I am a junior in High school right now and I am looking at film schools. I have been to NYU and Temple and they seem to have nice environments only im not sure i want to go to film school. I would much rather do it on my own and save the money like Robert Rodriguez did with El Mariachi. Film is my life and i already have a good understanding of it. Is it worth the $40,000 a year to attend NYU? Also, if I decide to go to film school is there anyway i can get a scholorship based on the quality of my films? Thanks alot everyone.
Film School, Yes or No?
- Thread starter iuhoosier336
- Start date
I believe some film schools offer scholarships.. but I doubt there are any that cover all (or even half) the cost of tuition, not to mention all the extra lab fees and such.
Personally I decided film school would be a waste of money, much like any other formal school environment in my opinion, but that's another story. Seriously, suppose you get a degree from a film school, are you really any closer to a film career than you would be had you spent that money of producing a few shorts and maybe a feature yourself? Maybe, maybe not.. it really all depends on how much effort you put into your own self-teaching.
Film school has it's benefits, no doubt.. but you need to weigh those yourself and decide if it is worth the $$ or not. The biggest advantage of film school is having a community from which to gather cast and crew for your school shoots. Also you may form some long-lasting friendships with others who are persuing the same goals as you, and as such benefit from eachothers success. Then again, there's nothing saying that couldn't happen outside of film school, by way of this or other similar forums and user groups.
Where are you located? I'm sure there's others in your area that have filmmaking interests as well, no doubt you could get together with some of them and collaborate on some projects and such. There's a wealth of information about the ins and outs of filmmaking available in books and online, for much much less than film school tuition. That is the route I've chosen. Good luck to you in whichever path you choose.
Personally I decided film school would be a waste of money, much like any other formal school environment in my opinion, but that's another story. Seriously, suppose you get a degree from a film school, are you really any closer to a film career than you would be had you spent that money of producing a few shorts and maybe a feature yourself? Maybe, maybe not.. it really all depends on how much effort you put into your own self-teaching.
Film school has it's benefits, no doubt.. but you need to weigh those yourself and decide if it is worth the $$ or not. The biggest advantage of film school is having a community from which to gather cast and crew for your school shoots. Also you may form some long-lasting friendships with others who are persuing the same goals as you, and as such benefit from eachothers success. Then again, there's nothing saying that couldn't happen outside of film school, by way of this or other similar forums and user groups.
Where are you located? I'm sure there's others in your area that have filmmaking interests as well, no doubt you could get together with some of them and collaborate on some projects and such. There's a wealth of information about the ins and outs of filmmaking available in books and online, for much much less than film school tuition. That is the route I've chosen. Good luck to you in whichever path you choose.
Thanks for the advice. How did you get started right out of high school? I am located in south eastern Ct and im worried i wouldnt be able to get a crew and actors in my film after everyone who is in my crew now goes to college.
I went to film school. I was a Florida resident and I got a Florida scholarship for the school of my choice in that state so I went to the University of Central Florida. I learned as much, perhaps in some cases even more than larger more established film schools like NYU, UCLA, USC etc. Big name schools like that can benefit in not only an education, but also a reputation, and good contacts.
I was after the knowledge so I didn't mind going to a smaller school. I learned alot in film school, perhaps most importantly I learned that the diploma doesn't mean a thing. No body cares what degree you have. They want to know what you can do "show me your work."
I would not have been able to make the kind of films that I did without having attended film school where I got the support, student crews and free equipment that I needed. I still would have made movies, but would they have been as good if I didn't first attend film school? I doubt it.
I always tell my friends who are trying to get into film schools; "you don't need to go to film school to make movies...but it doesn't hurt."
I was after the knowledge so I didn't mind going to a smaller school. I learned alot in film school, perhaps most importantly I learned that the diploma doesn't mean a thing. No body cares what degree you have. They want to know what you can do "show me your work."
I would not have been able to make the kind of films that I did without having attended film school where I got the support, student crews and free equipment that I needed. I still would have made movies, but would they have been as good if I didn't first attend film school? I doubt it.
