Firstly, I'm sorry if I put this in the wrong spot.
I'm 17 years old right now, I'll be turning 18 this summer after graduating high-school. I of course wanted to go to film school but have since realized that I lack the funds. I live in southeast Idaho. There are no schools in Idaho that even teach film so I'm kind of screwed as far as that goes. The closest school with anything film related is the University of Utah but it's a film studies course and I would be paying out of state tuition for something that isn't even really what I want.
Anyway, I'm 100% sure film-making is what I want to do, the only time I feel "in my element" is behind the camera or acting in front of one. I, like most people, would love to have a career as a director or even a DoP, but I also realize how unlikely that is. So basically I figured that there would be at least a few of you here that might have been in a similar situation who could send advice my way. I'm thinking about just moving to L.A. after I graduate but I'm not sure if that's a smart thing to do.
I realize I'll have to work a near endless stream of crappy jobs before I even come close to being able to live off of film. I don't mind that though, as long as I am involved with film in some way (even working as a volunteer PA) I think I'll probably be pretty happy.
In short, what advice do you have for an aspiring filmmaker skipping film school? Is moving to L.A. a bad/good idea? Is it hard to get jobs/film related jobs there?
Also, what kind of things do you have to do to get started up as an actor? Are headshots hard to get/expensive? This is way less important, but I figured I'd ask anyway.
Anyway, thanks in advance, and feel free to just post links or whatever. Any advice is appreciated.
Hopefully this makes sense
I'm 17 years old right now, I'll be turning 18 this summer after graduating high-school. I of course wanted to go to film school but have since realized that I lack the funds. I live in southeast Idaho. There are no schools in Idaho that even teach film so I'm kind of screwed as far as that goes. The closest school with anything film related is the University of Utah but it's a film studies course and I would be paying out of state tuition for something that isn't even really what I want.
Anyway, I'm 100% sure film-making is what I want to do, the only time I feel "in my element" is behind the camera or acting in front of one. I, like most people, would love to have a career as a director or even a DoP, but I also realize how unlikely that is. So basically I figured that there would be at least a few of you here that might have been in a similar situation who could send advice my way. I'm thinking about just moving to L.A. after I graduate but I'm not sure if that's a smart thing to do.
I realize I'll have to work a near endless stream of crappy jobs before I even come close to being able to live off of film. I don't mind that though, as long as I am involved with film in some way (even working as a volunteer PA) I think I'll probably be pretty happy.
In short, what advice do you have for an aspiring filmmaker skipping film school? Is moving to L.A. a bad/good idea? Is it hard to get jobs/film related jobs there?
Also, what kind of things do you have to do to get started up as an actor? Are headshots hard to get/expensive? This is way less important, but I figured I'd ask anyway.
Anyway, thanks in advance, and feel free to just post links or whatever. Any advice is appreciated.
Hopefully this makes sense