozens and dozens of productions. The networking in a film school is very different than trading a business card.
 
i hate my school. I'm years ahead of everyone there (its another one of those schools that expects that no one knows anything) and the professors keep trying to hold me back. They know I want to do cinematography, and yes, they put me in a cinematography class, but now its back to square 1, taking classes which I believe won't be very beneficial for me. They keep lying to me too, which is really annoying (telling me that my Apple FCP certification will count as my editing class credits, then telling me to enroll in an editing class which of course I can only do if I drop a studio class of shooting something). Its pissing me off and plan on transferring schools next fall. The school is easy, which i kinda like because I can spend my free time getting a useful education and I have time to party with the awesome friends I made there, but other than that, it really makes me angry. Any suggestions for schools in a warm climate? ;)

Oh, and on the lying point, they told me that a class Ive been taking over the winter break will count as my lab science requirements, but now that the class is mostly over, i find out that it doesn't and its only a free elective.
 
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The first post seemed like the description of a BAD film school. And, really nobody needs to go to a BAD film school. But I loved to go to film school and I learned a TON of stuff in there. I joined DVXUser when I was a freshman,and I remember how much I changed in the first years, then again it was a public school and cost me zero money. Film school gave me theory, knowledge and experience in student film sets, that made me get some jobs in bigger sets. It also made me very intimate with the craft, what makes me capable to work and get paid as a director today. Would I say it is Essential? Absolutely not. Would I say it is useless? Far from it. Just make sure it's a good school. They are hard to get in and, at least there in the US, seem to cost a small fortune, but they are worth it.
 
IMO, what you study is doesn't matter. Law, economy, math or film, what matter is to get that atmosphere and networking, the best thing with education is the vision it gives to you. just my 2 cent..
 
At least you didn't to go AFI and spend 56k for the first year only to work your butt off for other people's films while yours is never done. out of 40 people only 9 films were made everybody that graduates owes upwards of 160k and ends up working as grip or assistant something, NEVER to direct anything other than 20 min shorts that get local praise but hardly any of them go out to become box office hits. the best advice to anyone trying to go to film school is "don't".
 
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