I always tell my friends who are trying to get into film schools; "you don't need to go to film school to make movies...but it doesn't hurt."
I am of the opinion that you can learn pretty much everything that is taught in film school (or more) on your own. But I am also of the opinion that if you skip film school you possibly will be missing out on the contacts that K.T. talked about, even if you go to a smaller school. The question you have to ask yourself is -
Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?
Seriously, if you feel lucky enough to forgo film school do it, but if you feel like you might be as prone to mistake and blunder as everyone else than go to film school.
As big a fan of Rodriguez as I am, the dude got extremely lucky! He shot a film for cheap with a severely limited crew (himself and his lead actor and the occasional helper), a no name untrained cast, in a foreign language, utilizing a cheap tape recorder from Radio Shack as his sound device, yet it catapulted him to stardom. That's how you spell L-U-C-K-Y.
My advice, read "Rebel Without a Crew." Read how he became a guinea pig in order to raise the funds for El Mariachi. Read how little things went his way. After that, if you feel like luck is on your side, as it was his, take the money you'd spend on film school and shoot a movie. I would applaud you and wish you the best.
But just no that it's a lot harder than it seems.
I know from experience. I dropped out of school in large part because I thought I could be the next Robert Rodriguez. Do I regret that ... sometimes, but most of the time, no. I feel like I am taking my own path, and that's what you need to do - figure out your path and follow it. No matter what we tell you, you have the be the one to set out on the path.
Poke
Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?
Seriously, if you feel lucky enough to forgo film school do it, but if you feel like you might be as prone to mistake and blunder as everyone else than go to film school.
As big a fan of Rodriguez as I am, the dude got extremely lucky! He shot a film for cheap with a severely limited crew (himself and his lead actor and the occasional helper), a no name untrained cast, in a foreign language, utilizing a cheap tape recorder from Radio Shack as his sound device, yet it catapulted him to stardom. That's how you spell L-U-C-K-Y.
My advice, read "Rebel Without a Crew." Read how he became a guinea pig in order to raise the funds for El Mariachi. Read how little things went his way. After that, if you feel like luck is on your side, as it was his, take the money you'd spend on film school and shoot a movie. I would applaud you and wish you the best.
But just no that it's a lot harder than it seems.
I know from experience. I dropped out of school in large part because I thought I could be the next Robert Rodriguez. Do I regret that ... sometimes, but most of the time, no. I feel like I am taking my own path, and that's what you need to do - figure out your path and follow it. No matter what we tell you, you have the be the one to set out on the path.
Poke
Thanks for all the advice everyone. I have read Rodriguez's book, twice, and it was sort of my inspiration on the thought of not attending film school. I was wondering what all of you are doing now? what projects are you all involved in?
I didn't get started right out of highschool.. maybe I wasn't very clear with that part of it.iuhoosier336 said:
I did a little work in highschool.. but not much really, then after that, not counting the very limited video things I did when I was in school for radio and TV broadcasting, I put it all on hold until just a few months ago.
I had come up with as many reasons as I could think of not to follow my dream toward filmmaking, until for the longest time it was pretty much out of my mind completely. Finally a few months ago I was so tired of putting it off that I just dove in head first. It is still a hell of a struggle, mostly because I don't have the resources (or time) to commit a huge part of my life to it at the moment, but at least I'm finally heading in the right direction.
It depends on alot of things. really.
If contacts are what you want, I'd say one of the Hollywood biggies is where you should go if Hollywood is what you want. Every time you turn around some insanely successful guy in the Hollywood machine says someting in an interview like, "I was sitting around and someone I new from UCLA called with a job offer....."
I was at the school of visual arts and was lucky enough to get plucked for an animated feature and that's how i got started. I do think SVA may have scholorships still, they had full tuition scholorships in all the majors when I was there, but that was a good long time ago.
