Oh wow, I need some ADVICE

Andrew Brinkhaus

Andrew Brinkhaus

Veteran
Where to start, where to start. Basically, at the moment my life is a little confusing. I'll start out with the basic problems.

1. I live in Orlando and go to Full Sail

2. I love the school, its great.

3. I DONT love how much it costs

4. I'm acquaintances with the president of Florida Future Filmmakers, who recently said (and its something I have heard of and thought of before) all a Full Sail Degree is, is a peice of paper... in the end, pass and get what we can learn out of it, but dont make it our primary focus, make our film reels our focus. The degree isnt going to get you anywhere ouside of school, it gives you the technical skills, but the film reel is what will get you places.

5. I dont need technical experience. Everything the school offers, I already know (for the most part)

6. Should I really pay $65,000 so that I can work on my film reel outside of school?

7. I am really having trouble finding the motivation to stay and pay so much money for this, when I dont know its something I NEED.

8. I could alternately move back to Colorado and wait until Fall of 08 when a friend of mine and I are moving to Germany.


Anybody have any ideas on what I should do? I'm just so confused and disoriented as to what I should be doing...$65,000 is soooo much money to pay back...
 
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Honestly if you don't need the school why go? How much experience do you have already and do you have a reel?

-Nate
 
Aren't you making films in school right now to be part of your reel? And aren't you collaborating and building relationships and networking with classmates that will help you down the road? Are you learning techniques to help improve your storytelling?

If you're not doing any of that I would say quit it.
 
Isaac_Brody said:
If you're not doing any of that I would say quit it.
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That's where I was last year with school. I was learning WAY more outside of the classroom. In fact, I consider DVXuser my college schooling considering 98% of the time I was in class, I was here reading how to do things. Everything I learned at school was garbage.

Quitting school has given me the opportunity to completely submerge myself in filmmaking and making good money as a videographer in my area.

My two cents.
 
$65k and your having doubts about the school? i say get the heck out! you'll learn more working on your own projects and working w/ others. keep in touch w/ students who you've met at the school already and get out. take that money to buy equipment or something like that. just my $.02 :)

but on the other hand, everyone has a different path. by no means am i discouraging film school. to each its own.
 
I've heard nothing but bad things about full sail

I'd say get the f**k out before you are in debt up to youre scrotum

I'm not bashing all higher education.... cuz IMO a college degree is important....you should definitely get a degree.... but get the heck outta full sail man
 
You're moving to Germany? Well that should answer all your questions. Because, if that's really what you want to do, then you need to focus on that portion of your future. What will you do there? Will a Full Sail degree benefit you more in that country? Have they even heard of Full Sail? Will you have massive debt and then leave the country?

$65k for a degree is a lot of money! Come to Thailand and I'll get you a degree for $1000. Plus, some great Thai food.

Good luck! And remember, "A wish changes nothing. A decision changes everything."
 
Isaac_Brody said:
And aren't you collaborating and building relationships and networking with classmates that will help you down the road?
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Very worthy point to consider.... value priceless.
 
Having a $15K school loan to pay off, I can relate. I got an A.S. in Graphics and Design, learned an outdated 3D program, showed the teacher how to get her frames exercises to work... real crappy course overall. I had a blast, met some cool people with real talent, and networked. I also got to learn the basics with a bunch of tools I might not have otherwise been able to get on my own. That is ME though.

YOU might be able to use a worthless degree to your advantage. How often will you lay your hands on those cams? If you plan on making a living in "the business", hands on experience helps. If you just want to make your own movies, chances are you'll do it with your DVX, and don't need the degree or the knowledge of Pro Film equipment.
 
Nathyn said:
Honestly if you don't need the school why go? How much experience do you have already and do you have a reel?

-Nate
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I have basically shot on everything except 35mm. Yes, I have a reel (which is being re-cut right now.)


Aren't you making films in school right now to be part of your reel? And aren't you collaborating and building relationships and networking with classmates that will help you down the road? Are you learning techniques to help improve your storytelling?

If you're not doing any of that I would say quit it.
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No, im not making films at school. They try very hard to keep students' hands off the gear until you are working on your "final project" AKA the only time you get to work with 35mm. Also, 90% of the students in my class are idiots who have no passion for the school or anything involved with film.


That's where I was last year with school. I was learning WAY more outside of the classroom. In fact, I consider DVXuser my college schooling considering 98% of the time I was in class, I was here reading how to do things. Everything I learned at school was garbage.

Quitting school has given me the opportunity to completely submerge myself in filmmaking and making good money as a videographer in my area.

My two cents.
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Well its good to know that if I decide to leave, I have someone who has gone through it and been happy. (Im sure I would be too)

You're moving to Germany? Well that should answer all your questions. Because, if that's really what you want to do, then you need to focus on that portion of your future. What will you do there? Will a Full Sail degree benefit you more in that country? Have they even heard of Full Sail? Will you have massive debt and then leave the country?

$65k for a degree is a lot of money! Come to Thailand and I'll get you a degree for $1000. Plus, some great Thai food.

Good luck! And remember, "A wish changes nothing. A decision changes everything."
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Exactly my point. I dont think a FS Degree will benefit me at all for that. I am a cam op, have been doing that for years. Full Sail trying to teach me "the rule of thirds" isnt going to do anything.

