Film School At Twenty-Three (Or Older)

Is it worth still going if you're getting into your mid-twenties?

I'm twenty-three now (or will be next month), and the way things are going in my life, I'm not even going to be able to think about film school for a good couple of years. Which scares me a little, because I feel like the older I get the harder it might be to break into film at all.

I guess I'm just wondering if I should think about film school when I get to that point (and if I have the opportunity at all), or if I should just try to continue learning on my own and break through that way.

And sorry if this doesn't make much sense.

I think I'm just kind of depressed about my career as a writer in general tonight.

You know?

Heh.
 
Personally I still feel that film school is over-rated, but I don't see any reason why you couldn't pursue it at any age. I think your best route is to get involved with as many indie projects as you can, and maybe attend some of the film making seminars available.

I was happy with the Action/Cut seminar, and have the 'take home' course that was available at a discount after attending. There were attendees of all ages there.

As has often been discussed, filmmaking is one of those things that you learn best by doing, and the amount of hands on practical experience at film school is generally not as much as you would think. I've talked to former Full Sail students who had more hands on experience and practical learning from a single short film than the entirety of their time attending the school. For a tech school, that one would think by its nature would be more focused on the DOing than the STUDYing, this seems a bit odd (at least to me).

Obviously your mileage may vary, but as film school is not in any way a guarantee of work, it seems like an awful lot of money to sink into a potentially wasted "education" I feel, and I think many people who have and many who have not attended film school would agree at least to some degree, that time and money would be better spent working on an indie short or two.
 
I think film school is an utter waste of time and money. My
prediction is 90% of current film school students would disagree
and 30% of film school grads would disagree. But like Will, I
don’t see why you can’t go to film school at any age.

Are you asking about going to film school to break in as a writer?
 
I have to get a degree to get any interviews in my current field (unemployed for 1.5 years). Film studies seemed like something that I could work my way through more cheerfully (and hopefully provide a career shift that can provide for my family in the future and allow me to do something I actually enjoy).
 
I get the feeling you aren’t comfortable with the details so
forgive me (and feel free to not answer) for pressing, but this
is interesting to me.

To get the interview could you have a degree in, say, Psychology
or Engineering, but you chose film because it’s more interesting
to you?

It’s something I’ve never run into. One of my jobs, working for
the Walt Disney Company, required a degree. I got the job without
one, because I had enough experience. As far as I know, I’m the
only person in that division without a degree.
 
The problem, especially in the computer field as both knightly and I work, is that most employers want to see the piece of paper that shows you had the dedication to stick through school.. Even if you know basically everything there is to know about the position, a lot of employers will interview those with degrees first (or only in many cases).

While someone just starting out from college wouldn't be able to get an aerospace job if their degree were in underwater basket weaving, someone who had previously held an aerospace job for several years could. Like knightly said, the degree gets you the interview, the experience gets you the job.

In my case I was lucky enough to be interviewed by someone who had worked their way up from the bottom and was all self taught. If/when I have to start interviewing for a new job I will be at a disadvantage again because I don't have a degree.

Most reasonable people understand that if you know how to do the job that should speak for itself, but unfortunately a large portion of the business world is stuck on this notion that a little piece of paper from an overpriced school actually means you're more qualified.
 
It use to be in better economic times that one could get a great computer type job without a degree. I have been turned away from many interviews and well paying jobs because of the lack of degree. I have the experience and have had

I had an interviewer tell me once it did not matter what my degree was in, as long as it was a degree.

I am not trying to speak for knightly, but that is what I ran into in the last 3-4 years.
 
I understand the need for a degree and the education it represents
when it comes to aerospace, law, medicine and even business and,
I suppose, computer type jobs. I have nothing against education or
college. My bias is against school for the arts.

And I admit fully, my bias stems from my own experiences in this
business. A great reel (for a DP, art director, editor, composer), a couple
of money making films (for a director), several excellent scripts or
years of quality work as crew (gaffer, grip, boom op, camera operator)
goes a long way in my business.

So since our man in Virginia is looking to break into the film business,
it seems, from my experience, that a degree is just about useless.

I know I am in the vast minority, here. And I do respect those of you
who have chosen the film school path.

Kind of.......
 
At 23? You're asking about age 23?!?

I am much older than you and I really just did the big push last summer. If you want to do it, who cares what your age is. Either you want it or you don't. Are your ideas going to be any worse with age? Probably not.