One question is where is the money is coming from for school, and I think this is critical. If it's from a student load that will cover all school expenses but only that, then school might be the better option, to be sure. If you have say, 20 grand tucked away and plan on only using a supplemental loan and paying the rest yourself, that's a tough call. As Orson Welles used to say, the really important things about filmmaking academically can be taught in 15 minutes. It might just be that the money could buy you some terrific Indie stuff like a camera and editor and lights and even the budget for a couple of small films. With all due respect to academia, there are plenty of books out there and support sites like this and others. If you could spend that money THAT way, I am inclinded (only an opinion) to say go that route. If you want a solid Hollywood career in a speciality, though, there's nothing liking going to UCLA and networking like mad.
Only opinions for which I take no responsibility. However, there is no better education than doing.
If contacts are what you want, I'd say one of the Hollywood biggies is where you should go if Hollywood is what you want. Every time you turn around some insanely successful guy in the Hollywood machine says someting in an interview like, "I was sitting around and someone I new from UCLA called with a job offer....."
I was at the school of visual arts and was lucky enough to get plucked for an animated feature and that's how i got started. I do think SVA may have scholorships still, they had full tuition scholorships in all the majors when I was there, but that was a good long time ago.
One question is where is the money is coming from for school, and I think this is critical. If it's from a student load that will cover all school expenses but only that, then school might be the better option, to be sure. If you have say, 20 grand tucked away and plan on only using a supplemental loan and paying the rest yourself, that's a tough call. As Orson Welles used to say, the really important things about filmmaking academically can be taught in 15 minutes. It might just be that the money could buy you some terrific Indie stuff like a camera and editor and lights and even the budget for a couple of small films. With all due respect to academia, there are plenty of books out there and support sites like this and others. If you could spend that money THAT way, I am inclinded (only an opinion) to say go that route. If you want a solid Hollywood career in a speciality, though, there's nothing liking going to UCLA and networking like mad.
Only opinions for which I take no responsibility. However, there is no better education than doing.
iuhoosier336 said:
Gosh, I am sorry Hoosier. I just read my post and I came off a bit assholish. It was not my intention.
In the past I have been adamantly against film school, thinking that it was a waste of money for most people. Nowadays, I am in the middle. I think it serves a purpose for those that lack the drive and direction needed to make it as a true indie (not that people without drive always find it in film school), and it can help if you meet some really creative folks that share similar interests as you -- i.e. future contacts. The longer I pursue my dream, the more and more I am convinced that without contacts you are nothing but a human with some talent and story ideas. You need other people to make it.
The good news is that with the internet (and sites like this one) you don't need film school to make contacts, but it can help.
I myself struggled with college in general. In High School I was a Straight A student, but for some reason I got sidetracked early on in college. I would skip class so much that I'd get incompletes or worse Fs. It was mainly due to the fact that I was not interested in any of my studies. I always loved movies and had dreams of acting, but coming from small town Texas and being from a conservative family, I never really considered it a viable option. Then in the Spring of '97 I had an idea to write a movie, but I never really applied myself to the task. Then the next Summer ('98), I started working at a theater (where I met Goat) and started getting interested in Independent film. Around the same time I got accepted into Baylor University and became a Telecommunications Major (the equivalent of film school). I then got a job at a local TV stationas a News Photographer (Videographer) and Editor. Shortly thereafter, I quit school because a) I was teaching recent Baylor Telecom graduates how to do my job, and b) because I thought I was the next Rodriguez.
As I said before, there are times I have doubted that decision, but more often than not I am happy with it. I have contacts because I made them myself. I have been developing my storytelling skills by writing and shooting shorts and I am planning on shooting my first feature in the Winter of '06.
So from someone who neglected film school to someone who is contemplating it, whatever you decide remeber that hard work and good contacts are the most important things to an indie filmmaking future.
Poke
'figure out your path and follow it. No matter what we tell you, you have the be the one to set out on the path' (Poke, above)
I find myself in total agreement with the Ubermoderator. The chances are that, whether you admit it to yourself or not, you have already made your decision. Deep down, no matter what experiences or advice these people offer, you have made your choice. Asking what Poke and Will and many others do now will not matter to your final decision, as you know, it will be different for you. Those experiences are solely theirs and they cannot be yours.
