no more film school

LuzCruz

LuzCruz

Active member
ive never been to film school.. but i would venture to say that it would not be necessary to attend a film school if you frequent this site. i feel you can learn more from this board than attending years of film school.

am i crazy for thinking this?



anyways, bottom line.. i just love this site :-*
 
Re: no more film school

the classic art school connundrum: do i spend my money on art or art school?
 
Re: no more film school

You sure can learn a lot from this site. For example, you can learn *what* you need to learn, and the best books to learn from. You can then tailor your own education to fit your interests, like I'm doing. There are many experts here who are happy to fill in the gaps of your self-education. They are especially good at encouraging of others to get out there and learn by doing--the best way to learn of them all.

That said, a structured learning environment is beneficial because of deadlines and direct daily contact with peers and experts, among many other reasons. I recommend college to everyone, even just for the life experience and expansion of horizons.

Yeah, I love this site, too. I think we all do.
 
Re: no more film school

You're not crazy. Some people get more from school and some get more from alternative means of education.

While I was going to college (business major) I was able to get a job working the graveyard shift at a small tv station in Austin (switching shows all alone with tons of equipment to play/learn on). I had NO video experience AT ALL but the owner gave me a chance. After 6 months I was promotions manager and was producing promos for the station on their 3/4" decks and Amiga Toaster. I had no need for school anymore, I was doing what I love. I quit college and never looked back.

College works really well for some people. Everyone's different. Just like how some can eat cup cakes everyday and never get fat but others blow-up like balloons. ;D
 
Re: no more film school

oh im not advocating that people should not go to college. i think college is great both socialy and educationaly. i was speaking from my point of view.. i shouldve made that clear. I have my degree in marketing and was thinking about going to some sort of film school before i found this site. now i feel like i kind of have no reason to.. all the information is right here and i can learn at my own pace.

or yea pk, finding something youre interested in and sticking with it is a great route too! i wish i coudve hooked on to something cool early on.
 
Re: no more film school

I've heard lots of people complain about how film school was a waste of money, but I don't know that I've ever seen anyone compile a list of WHICH film schools were a "waste of money".

I mean, if you're taking film courses from some hack in a backwoods community college, yes, there's a good chance that will be a waste of money.

But if you're going to UCLA? USC? NYU? Has *any* graduate of those film schools ever said it was a "waste of money"? Gotta compare apples to apples. Going to any type of bad college will be a waste of money, and I think people pretty much acknowledge that Harvard Business School is a pretty good school... so it is with USC's film school. Don't lump all film schools together.
 
Re: no more film school

If you ask five different people on this forum how to do something, you will often get five very different solutions. If you know how to produce what you want to produce then the most interesting aspect of the responses might be the differences themselves. They might give provide you with some insight that you had not thought of.

However, if you are trying to learn how to produce a film from advice from this forum, you are not going to be able to affectively discern the differences from these five suggestions and might choose something that is totally inappropriate. I’m not saying the people give bad advice here, but a lot of it is not provided with the same level [intent] that you would receive in an accredited program.

I also agree with Barry, don’t lump all schools together. I have donated millions worth of equipment and software to USC, UCLA, UCSB and CSUC, and for digital imaging and computer graphics Chico State had by far the best program out there. So you need to look around, the big schools are not necessarily the best.

But if you are serious about this profession and can afford to attend school I would highly recommend it. This is a great forum but it is not that educational.
 
Re: no more film school

Being student at a film school... I can tell you... it is a waste of money for me..

sort of...

I am pretty cynical and jaded when it comes to school.. and I really learn on my own much better than from someone teaching me. All the knowledge I have in filmmaking is from my experiences, not something I have learned in a classroom.

The problem I find, especially at the school I am at, is that too many people want to be spoon fed, and have their hand held, and expect to be director or editor or whatever.

there are too many people going to film school for the wrong reasons. I don't go to learn, I go to supplement my knowledge, and hone my skills. I have access to actual film gear, which helps a lot.

Lots of people just go, because it seems like the cool thing to do, and don't really have any passion for creating at all, they look at it as another school that has assignments that must be completed. Which for them, is a waste of their time and money.

I'd be lying if I said I am learning a lot at school, but with a school geared entirely towards what I am interested in doing, it sure makes it easier. That, and all the connections I make with other students and the teachers.

BTW, I go to the Toronto Film School(A subsection of the International Academy of Design)
 
Re: no more film school

Same thing when I went to college loki...42 people studiyng video, audio, photography and new media. 35 of them should have been learning to drive a bus, or fish for Cod. at the start of the second year there were 19 left and if I recall correctly, only 14 graduated. I often think about the money (some 10 thousand dollars all told....Great pub!) I invested and think I could have just studied up myself. I don't think I could have gotten that much info in that space of time however. In the end, I have to say it was a worthwhile experience because it provided me with a solid foundation on which to build and gave me some confidence in the fact that I had graduated and retained 80% of the stuff I'd been taught which made the job hunting way easier. The spoon feeding will go on as long as the schools have to fill the seats to keep the programs running.
 