If you want to do it, do it.


-- spinner :cool:
 
I'm turning 40 this year. And I never stop learning. Even with a degree, there is no way you will survive in the computer industry without constant study. Just keep hitting the books and apply what you learn, find a mentor, and the rest will follow. I have several mentors, and I've been in the computer industry for 20 years. I am one of the few individuals you will encounter in the world who has an engineering title and responsibility... and no degree.

I am applying the same formula that made me a successful engineer to my film and screenwriting studies. Learn by study, by hands-on, compare notes through mentors, and just do it. And this site is filled with mentors.
 
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Some really good points.

Thank-you.

It sort of confirmed certain things I was curious about (especially the fact that working on an actual film has a strong chance of providing more experience than going to film school).

I guess I just gotta look for a way to break through somehow. On any level that would allow me to be around the process and learn (and therefore have a reason to be around in the first place).

I actually feel a lot better.

Thanks.
 
Rik, I have no problem talking about it...I can go on for hours, the brevity was for ... well, brevity's sake.

Yes, they'll take any degree...the requirements tend to be 4 year degree in Computer Science (or equivalent experience)...then they get a thousand resumes and have to sort through them...the no degree people get thrown out without even being looked at and they are left with a stack of 20 or so potential applicants, none of whom are me ;)
 
Some really good points.

Thank-you.

It sort of confirmed certain things I was curious about (especially the fact that working on an actual film has a strong chance of providing more experience than going to film school).

I guess I just gotta look for a way to break through somehow. On any level that would allow me to be around the process and learn (and therefore have a reason to be around in the first place).

I actually feel a lot better.

Thanks.


I think no matter what you do or which avenue you take, remember that age is not important.

There once was the story of a woman that was in her late 20s that decided that she wanted to be a doctor and was discussing it with a professional. She said, "I am starting off so late that I won't be a full fledged doctor until I am 47." In response the professional said, "Did you have other important plans at 47 that could get in the way?"

It's only too late to do anything when they are throwing dirt on you and you are six feet in the hole.

I am 42 and will take this thing as far as I can.
 
Rik, I have no problem talking about it...I can go on for hours, the brevity was for ... well, brevity's sake.

Yes, they'll take any degree...the requirements tend to be 4 year degree in Computer Science (or equivalent experience)...then they get a thousand resumes and have to sort through them...the no degree people get thrown out without even being looked at and they are left with a stack of 20 or so potential applicants, none of whom are me ;)

This is where "who you know" comes in handy. I would not be where I am today if not for the people I've befriended over the years, people in the industry. Letters of recommendation from industry professionals and word of mouth will get your resume on the top of the pile. The resume process is just a formality at that point. My current Director didn't even know for the first two years he worked with me that I didn't have my degree. I know my job and I do it well, and that's all that mattered. The last 6 companies I've worked for all came about through word of mouth. If I have to change jobs (my company just announced a 10% staff reduction), I'm already thinking about where I'd want to go and who I know working at those companies. I won't send a resume. I'll give them a call and take them to lunch.

In screenwriting, if I present a killer script and have several more in the works, also with compelling premisses, folks won't care if I have a degree or not. This path will be more difficult because I don't have much of the "who you know" factor yet. But I'll worry about that once I have something worthwhile to present.
 
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It seems connections are all important in all businesses. I
couldn’t agree more, Vince. I have never gotten a job in this
industry without knowing someone one. My “first job” story is a
pretty good one - one of these days I’ll tell it.

knightly, I take it if you’re going in “blind” - sending in a
resume and application without that all important connection - to
a large company a degree is needed. I know I would have never
gotten my job at WDI if I had sent in a resume. They require a
degree.

Having a killer script without an introduction isn’t going to be
easy. I sold my first script because I was working crew on the TV
show I sold to.
 
And more often then not, most of whom aren't technically qualified for the position (save for having the degree).. :P

No joke here. You would be very surprised (or maybe not) how many so called "degreed engineers" I've encountered in the computer industry who couldn't find their way around a computer to save their life. They only know "this circuit" or "that circuit", and not the platform as a whole including software and firmware. I also know some who are quite the opposite, definitely masters in their craft. My Director holds a Ph.D., but does this make him smarter or more capable than me? Nope. It just means that he has his Executive Club membership card. Executive Club is not on my rader (or in my desires), so I'm not worried. I don't play golf, either, so there's another strike against me. :P
 
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