Film school or start filming feature?

J

jake2

Hi there,

I am facing a bit of a conundrum and was hoping to ask for some advice without being too obnoxious.

In my 20s, I started a business which I sold, and now I have a enough funds on hand to make potentially a couple of ultra-low budget features (100k-150k lets say). I've been passionate about film for years and planning to give filmmaking a shot once I had the chance.

I have also been granted acceptance to the MFA program at one of the big name film schools (UCLA/USC/NYU/AFI). I am now trying to decide whether it would be worth attending or not or if I should just make a few shorts and them start filming one of the screenplays I have written.

I could definitely use the technical training (I haven't filmed anything since goofing around as a teenager), and I really don't have any contacts in the film world.

My long term dreams are (like a lot of people) to make Indie films that get to the top festivals or to be a showrunner for a tv show. I was thinking that the film school might help get me on the radar of the people who run the festivals so they would take my films seriously when submitted. I know the quality of a film, by a good margin, is the most important thing, but I also know how important contacts are in life. I was also dreaming that I might be able to use film school to work my way onto the writing staff for a TV show. I'm admitted to the directing program, but have the option to take screenwriting classes taught by working industry people. I thought I might be able to use those contacts the get onto a staff somewhere.

I'm not sure if it is worth the time though. I just turned thirty, and don't really think I have the time to spend 3-4 years in classes.

Do you guys think for somebody in my position with sub-par technical skills and no contacts in the industry would be better off going to film school or just starting to film on my own?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
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I'm going to suggest doing something in between. Take a small amount of that money and shoot a short film. See how it turns out. Submit it to film festivals and see how you fare. It'll help you take stock from that result whether you're ready to shoot a feature film.
 
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Would a MFA really take 3-4 years?
Most masters you can get done in 1 year if you're not working. And it sounds like you have the funds to support yourself during that time.

if you can do that in a year hell yes I say go for it.
3-4 years .. yeah… that's a long time. myself I turn 32 this month.

with the kind of money you're talking about you can hire professionals to teach you on set as you're making your own films.

Especially living in new york. You have access to really high quality actors.
but start with a short. for the love of god. or you may as well just burn your giant pile of money.


do you know what genre you're interested in?
 
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You have to get started anyway, so whether or not you want to apply for film school, start with a short now. Or at least some shooting to get experience with the technical side of filmmaking.
Start with short stuff. The first efforts will probably not be perfect and that's alright:
Fail fast, learn faster :)
 
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Sweetie said:
I'm going to suggest doing something in between. Take a small amount of that money and shoot a short film. See how it turns out. Submit it to film festivals and see how you fare. It'll help you take stock from that result whether you're ready to shoot a feature film.
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this is accurate.

i enjoyed film school because you have access to euipment. sure, you are paying for the classes. but if you weren't in school, you'd be paying for the equipment.

depending on the school you go to, connections that lead to job placement could also be key.

the most important thing is just to keep making films. whether you are in class or not. the only way to learn and improve is to continue to put yourself through each step of the process.
 
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themattressman said:
this is accurate.

i enjoyed film school because you have access to euipment. sure, you are paying for the classes. but if you weren't in school, you'd be paying for the equipment.

depending on the school you go to, connections that lead to job placement could also be key.

the most important thing is just to keep making films. whether you are in class or not. the only way to learn and improve is to continue to put yourself through each step of the process.
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This right here will always be the number one reason I decided to go to film school. I enjoy having multiple sound stages I can rent out. Endless access to high end lighting kits, Arri Alexa, a 5.1/7.1 Certified Dolby Dubbing Studio, backlot, AVID Machines, and in a way the school has provided a huge pool of some few thousand people to ask to work as crew members for free.

In my mind you pay (or completely go to school free thanks to financial aid in America being much easier than people think) the tuition not to go to school, but to have a budget that you'd NEVER have the money for any other way. Imagine what it would cost to have just some of the equipment I stated above?
 
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Another consideration is if you're a writer/director.
If you are writing your own stuff - I think film school is less important.

