admin
if you've ever considered pursuing
filmmaking you probably came across the
idea that you need to go to film school
I mean Spielberg went to USC the Coen
brothers went to NYU but on the other
hand Tarantino worked at a video store
and Wes Anderson studied philosophy that
then leads you to research what some
of the best film schools are so you're
looking at NYU you look in a USC you're
looking at LMU the thing you gotta
understand about film school is that a
lot of it requires being a part of the
film industry so you're most likely
looking at one of the coasts but me I
decided to go to Chicago because that's
as far as high school Carson's grades
could get him so where should you go
well no offense but that sounds like a
you problem
but seriously shop around do some
research find out what works best for
you because you don't want to end up in
LA and realize you actually don't like
overpriced restaurants and awful air
quality but so what is film school like
okay well you get there and I won't lie
you kind of start to doubt your decision
about becoming a film major your
freshman year is spent learning basics
and talking about one scene in Citizen
Kane in four separate classes as far as
people go there the Nolan fans the 8:24
fans the documentary kids the one Marvel
guy in the David Lynch group or hot
second, it's like the worst high school
you've ever been to a lot of people
realize this is not for them for so many
reasons and they jump ship and pursue
economics which is fine good for them
but I'll talk a little bit about my
experience one of the first things I
learned as soon as I got to film school
is that film school isn't unnecessary
but isn't the only thing you should be
doing if you go to film school to only
go to film school you're just not doing
it right
I can't speak for every school because I
went to one single school but this is
not a major where you're gonna be
hitting the books really hard my
professors encouraged me to make as much
as I can outside of class build a name
meet people watch a lot of films and a
bunch more that I'm probably forgetting
I know what you're thinking sounds great
but a lot of that can be done without
paying tuition for film school which is
let me say definitely on the pricier
side and that is 100% true but I will
say the question of should I go to film
school is much more complicated than
that so to answer the question I would
say you should consider going to film
school if you have absolutely no
experience at all by experience I mean
you've never seen a professional camera
in person, you don't know anybody working
in the industry already and you have no
idea where to begin with any editing
software besides iMovie but looking past
all of that you have the drive to be a
part of it all in that case
yeah film school is probably the best
place to be I used to have this toxic
mentality that because so much of film
school is pretty technical at least when
it comes to cameras and editing software
that it's really just a degree you can
get by watching a bunch on YouTube if
you do enough research and get lucky
with professionally made tutorials yeah
you can become an expert in
you're pro in a year so maybe less but
it's unlikely you're going to have the
motivation to watch like hundreds of
hours of tutorials let alone
tutorials that feel like they offer more
than just the surface level controls and
if you're trying to learn avid media
composer you're completely screwed
online tutorials will teach you how to
do something but a film professor will
teach you why to do something in a more
collaborative environment I know I'm
speaking mostly about editing but this
applies to every side of film school
screenwriting sound-producing costume
design and more here's what I will say
as some of you know I would like to
pursue directing but I concentrated in
editing in school because I also enjoy
that my thing is that I don't know-how
crucial going to school for directing is
I didn't go to school for directing so
take what I'm saying with a grain of
salt but so much of directing is
internal and learning how to find your
own voice and I couldn't see myself
majoring in something like that but
because directing is only one side of
all that is the industry that's why I
find film school very beneficial because
there's a lot to learn outside of that
so much that I still haven't learned I
really see the benefit of film school
and looking at where I was before and
who I am now for one I have a better
understanding of what makes for a good
piece of art and how to talk about it I
also, understand how to not only receive
criticism on my own work but how to
respond accordingly understanding where
to draw that line between things that
need to be fixed and ideas I strongly
believe that I should push further I
also met a bunch of people when you go
to film school you naturally become
friends with a lot of people who are
friends with other people who know other
people and all of a sudden you have a
bigger circle then you could have ever
imagined filmmaking is a very
community-based thing so you're gonna
get familiar with those around you once
again I can't speak for all people but
film school also gave me a taste of the
actual industry in a few different cases
one of those cases was a quarter in Los
Angeles where I interned at an agency
and attended lectures with a lot of real
ass industry people one of those cases
was a program where I got to go to kin
and experience the biggest Film Festival
in the world getting a closer look at
how these sides of the industry function
I could go on but the film school opens a
lot of little doors that you wouldn't
come close to having otherwise so you
should go to film school to not only
learn how to do things and get
experience but to also find connections
you had no access to like I didn't know
anybody in high school and now I'm known
maybe like 12 people so then you're
probably thinking what if I do have
those things what if I have a plan and
know what I want to do what if I don't
have the money what if I want to spend
the money I do have on making a feature
in that case yeah don't go to film
school in that case you clearly know
what you're doing and don't really need
it all you're gonna do is feel like
you're wasting your time and telling
other people not to go
which is pretty unproductive I'm not
just saying this because I spent four
years of my life on a film degree but
going to film school is not a waste of
time at all if you look at it as a waste
of time because the degree is kind of
useless you completely missed the point
trust me we all know we're not getting
anything with these degrees getting a
degree is cool and useful to a certain
extent but if you're that passionate
about being a part of the film industry
you understand that getting a degree
that will get you a job is not why you
decided to pursue this in the first
place you go to film school because you
love film you want to find an easy entry
to be a part of it and you want to learn
more about how to be a part of it I not
only got that out of film school but I
got a lot more like apparently a play
button I didn't expect that
so should you go to film school it
depends I guess and that's what I have
to say
admin
4 comments