Film School - Is it worth it?

[Ava]

I'm seriously considering going to film school. I love working on my animations( http://www.peacetakescourage.com/page-animations.htm ), and I would the love the chance to work on a film. Here is my dilemma. Film school could take 4 years and a lot of money. My question is this. Is it worth it? Should i pursue something that I would love doing or should I get a degree in something like medicine?

[ALago1]

1. My best friend went to film school...

...overall he thinks it was a good experience, but had some issues with the educational philosophy of the school he went to. They were very heavy on experimental filmmaking - which was fine - but feels he didn't get enough knowledge concerning how the real commercial industry works.

If it's what you love and you have a natural talent for it, whynot? Life's too short to not do what you want to do. Just do your school research carefully and go where you see yourself fitting in best...

[bigwillq]

2. Go for your dream.

At least try it.

In 10 years, you don't want to be saying---

"I've should've done that"


Just do it.

[eyepaddle]

3. I'm with bigwill here,

if you feel the pull, you'll never feel satisfied until you give it a shot.

Follow your dream.

[kwassa]

4. Been there, done that, left the industry long ago.

Warning: many if not most professionals in the industry never studied film, and many never went to college.

Warning #2: the nature of the film biz is to steer people into particular craft trade specialties. Once you are known as say, a foley artist or key grip, that is probably the rest of your professional career.

You want to do animation, which is different, and what you will need is to get up to snuff on the latest computer animation programs, because thats where the business is going. Beware that many of the jobs out there are animating some very small subset of something else. You might enjoy that, it is something that I would not like at all. Animation is a different world than live film.

[Ava]

6. i don't want to do animation, i want to do actual films

i do animations right now, but i want to do films.

[DS1]

5. Move beyond slideshows and really animate something

;-)

[Ava]

7. i'm not really into cartoons.

:shrug:

i have made one before and it was pretty good, but i just thought it was, i don't know, stupid?

[immoderate]

8. What do you want to do?

Edit? Direct? Photograph? Write? Produce?

My view is that there are two threads that go into a film, the story and the picture. Where do you want to start? Where do you want to go? Writing is about telling the story. Cinematography is about seeing the light and following the story.

If you are not sure, film school is a good place to start. (A whole $.02 worth.)

On edit: Maybe you want to be the producer. The key to that is getting the money to hire the people who know how to get what you want.

--IMM

[Ava]

9. i would like both producing and directing.

direction is what really interests me. i love to watch movie and talk about the direction. it's fun to notice the little stuff and point it out(my mom and i do it all the time).

[immoderate]

12. It's only one opinion, but:...

I am in favor of getting the broadest education possible. I went to a liberal arts college that happened to have a good drama department. (Francis Ford Coppola was a student there. I didn't know him.) I was in several plays. I worked at the radio station. Some of the people I worked with in student productions then, are successful now. Susan Sullivan and Joe Morton come to mind. Persistence and drive count for a lot. There's no substitute for talent, but it is neither sufficient nor necessary for success.

There are many paths, though.

--IMM

[Catchawave]

10. I voted No Ava

Only because if you have to ask a Message Board......just go for it, okay !? :hug:

[Ava]

11. i don't have to, i want to.

;)

just curious. i will most likely go to film school. the reason i am asking is because i am also interested in radiology and law.

[Catchawave]

13. Don't give up your dream !

...any of them :hug:

My daughter went to college..er..pre- business/uh/law/er../anthropology....she's in a band now traveling the country AND owning a bike shop in Brooklyn, NY....

I'm not even sure telling her to follow her dream was good advice either :shrug: All I know, she's very happy !

[Ava]

14. well, i'm graduating from high school 2 years early

so that give me a bit of extra time ;)

[Kathleen04]

17. If I were you

I wouldn't enroll in a "film school" but a University that offers film as a major, that way you can get exposure to it and always remain open to other options, even double majoring if you're open to that. I'm a dual-degree major in Political Science and Television. Neither of which seem to lead to real jobs. :+ More school will probably be in my future, for law perhaps.

[LaraMN]

15. Not if you want to be an accountant.

Other than that, I have no idea. ;-)

[Ava]

16. an accountant?

[bridgit]

18. hubby says "yeah it's expensive but worth it if you're rich"...

he was ucla film school, even with 'a vision', you'll rarely get the level of access to the equipment alone that will get your projects onto film...how bout a design school that offers film studies :shrug: i'm just say'n

pick up the short films of david lynch (his student stuff), they're cool and a glimpse into what is possible with free standing passion :thumbsup:

[Yavin4]

19. I Studied Film in College. It's not worth it

Knowing how to use a camera is not nearly as important as knowing how to tell a story. If you want to be a filmmaker, study English, Literature, History, Philosophy, etc. Understand the human condition and you will be able to write great stories. There are millions of people who know how to operate a camera, light a scene, and edit a movie. Yet,there aren't that many people who know how to tell a great story.

Even if you want to be more of a hands-on filmmaker, then just get a camera, some film, and go at it. You'll never really become a filmmaker by taking courses. Filmmaking is a craft like cabinet building. You'll only get better with practice. School won't give you the practice that you need.

[Writer]

20. I went to the University of Texas - Radio-TV-Film major here.

I was more on the TV side, and even then, more on the business side. I did take a production class, and there were many dudes in the film program in the mid-90's who wanted to be the next Quentin Tarantino.

But the best story of UT film has to be Robert Rodriguez. He dropped out because he felt the school was constraining. He went to a local research lab, participated in a study and earned $5,000 (or some similar amount), went to Mexico and made "El Mariachi." The rest is history.

Do I think it's worth it? It's good for learning the technical side, but the passion and drive must come from you - not a school.