If you want to work in the industry and direct other peoples scripts - I think film school is more important.
 
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Thanks all! I'll definitely be trying to shoot a few shorts (already organizing a few shoots for June).

I guess my questions really are:

1) Do the name brand film schools help introduce you to festival programers? Maybe I am wrong, but I have a feeling that festival programs being aware you exist is important to getting films into the big ones.

2) Would participating in one of the film MFA writing classes help one get a job as a TV staff writer?

What do you guys think? For me, these two would be the big reasons to go. I'm not that interested in getting any kind of entry level job in the studio system, and would prefer to stay indie. The equipment would be neat, but for the cost of tuition, I could get a lot of fancy equipment for myself. It would be useful to have someone teach technical skills rather than to learn by doing and failing, but doing things the later way is okay for me as well.
 
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I think it could (potentially) help you more with collaborators and employers (including on the indie side of things) than with fest programmers. It may also help to connect you with some of the high-level workshops (Sundance Lab etc) that seem to be feeders to the top fests.
 
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Do the name brand film schools help introduce you to festival programers? Maybe I am wrong, but I have a feeling that festival programs being aware you exist is important to getting films into the big ones.
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I don't really know for sure, but from my observations, it's name recognition based mostly. Their typical aim is to get bums in seats and named talent is usually what puts them there. There are often a few slots for others.

I doubt connections from a film school will matter.

MFA writing classes help one get a job as a TV staff writer?
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I don't know, but once again, I think it wouldn't help in this case either.

Connections are important but the right connections are even more important. Getting those connections is simply a matter of putting yourself in the right places at the right time in the right circumstances and taking advantage of the opportunity. You'll still need the talent.

Think of it like this. If film school gave you all this, do you think there'd be such a divide? Such a difference of opinion on the best route.
 
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Film schools cater to suckers. There are far more people willing to fork out big bucks to go to film school than there are jobs in the industry that are meaningful enough to pay back the debt.

You'll most likely never direct a feature film and work outside of the industry when all is said and done. And you'll owe that (sucker's) debt. The film school industry ought to be ashamed of itself.
 
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Film school or start filming feature?
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Here's an analogy of the question you asked. "Should I get my drivers license or race formula one cars?" There's a lot of options that are in between those two.

You have money from selling your business. That's great. I'd advise not to piss it away on a fools errand. Spend it wisely. Most movies never earn any money. Even less earn their investment back. Even less turn a profit. Take your time to learn what you need to know so you can make the best decisions.
 
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Same boat - only I have no intention of selling my business.

I am first and foremost a writer and know virtually nothing of filmmaking, but because I also operate my business full-time, film school is out of the question (although, I have and will continue to attend weekend workshops).

For a passion project TV series I am doing a sizzle reel for now, I brought in a film production company to do the actual filming - we are in the storyboarding phase now - but I will have total control over everything on the set. I think it's the best of both worlds. It's like hiring a very, very good baby sitter for yourself - and the director has already suggested some very, very good changes, so your brain pool is deeper.
 
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Aspiring Mogul said:
If you don't have a degree or diploma, I would suggest going to film school - the education would be good for you.
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Seriously, is that "bachelors" from Full Sail "University" going to transfer to accredited universities or satisfy a company's HR requirement for having bachelor degree?

I do agree you should go to school, but at least get the kind of credit that turns into income to pay back the debts.

Even second-rate "techincial" colleges grads -- the kind that trains medical and dental assistants, IT techs -- find many jobs await them, and a rate that would embarrass film schools.

Just say NO to film school taking your DOUGH!
 
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If you don't have a degree or diploma, I would suggest going to film school - the education would be good for you.
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As GA implied, the paper that comes from a film school isn't really worth much. I'm not sure where mine is anymore, nor do I really care.

I'm not against film school either. When I did it, it wasn't a big cash grab as it seems to be these days. The kids also seem to be molly coddled a lot these days too. It also wasn't considered as sexy as it is these days.
 
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Well you can make a feature for less than fifteen grand. I know. I did it. But I have been grinding for 8 years so while I didnt know what I was getting myself into by making a feature, I had the fundamentals of making a movie.