My counsellor (I've said too much) used to tell me to get a blank piece of paper and draw up a table of pros and cons of the potential decision. I think you should do the same. The sad thing is that, in this day and age, your dreams are out-ranked by your reason (although this is perhaps what saves us from another Hitler, but thats another thread).
Good luck in the paper plan, it'll work if you spend time doing it. I'm sorry that its going to come down to that, but that is the only chance of you making a decision based on you and nothing else.
I wish you all the best in planning your future,
Zoolio
I find myself in total agreement with the Ubermoderator. The chances are that, whether you admit it to yourself or not, you have already made your decision. Deep down, no matter what experiences or advice these people offer, you have made your choice. Asking what Poke and Will and many others do now will not matter to your final decision, as you know, it will be different for you. Those experiences are solely theirs and they cannot be yours.
My counsellor (I've said too much) used to tell me to get a blank piece of paper and draw up a table of pros and cons of the potential decision. I think you should do the same. The sad thing is that, in this day and age, your dreams are out-ranked by your reason (although this is perhaps what saves us from another Hitler, but thats another thread).
Good luck in the paper plan, it'll work if you spend time doing it. I'm sorry that its going to come down to that, but that is the only chance of you making a decision based on you and nothing else.
I wish you all the best in planning your future,
Zoolio
Does "Ubermoderator" mean Ugly Moderator? Cause if it does, I will be sad.
Poke
Poke
Welp, that pretty much sums up how I feel about it.Poke said:
I went to school for media arts and computer animation. Today I'm a freelance photographer and independent filmmaker. I use the money I make from photography to pay for my films and life. To be freelance / independent, you need to become really good at networking and marketing yourself. If you’re already a talented artist, this will probably be your biggest hurdle.
Living the life of a starving artist can be good times.
Experience is the best teacher. Actually doing it, instead of sitting in a classroom, listening to someone talk about it, is the best way to go. It doesn't hurt to do both, though, if you have the money.
Go to film school But don't expect it to provide all the answers or an automatic career 
It's true that you can learn everything you need to know outside, I know I did, but on the other hand the whole purpose of an education is to be introduced to stuff you never would have looked at if it had just been left to you. It should be a broadening experience that makes you a more rounded, more interesting person and filmmaker. I never would read have Heidegger or Hegel if I hadn't done my degree and I would have been poorer for that.
The real question is, if you don't go, can you dedicate yourself fulltime to educating yourself in filmmaking? Will you have the self discipline to read books that initially seem boring and hard work, will you watch films that are not of your taste or that in fact you hate from beginning to end? Will you go and seek out people from all over the country/world who have different opinions from you and force yourself to work with them for the learning experience, will you find mentors in the filmmaking community who will challenge your work every step of the way and be genuinely critical? If you can't answer yes to all these questions, then you need to seriously consider film school.
It's too easy to see film making as a technical process that you can pick up out of a book or by playing with cam-corders or by asking questions on the net. There is so much more too it and having a good education is the key.
Oh and Robert Rodreguiz was at film school when he made El Mariachi
But don't expect it to provide all the answers or an automatic career It's true that you can learn everything you need to know outside, I know I did, but on the other hand the whole purpose of an education is to be introduced to stuff you never would have looked at if it had just been left to you. It should be a broadening experience that makes you a more rounded, more interesting person and filmmaker. I never would read have Heidegger or Hegel if I hadn't done my degree and I would have been poorer for that.
The real question is, if you don't go, can you dedicate yourself fulltime to educating yourself in filmmaking? Will you have the self discipline to read books that initially seem boring and hard work, will you watch films that are not of your taste or that in fact you hate from beginning to end? Will you go and seek out people from all over the country/world who have different opinions from you and force yourself to work with them for the learning experience, will you find mentors in the filmmaking community who will challenge your work every step of the way and be genuinely critical? If you can't answer yes to all these questions, then you need to seriously consider film school.
It's too easy to see film making as a technical process that you can pick up out of a book or by playing with cam-corders or by asking questions on the net. There is so much more too it and having a good education is the key.