Re: no more film school

School can be good for making connections, having a structured environment, and also learning how to work with other people. The people you deal with in school are often the same calibre of people floating around the film industry. Unless you're Robert Rodriguez, you're gonna have to learn to deal with them.
 
Re: no more film school

Loki and mino you both make good points. I have worked on almost 100 features, I have been fortunate to work with some of the most inspiring people in this industry, but for the most part, I have also had to work with many of the people who probably attended your film school and couldn’t cut it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get that much better after school.

Most people are really happy to be told what, how and when to do it. {It’s called a union…] When we would develop software for some effect the producer was trying to accomplish, we had a “waiter” rule – we had to create an interface that even a waiter could use because quite literally it was a waiter that was trying to use it. Many of these pin-heads [that I used to call customers] would ***** about how it didn’t do what they thought it should and yet they had no concept of how or why we were doing things the way we were. They wouldn’t even have had a job if it wasn’t for our development efforts – but they were the “artists.”

So you have to learn how to work with all skill levels, while acting like you enjoy it, and school is a great place to discover that.

Here’s some advice – take it for what its worth, when your meeting or working with others to create something remember that the person your meeting with has probably forgotten more about what you are trying to do than you will ever know. All too often, I met with people who were sure they were the smartest person in the room, they rarely were. Remember, if you’re the director it is your job to make the actors a hero; if you’re the editor it is your job to make the director a hero. School is a great place to learn humility off line from the real world. I can teach any 15 year old how to edit or use a camera, that is the easy stuff…
 
Re: no more film school

in my opinion.. film school is purely only advantagous as a social enviroment.. The only thing you really learn is how to make a movie the way your teacher would... I would rather spend my money and buy 500 DVD's and watch the commentaries.. as in my mind i would prefer to learn how to make a movie like Spielburg than some random teacher.

If you goto a real filmaker in your town and offer them your 40k tuition to make a short, get on board as the producer, you will learn everything and then some, and it will be a much better experience because everyone will be kissing your ass.
 
Re: no more film school

I've said it before, but this site has proved to be the best education I've ever experienced.
 
Re: no more film school

Jarred, I agree with you.. most of the "special" features on DVD's are vastly more useful and entertaining.

The main problem(s) i find with going to school is:

- peopel are as napoleon dynamite would say... "friggin Idiots"..
- the teachers seem to have it engrained in their heads that you must write this way... you must do this.. you must do that...

mainly, the issue with school is that most of the people(many of my teachers included) have the mental capacity of a bucket of rocks.

but then again, I am a complainer and think I know everything.. so what do i know ;)
 
Re: no more film school

everybody's made such good points here. i might toss this out there: i did the new York Film Academy a while back. a two month program that culminated with a short film. you might think about a shorter term program like that. i don't know that it takes four years to develop the necessary technical skills. and the important skills like storytelling and collaborating take a lifetime to master. any environment will provide opportunity for them. so...a lot less time and money to get your ball rolling.
 
Re: no more film school

If you want to be a startving artist don't go to school. If you want an avocation that you love and plan to make a career [lots of money to raise a family and then retire, that kind of thing] then find a scholl that will provide you with a good education that will give you the best chance for accomplishing your goals.

About six or seven years ago having a PhD became a big deal in Hollywood. If you think that the people who are making the decisions on what movies are produced and how they are made and distributed are not well educated- think again.

If you want to spend the remainder of your life making movies on mini DV don't go to school. Because if you think you are going to work your way up the food chain without a degree your odd are about as good as an athletes being drafted into the NBA or NFL.

When you get behind some reall expensive equipment with a real crew the compitition for those jobs is intense.
 
Re: no more film school

The problem is - higher education has become so diluted it's equally difficult to find someone whose brain is still working among the 'educated' people as it is to find a hidden gem among the self-educated.

My day job is in custom business application software, and I can tell you that computer science graduates are among the least useful people when it comes to hiring. They might be able to write a compiler, but most of them are clueless outside of that.

I imagine it's the same with film school (and judging from my wife's experience with a school previously mentioned here, it's even worse). I am sure there are exceptions, but most 'film schools' are private colleges that care first and foremost about your tuition. The quality of both the curriculum and the faculty are questionable.

As I said in another forum - your best bet is to get a degree in a technical field, and then work your way into film industry. What's a film school to you if you don't have a firm grasp of optical, mechanical, and electrical engineering principles used in film production - especially if you do not want to be a director? Worthless.

My $0.02.
 
Re: no more film school

back woods community college...

I wouldnt call it back woods, but I am attendinga community college at about $20 a unit (4 units) I get to check out all the equipment i want, gather up eager cast and crew and use lab time if i choose. Class is only a couple hours every week.

Seems lke a better deal than 20,000 a year, doen't it?
 
Re: no more film school

I think it TOOK the $20,000 training to prove to me that i don't really need 20,000 training.,... :-[
 
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