Film school - to Go or not to go?

L

lexus47@msn.com

I'm going through a bit of a dilemma. I live in The UK and I want to go to Film school. The thing is, I'm not sure exactly where I want to go. Are film schools better in the US? I also want to work primarily in Screenwriting for both film and television, but I also would like to direct and produce. Based on this, would it be better to do my major in Screenwriting, or Film and Television Production? :)
 
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Hey, well if you want to check out schools in the US, check out CSU Northridge in California, they have a really good school here, and their screenwriting program is top notch from what I hear. I am currently at CSUN and came here for film, but then switched to digital video art though, and am taking a few film classes (which are really nice). So there's a possibility!
 
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:welcome:

I read this book recently, How to Make Great Short Feature Films: The Making of 'Ghosthunter'

It details the writing, pre-production, production, and post-production of a 35mm short that was done in the UK.. according to the writers, the industry is much different there than it is in the US, so I guess it would kind of depend on where you want to work. At any rate, it's a decent read, and it comes with a DVD that includes their film, behind the scenes stuff, and some software/spreadsheets/etc to help with budgeting and writing and such.

Sorry I can't be more help.
 
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Thanks a lot for your help. I would much rather work in the States, actually, because of the prospects that it could bring. I agree that there are many differences between the film industries in the United Kingdom and in the US. The main reason why I want to write in the US is because I want to balance my time between writing features, television and also some theater. In the UK the television and theater industry is incredibly different...
 
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Just remember that film school is never a requirement for selling your scripts. Although there's no doubt you'll learn quite a bit in film school, you can also do the same on your own and by finding work within the industry.

Keep writing your scripts, register them with the WGA, copyright them and get the synopsis out there and see if you get any bites. Your writing could be your door to being a director or producer.

The director's who know how to write are the ones I respect the most, because instead of just telling somebody else's story, you're telling something that you want to say.
 
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