Going to film school, becoming a director

[Gillvane]

I'm just discussing the general idea of becoming a director (of feature films) and going to film school. I have no aspirations to do either of these myself.

I read this article on How to become a film director:

http://www.lavideofilmmaker.com/filmmaking/how-to-become-a-film-director.html

I couldn't find anything to argue with really. To sum it up, you make an awesome reel. Producers will see your reel and if it's awesome enough, and there's enough quantity of awesomeness, they will hire you to direct. Nothing else matters or works. There's a bit more, but that's most of it.

This is on going to film school:
http://www.lavideofilmmaker.com/fil...ng-filmmakers-should-i-go-to-film-school.html

Again, didn't find anything to argue with here. To sum it up, film school is a complete and utter waste of time, and money. There is absolutely nothing you can get from film school you cannot get for WAY less money with some books and online tutorials and just getting a dslr and shooting, and shooting, and shooting.

Anyone have a different opinion on these articles? Do they seem accurate, or mostly baloney to you?

 

[jghenderson]

Baloney. Reels are great and necessary, but a body of work that has millions of views, awards from festivals, etc. is much more important. A reel is like a trailer in that it gets someone interested in watching the full work.

Film school is about much more than the skills you learn, it is about networking. You go to a school like USC, UCLA, AFI, NYU, etc. and chances are during your stay you will get to meet and possibly have your work seen by some of the most important people in the industry. You can argue over whether it's worth the price tag, but to say there's nothing to get from it that you can't get elsewhere is nonsense (I did not go to film school btw)

 

[Gillvane]

Baloney. Reels are great and necessary, but a body of work that has millions of views, awards from festivals, etc. is much more important. A reel is like a trailer in that it gets someone interested in watching the full work.

Film school is about much more than the skills you learn, it is about networking. You go to a school like USC, UCLA, AFI, NYU, etc. and chances are during your stay you will get to meet and possibly have your work seen by some of the most important people in the industry. You can argue over whether it's worth the price tag, but to say there's nothing to get from it that you can't get elsewhere is nonsense (I did not go to film school btw)

Did you read the article, particularly the part about "networking"? A "reel" would include your millions of views and awards from film festivals. That's mentioned in the article. It says specifically your reel needs to include something that is either Awesome, or incredibly successful. Either one works just fine.