How do I prepare for film school?

S

SizzlinKola

I'm currently taking AP classes as well as honors to bump up that GPA for colleges. I also plan to stay in the school band for all four years of my high school year. Unfortunately, I can't fit any other elective classes like film-making, creative writing, acting, etc...unless I quit band. There are classes after school but I don't want to rush my homework or studies.

All throughout middle school, I took computer class and my teacher incorporated film-making (pre-production, production, and post-production), digital imaging (photoshop), and photography.

When I do have free time, I mainly play video games. I love video games, I play them for mainly the story and the presentation (graphics, soundtrack, and cinematics). It also gives me many influences in my short stories. I'm also learning to play the guitar, or piano. I also have an on/off hobby with creative writing. I tend to get bored of it because I constantly have writer's block and I just give up. Although, I want to get back to it as it is an important skill for film-making.

Thanks lots for ya help guys! :D
 
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I'm in school right now finishing up my bachelors (Communication - Film Production). Don't feel like you have to know everything when you go to school, but it helps if you have a general idea of how things work. The best would be to get hands on experience making shorts which it sounds like you are doing. It's not always possible for everyone to do that tho.

One thing you can do is just pick up a book (online or library) on production and get familiar with the aspects so its not as foreign to you when you lean them in class. For one of my classes I had the book "Voice & Vision - A Creative Approach to Narrative Film and DV Production". It was pretty good...not too bogged down with technical stuff and offered real life examples and how to implement things.

Also Netflix is a great source. Go online and find like the top 50 movies made and watch all of those over the summer. Watch some from different genres and era's. In your classes you'll hear about maybe a sequence from The Godfather, shots in Citzen Kane, or film movement in Raging Bull. You don't have to like all of them, but it helps if you have a reference point and know what people are talking when they mention stuff like that.
 
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Blade_Jones said:
Don't waste your time majoring in film school or communications for that matter....
http://www.holytaco.com/2008/06/03/the-10-most-worthless-college-majors/
Click to expand...

yes, because a website called "holy taco" is a credible source.. LoL

To answer your question, you really do not have to prepare for film school that much. If you know the basics you will be ahead of the curve.

I will be graduating from Hofstra University's film school in May, with my bachelors in Film Studies and Production. It was an incredible experience, and it has given me plenty of opportunities in the work world. I am currently working on the film "the baster" with Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman, and I am making my own film this coming summer. Film school teaches you how to be calm and collected in a hectic environment, it really is an amazing field to be in.

As Grant said, order netflix, watch some timeless classics a few times. Your professors at film school will teach you how to analyze film and show you the meanings of the little things that film has to offer.

Best of luck!
 
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Rather than getting a "degree" in filmmaking I'd just pick out just a few classes, read up on some books, analyze some movies, learn Final Cut Studio, learn After Effects, learn a multi-track audio program, then look to get into the "crew loop" for work. Anything more than one semester of film school is overkill.

Before you get into the field, understand that unless you can get your foot in the door to work on major productions, you will be working for slave labor pay. Just look on Craig's List. Crew people get paid $500 - $750 a week working on indie movies. Things are dead now in this economy and with the proliferation of illegal file sharing.
 
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The above post seems reasonable enough. That's always sort of been a rough idea of my own plan, even I'm turning twenty-four in three weeks and work that I'm getting too old to try to learn all the aspects of filmmaking that I don't understand (which would be somewhere in the neighborhood of several aspects).
 
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I wouldnt go to a big Film school. Mostly because the extra dept wont help when you start as a PA, and film school is what you make it. What i mean is that if you dedicate yourself at a smaller school and really care about what your learning, you can come out with more knowledge than some kids from the larger film programs. Just learn the basics and then go bust ass as a PA.
 
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