schooling

A

aaron_wade

Well-known member
i understand that you do NOT have to go to school to become a director, but on the other side I believe there are some advantages. although i am shooting my own projects and getting as much experience OUTSIDE of school, i would like to be around the same environment in school.(since my parents will not go for me not being in school) any suggestions on some good schools/ workshops? im pretty sure this issue has been covered b4, if so can someone shoot me a link to the discussion.

thanks.
 
Re: schooling

You will find most working directors have a very good education (be it film centered or in a completely different area). This is no different than the fact that the majority of CEOs have very good educations, many in areas completely different than the field they work in.

I love watching good professional directors work because they are usually very well spoken, well-cultured and articulate. This is the product of many things, but a lot of it is education.

If you want to be a director and you think you can get away without having an education because you want to think outside the box, or you don't think it is necessarily or for whatever reason, you are only hurting yourself.
 
Re: schooling

[quote author=Jim Brennan link=board=Offtopic;num=1109893949;start=0#2 date=03/04/05 at 07:39:50]I'm pretty sure that's not what he's saying. Quite the opposite, in fact.[/quote]


The best thing an aspiring director can do is understand the craft but also understand the world around them. I think a great way to achieve this is to get a liberal arts education and practice your craft as a filmmaker concurrently. You could either double major, major/minor, or do one extracurricularly.

My point is that if you have the passion to do it outside of school then allow yourself to broaden your horizons and study something else in school.

There are just way too many graduates of great film schools across the country who once had great aspirations to direct now making DVD menus for Universal (just an example amongst many). If you want to DIRECT professionally (top 1% of 1% attempting it achieve this) then be different, broaden your horizons and be well-rounded.

As you can probably tell, I'm not a major fan of film schools.
 
Re: schooling

International Film and Television Workshops

http://www.theworkshops.com/filmworkshops/index.asp

Working professionals teaching other professionals (and amatuers). This program is amazing. Summer courses there are taught by serious working Hollywood professionals. They have master classes as well as basic starter courses.

In edition to the tech knowledge they impart to you, you get to learn what real Hollywood filmmaking & business is like and make amazing contacts.

I honestly can't endorse this school enough. I have been there twice and plan to return as soon as possible.
 
Re: schooling

natob2, I agree with you as well. Life experience is something that can really make a film that much more indepth.

But I also disagree about film school. It is useful in some respects. I am going to film school at the moment, if you can call it that.. basically because of the access I have to equipment that would be completely out of my league normally. And I am privy to industry information from my teachers that have actually worked in the business for many years.

It is not a complete waste of time, but it sure isn't 100% useful.
 
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