Making my feature has opened up EVERYTHING for me both as a director and actor and possible student at a film school.

For acting it's just more eyeballs on my acting work which was the only goal it has ever been. I ONLY made shorts because I wanted to act. I live in a small town in Idaho and far away from Hollywood/New York. I begged my parents to move to LA. But instead they signed me up for a "Film Camp" for 50 or 99 bucks or something when I was 9. This taught me the basics of shooting, lighting, the boom and editing. I made my first short at 10 won some money and I was hooked. Oddly, it played in three festivals and that was the last time I entered a festival (that charges) until now with my feature.

Anywho, after I made my feature it has now been accepted (It's my belief no one cares if you went to film school or graduated from USC) in four festivals. It has played in two and was up for best first feature in the first two.. Didnt win but lost to guys twice my age. So I felt great about that. Big Mike from The Blindside wanted to meet me and we had breakfast and hung out at the festival. This has opened up acting opportunities on his projects but also me attaching him to my next project. So that is where just making a film comes in. It can open up bigger doors for you. I also won 60 grand in rentals and services at one of the fests for a "Indy Award."

But also, now I have been offered almost a full ride to a film school because of what I have done. While awesome, this makes it very confusing for me because I just wanted to keep plugging away with acting a making a feature about every 18 months. This will slow down the momentum but it would also make me a ton better on set as a director/DP.

So, if I were you I would Nike it and make a film then re-evaluate. If you need help with anything on how to do a feature i would love to volunteer my services as many people helped me finish my film by volunteering there time and expertise.

Just follow your heart.
 
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Sweetie said:
I'm not against film school either. When I did it, it wasn't a big cash grab as it seems to be these days. The kids also seem to be molly coddled a lot these days too. It also wasn't considered as sexy as it is these days.
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I definitely agree.

Alot of the work I see from film school students is very rough and lacking a good deal of creativity. There are also a great deal of good films coming from film schools. However, I have yet to see a greater concentration of good films coming from film school grads than non-film school grads.

Film School has definitely broken away from the "film degree" concept within the realm of a well rounded college education and now has become more of a vocational education, which is unfortunate for the students who fork over so much money and only walk away with film skills and no degree to fall back on.

IMO, the best way to go about film school would be to study film as part of a 4 year college education.
 
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Contrary to popular opinion, being a good filmmaker does not necessarily make one a good storyteller. There is an ENORMOUS difference to be kept between filmmaking and quality screenwriting. Film school teaches the fundamentals of translating a Story into a visual performance, it is a quantum leap removed from actually writing a story, which effectively requires a Ph.D. level comprehension of English and Literature together with being a natural born storyteller with at least a decade of getting one's ass kicked by the world, getting your heart broken, and suffering at least 1,001 set-backs and failures.

If one is a filmmaker, film school would have enormous value. If film/TV is the format you choose to present your story, then focus on being a better storyteller. Can always hire somebody to run the camera.

The story is the most important thing on any movie set. Without it, nobody has a job.
 
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I'll just toss in my two cents having read your post and perused the responses (I already know what some of them will say - just as they know what I will say. :D )

Go out and get your hands dirty. Work on every project you can at what ever job you can get. Watch the sausage being made. You'll see where other filmmakers go wrong and where they go right.

"A hobbyist learns from his mistakes; a professional learns from the mistakes of others."

Besides the opportunity to get hands-on practical/technical experience - admittedly at the micro-budget level to start - you'll also be networking with fellow filmmakers. And, as with many endeavors, a lot of it is who you know.

You will also learn what you need to learn. There are a great many books as well as videos on YouTube and elsewhere that can give you a basic film education.

After you've done all that then you should make your decision about film school. I personally am a "hands-on" type of learner. Books, videos, seminars and working with those more established than myself are my school. However, the structure of school may appeal to your style of learning.

One more thing - having run a business you have a solid grasp on the management of funds, personnel, scheduling, paperwork and all that other fun stuff. These are very valuable assets and will put you a leg up on most other indie filmmakers.
 
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