YOU might be able to use a worthless degree to your advantage. How often will you lay your hands on those cams? If you plan on making a living in "the business", hands on experience helps. If you just want to make your own movies, chances are you'll do it with your DVX, and don't need the degree or the knowledge of Pro Film equipment.
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Exactly. I guess I really just need to know what it takes to get a job on a film being a camera operator...A DEMO REEL? ...Its not like im going to include a copy of my FS degree with every reel I give out, and I can still say I went to Full Sail...Any other suggestions?
 
Yep.. whats the whole Germany thing? How does that work with your post-school plans?

Don't focus on the paper... focus on the work and the contacts. I taught at FS for
a short time, btw... the access to gear is amazing, but don't play by the rules. The
way the place is structured, they graduate a class, what, every month? That
means that every month there is a final project cycle going on. You need to
crew on every final film that you can talk your way into. Just *one* good
contact out of the program can pay the whole thing off.
 
InvisionProductions said:
No, im not making films at school. They try very hard to keep students' hands off the gear until you are working on your "final project" AKA the only time you get to work with 35mm.
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Dude that's sucks. If you're dead set on College you need to come out here to Chi-town and go to Columbia College. I just pointed someone else in that direction. They're known for getting the equipment into your hands ASAP. When I went there you worked with 16mm in production 1 and they have a lot of the latest gizmos and tech, including the Sony FX1. I haven't seen the DVX100 floating around because it's mostly a Sony/Mac school but for the most part a DV camera is a DV camera once you figure out where the controls are.

They do have editing PCs too and Macs with both FCP and Avid. But again, for $65,000 I'd buy one of those new Canons and make several films plus have money to promote. But buy a DVX and take video production or film classes. Why? Access. Columbia is a virtual film studio now, you just need to know how to play it. And don't get caught up in the film vs video BS. By the end of it all I learned how to use every department to my advantage. And out of all of it you'd be amazed how useful the theater department is.

-Nate
 
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All I can say is I have a buddy who went to Full Sail and hated it. He felt ripped off and regrets it. I also have several friends at Columbia in Chicago who love it, but they have nothing to prove what they are learning.

I guess I would just rather have an insane demo reel than a degree and nothing to prove myself. All of my Columbia friends try to bash me for dropping out of school and encourage me to go to Columbia, but none of them have anything to show for it. They can tell me everything there is to know about lighting a scene "properly" or how many stops 35mm can handle, but what they can't do is show me a true, quality piece they have made. It's just a bunch of B&W 16mm bullshit that nobody cares about but them.

That artsy college film garbage isn't going to pay the bills or get you anywhere. Sorry about the rant, but every person I know in film school is very high and mighty and can't even back themselves up. I just laugh and give them a few of my DVDs... the "I go to film school" front will only get you respect from people who don't know a thing about making films. I don't care what you say or who you are: in this field, nothing is more valuable or educational than hands on experience.
 
Yeah, thats exactly how I feel. I just need to figure out what I should do next...If I leave, i'm kind of back to step 1. I would rather be at step 1 than $65,000 in debt though definitely.

Nathyn, didn't the renowned DP (and one of my favorites) Janusz Kaminski attend Columbia?
 
korimickster said:
I don't care what you say or who you are: in this field, nothing is more valuable or educational than hands on experience.
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A big part of me agrees with this point. However, you might be missing some of the point with respect to going to film school. Its not just about learning how to "light a scene". Yes, you would do well to learn that by doing. However, school offers many other intangibles. Aside from contacts and film theory classes, you have to consider the reality of this business. In 10 years, you might want to switch gears of some sort and the degree is a first step to showing a prospective employer that you can start something and finish it.

Rick
 
InvisionProductions said:
Nathyn, didn't the renowned DP (and one of my favorites) Janusz Kaminski attend Columbia?
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Yes, he did (Schindlers List, Saving Private Ryan for those of you who don't know).

And Rick, I definitely agree with your point. Hopefully I didn't come across as too anti-school. I'm just sharing my experiences in the field and wishing you only the best in your endeavours.
 
The main point of film school never really was the diploma anyways though, was it? To me film school was always an option because of the techniques I would be learning, and the people I would be meeting and networking with. Unless maybe you were planning on working at an advertising agency down the road, I really wouldn't think you would need the diploma too much.

If you think about it a film degree is a lot like a business degree in some senses. If you decided to start up your own company, where would you really need a business degree? Can't really see a use for it other than maybe reptutation when first starting up. But with the techniques they teach you and the networking that takes place at school, you can hopefully start up a successful company. In both fields, its going to be up to you to use your degree to it's fullest capabilites.

I debated a lot about whether or not to go to film school, but I think going was probably the best decision I could've made. I have a good amount of experience in the film industry, but if theres one thing I can take away from all of this, is how crucial networking is to your succesfullness is. Besides networking, you're going to need to know more than just how to light a scene and operate a camera to be a DP. You're going to need to know all the aspects of directing, lighting, producing, editing, and writing. All of this will make your job a lot easier down the road.

I'm not trying to make it seem like school is the option for everyone because its not, but if you're going for any of the above things mentioned stick with it, you never know whats going to come out of it.

As far as the networking goes, keep digging, eventually you'll find someone as passionate about film as yourself.
 
foto_Hulk_Hogan.jpg

STAY IN SCHOOL BROTHER!

Well thats what Hulk would say, i say for many different reasons to get out and save your money...
 
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