I'm a senior in high school and I'm going to be attending a film school in Fall '08. I've heard some schools are better for directing and others better for cinematography so I'm trying pick one. After making films and doing all the jobs myself for 5 years I can't decide whether I want to Direct or DP. Has anyone had this dilemma? Any advice? Any schools that have solid programs in both? What sorts of skills would be especially helpful on the professional level for each job?
Director vs. Cinematographer
- Thread starter Salil
- Start date
How about doing both.
You could go to a school that specialized in cinematography and
learn all those skills. At the same time you could continue to make
short films as a director - even working with DP's who have more
experience so you can learn even more.
You could not go to film school at all, work your way up in the
camera department, learning form pro DP's and then step into the
directors chair later on. Barry Sonnenfield comes to mind.
You could go to the film school that accepts you - it's almost as hard
to get into USC, UCLA or NYU as it is to get a job as a PA on a studio
film - spend four years learning everything you can about both and
then hit the real world looking for a job. The first one you are hired
for (director or DP) you take.
You could go to a school that specialized in cinematography and
learn all those skills. At the same time you could continue to make
short films as a director - even working with DP's who have more
experience so you can learn even more.
You could not go to film school at all, work your way up in the
camera department, learning form pro DP's and then step into the
directors chair later on. Barry Sonnenfield comes to mind.
You could go to the film school that accepts you - it's almost as hard
to get into USC, UCLA or NYU as it is to get a job as a PA on a studio
film - spend four years learning everything you can about both and
then hit the real world looking for a job. The first one you are hired
for (director or DP) you take.
On a side note about film schools, a big misconseption alot of people make, is they think if they go into a film major, which is usually film studies, that they are going to be trained as a director, dp, ect. Make sure the school your going to is an actual film school, and not just the studying of film. (USC, UCLA, NYU, Chapmen, Private University Art School, ect.) like directorik said.