Oh and Robert Rodreguiz was at film school when he made El Mariachi
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Poke said:
Dont worry about it Poke, i didnt think your post was assholish, at all.
Will Vincent said:Uber is german for 'super'
What, like "dinner?" So now I'm fat?
clive said:Oh and Robert Rodreguiz was at film school when he made El Mariachi
This is true, but it was his experiences in film school (notably University of Texas's highly respected film school) that led him to declare film school to be useless.
iuhoosier336 said:
Cool. The last thing I wanted was for people to think I was an a-hole in addition to being ugly and fat.
Poke
Yeah, I wish he hadn't said that. I know that he's dedicated, hard working and talented, but he's also been incredibly lucky to get the breaks that he got. El Mariachi was a mess technically and with a little more production knowledge he could have made a better film (technically), rather than constantly having to dig himself out of one post production disaster after another. His problems with film school were about the fixed attitudes and their concepts about the industry. I can see his point, but it doesn't change my honestly held belief that film school would be a good experience for anyone who went in with an open mind and a willingness to be exposed to new ideas.
I know that I've considered doing a post graduate degree at Bournemouth which is one of the best film schools in the UK, simply because I think it would be good to broaden my own horizons and because I think you're never to old to learn. I'm very pro-education, I think it's the foundation of civilisation.
I don't mean to be so contradictory, but being "pro-education" shouldn't mean that you rule out self education. I think Rodriguez's problems with film school dealt mainly with the attitudes as you said, but he has also stated that the system focuses too much on the philosophy of film and not enough on the methodology of film.
Using a common metaphor that argues for film school - you wouldn't let someone that is self trained operate on you - I would argue that you wouldn't let someone who has only talked about operating ideas and philosophies operate on you.
Self Education in the field of filmmaking, usually, involves more hands on experience.
Poke
Using a common metaphor that argues for film school - you wouldn't let someone that is self trained operate on you - I would argue that you wouldn't let someone who has only talked about operating ideas and philosophies operate on you.
Self Education in the field of filmmaking, usually, involves more hands on experience.
Poke
clive said:
I could not agree more with Clive on this one. The wish to be educated reveals a desire to be greater than what you are, to understand more than you do - to be better. An educational institution is where people of different backgrounds can crush the suspicions people have of the unknown. My secondary school is where I first learned I what wrong was. My college where I learned what was right, and at university where I learn about me. We don't know what we are like until we are challenged. We want to know 'what am i made of', and an educational institution is one of the most perfect places to find out.
Not only is education the foundation of civilisation it represents, to me, an ambition to be part of something greater, a commune of learners, desperate to change the world.
This is all not to say that people who don't go to such institutions are not such people, but rather to say that, if it were not for the educational places i have gone to, and the people i have met there, I would not be even half of the person I am. Education for me, in the end, was the solidarity of what once were opposed people. Tunsians mixing with English. Small with tall. It is education where I learned not only of facts, but also myself and humanity.
In reference to Poke's point, many friends who have gone to film schools have told me this too. Perhaps many film schools do have predominantly theory based courses. However, as someone earlier in this thread has said, it is a balance that needs to be struck. Without understanding what you want to say in or with your film (which may be seen as the theory side of film) your films will be less than they could have been. Yet conversely, without the practice, the theory simply floats into thin, wasteful air.
What you need to do is find a school that will offer you the balance. Also, if one does exceptionally well, they are usually allowed greater freedom to do what they want to do (this is how universities in England usually work). You must contact specific schools, see their grounds, ask them questions, smell the grass, feel the sun shining on your skin, look around meet the people with whom you will finally become you.
For me education (despite the infamous shower hour at my all boys school) has always represented something core to the human spirit - that desire to be challanged, by courses, by faces by people. To find out what you want to say, you have to know where you are coming from, and to know that you have to understand yourself well, and that is where school comes in.
Self-education is great, but you need both kinds of education. Only then are you truly challenged by you and all else. Then you become more than if you just did one.
Sorry about that - i just got caught up in romantic thoughts of learning etc
(Oh Clive, I have Hegel coming up in February - yay!!)
Zoolio
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