Is it worth going to film school to build connections?

I keep wondering whether or not I should go. I took a tour of a film school where I live, and they said it's probably not for me in the end, cause I want to learn things in audio and video, that they do not go into, such as Foley, sound mixing, editing and VFX.

They said in that they hand most of the post production off to others and the students get to work with them, but not work on the footage and audio directly. They teach mostly the preproduction and on set stuff, as well as the business end of film school.

I also watched the short films that the classes produced and I got to say, I was less than impressed. The directing was good. I mean they knew how to compose the shots, and get actors to act and all. But the editing, and audio left a lot to be desired and I feel that I will not be learning a lot out of this school. There are schools in different cities, so I am pondering moving. A lot of people on here say it's better to make films than to actually go to school.

I talked to one guy and she said that it's mostly a history class, and that you study movies like The Birth of a Nation, and learn how things came to be. Well even though that sounds like fun, you are not going to learn squat about modern filmmaking by watching The Birth of a Nation unfortunately.

I watched this video, and the host says you can build a lot of connections in film school, and that he wouldn't have been able to make his first feature film without school because of the connections:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Damr9I89t9g

I could use more connections and even though I have a couple here and there in other cities, it's mostly slim pickings and I would like to build more. Especially connections that actually believe a lot more in movies, and are willing to put more into it. Is film school worth going to for that alone, like he said, or should I just keep making films on my own and just leave it at that do you think?

From what I've gathered from other people on this forum, is that in some cases it may be a waste of money, but you will always have a great opportunity to network.

That's how Martin Scorsese and his editor met and they have been working together since I believe the 70's due to that.

I would find a school that is more in your field and some how get in contract with other students from other schools that may need your type of assistance.

Okay thanks. When you say more in my field, do you mean from what I want to learn like post vfx and audio? So far form what I can could find, the only schools for those are in Toronto and Vancouver, but I could not afford those ones. I will keep looking for cheaper ones.

Film school is a decision that can only be made by the individual. You have to base the answers/advice you get upon the people that offer those answers/advice, meaning that you need to look at their personalities. Some are films school types and like the regimentation and groove on studying and assignments. Others - like myself - learn by doing and cannot tolerate scholarly regimentation.

harmonica44 said:

... and audio left a lot to be desired

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Although "Sound is half of the experience" a very large majority of film schools are very short on audio courses. Oh, yeah, you'll get a basic production sound class, and quite a few schools will offer a basic Pro Tools course, but there is very little about using sound to tell a story, and almost zero courses on doing Foley, cutting dialog, etc. This may partially be a financial decision; you can edit visuals on a decent laptop, but putting together even a few dedicated audio editing suites is expensive even for the "big" schools. But there seems to be a pervasive attitude that if you can't see it, it's not important.

I'm going to a film school which is basicly more of an art school -> I picked film directing course. While I did learn some stuff in the film school, I feel like I didn't learn enough. I learned most of the important things by myself and doing research on the internet. I did meet some nice people and mentors that work in our film industry, but I don't believe that knowing them will actually help me some day.

Film school is a nice experience, but I didn't learn much. If you are hungry for knowledge, you will learn more about film by doing projects with other people and doing research on the internet, this is what I think.

harmonica44 said:

the only schools for those are in Toronto and Vancouver, but I could not afford those ones. I will keep looking for cheaper ones.

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Saying nothing about the quality of the education at those cheaper schools, if you want connections you may need to pay big bucks for a more well-known school.

Are you a fan of Breaking Bad? The show runner Vince Gilligan recorded podcasts for each episode of the show. In the podcast for episode 507 (I think), he discusses at length the merit of film school for building connections. It's very interesting and I'd highly suggest hearing it if you know the show or just want to hear the perspective of somebody who made it big. (Link to podcast - scroll down the list for 507)

cinemafou said:

.............. If you are hungry for knowledge, you will learn more about film by doing projects with other people...........

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I studied audiovisual design in artschool and one of the key components was doing projects with other people.
I learned a lot. About the craft and about my strong points and weakpoints as well.
Did I learn everything?
No, every day of my life I'l keep learning.