Going to Film School

South Side Dreamer

South Side Dreamer

I was wondering how many people on this website went to film school. I have been thinking about whether to go or not. The only reasons I can think of to go is to network and to learn to use film equipment.
 
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i didnt go. My school was just watching movies and researching non-stop. I also am interning at a production company and trying to learn everything I can. Saved a butt-load of money that way lol
 
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Me! :) My thoughts on film school are well publicised on this forum. I personally thought it was great, and I learnt a whole lot and I don't think I'd be doing what I do today if not for it.

It's not right for everybody.
 
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There are heaps of threads about this topic already.

Film school can help you depending on who you are and where you go. Just going and using that money to get practical experience can also be the way to go....

Why not do both?

I did film school. The thing that most filmmakers learn after finishing film school. You don't learn everything you need to know and it'll only help you shorten the learning curve. Building your contacts will depend on which film school you attend. You'll have a lifetime of learning and contact building in this industry.
 
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GuerrillaAngel said:
Go to film school and you'll have to get a non-film job to pay the loan off.
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GuerrillaAngel said:
If you attend further education, you may have to work a job that's not in the industry you've studied for if you can't immediately secure a job in that industry and need to pay off your loans.
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Fixed.

There are plenty of film jobs that pay just fine, and there are plenty of film people who have gone straight into professional work out of film school.
 
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It very much depends on the school, as well as how much you get into it as to what you get out of it. You tend to get very hands on learning, as well as a lot of great experience and the ability to work with talented people and expensive equipment you could never otherwise gain access to.
 
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I went. It was good for me, and bad for those who didn't put in the hours.
In those days, a path into Hollywood was hard to navigate, especially for a kid in Canada.
 
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jax_rox said:
It very much depends on the school, as well as how much you get into it as to what you get out of it. You tend to get very hands on learning, as well as a lot of great experience and the ability to work with talented people and expensive equipment you could never otherwise gain access to.
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this is my exact argument, I could never get together a crew and shoot on red or 16mm for free like i do at film school, but again it doesnt work for everyone!
 
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South Side Dreamer said:
How is it? How are the classes? Are they hands on learning? What do you like and dislike about it?
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It's good. Classes are good. Lots of hands on. The problem with my school is the lack of areas [in and around the school] to shoot class projects. The soundstages/classrooms are a pretty decent size but we can't do everything in there! Not a huge campus but we make the best of what we got which is now boring and lame.

Equipment is okay, operable. But the cameras I hear are 1995ish models. For crying out loud :rolleyes: update!!

The cool thing about it is the toys that are provided: laptop, software...etc
 
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TheStar said:
It's good. Classes are good. Lots of hands on. The problem with my school is the lack of areas [in and around the school] to shoot class projects. The soundstages/classrooms are a pretty decent size but we can't do everything in there! Not a huge campus but we make the best of what we got which is now boring and lame.

Equipment is okay, operable. But the cameras I hear are 1995ish models. For crying out loud :rolleyes: update!!

The cool thing about it is the toys that are provided: laptop, software...etc
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Yeah....that is an important reason of why I think it would be good to go to film school, the access to film equipment. Now my question for you is, about how much will you owe when you graduate?
 
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Going to college was a great experience, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone - even if it's not specifically film school. But I'd be really, really hesitant to recommend it to anyone if you need to borrow a lot of money to do it, which seems to be the standard these days. I came out with about $10k in student loans, which wasn't too big a deal - I think I paid $60/month for 15 years or so to pay it off, so it never put too much of a strain on my finances. I keep running into people now who owe $50k or more, which is a huge amount to face as you're trying to start a career - if that's what it's going to take I'd say you're much better off finding entry level work somewhere in the industry and skipping school.
 
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ItDonnedOnMe said:
Going to college was a great experience, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone - even if it's not specifically film school. But I'd be really, really hesitant to recommend it to anyone if you need to borrow a lot of money to do it, which seems to be the standard these days. I came out with about $10k in student loans, which wasn't too big a deal - I think I paid $60/month for 15 years or so to pay it off, so it never put too much of a strain on my finances. I keep running into people now who owe $50k or more, which is a huge amount to face as you're trying to start a career - if that's what it's going to take I'd say you're much better off finding entry level work somewhere in the industry and skipping school.
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10k is not bad at all. If that was the most debt I'd be in I would have no problems going to film school. Now 50k is too much to owe....
 
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South Side Dreamer said:
Yeah....that is an important reason of why I think it would be good to go to film school, the access to film equipment. Now my question for you is, about how much will you owe when you graduate?
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32K for this school and I have loans from other colleges I've attended. I'm not too worried about all the debt because my career will be worth it. I don't plan on paying off loans for the rest of my life. I believe in myself enough to know that when I get my company started and running that I'll be able to pay back the loans within the next 5 years.
 
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I went to film school. Loved it. Am I in debt, yes but c'est la vie. I wanted a degree. Did I make connections, yes a ton. Still call on them when I want to shoot projects. There is a lot more to learning to make films than just watching them obsessively.

I'd check out this site for more information. As one of my closest friends (currently a director and cinematographer) says, "Film School is where kids go so they can compete or make friends with the next creative genius."
http://tv-filmschools.com
 
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