Help With Choosing Film College Or Film School, Any Info?
Dec.09, 2009 in
College Selection
Currently Senior in high school. I would like to major in filmmaking. Would a college be better than a film school? Could you suggest a few? Any info, tips, pros, cons, or personal advice you have would be appreciated.
Application deadlines are not that far off, and I don’t really have a list of schools I’m going to apply to.
I don’t know if it helps any, but I would like to direct music videos and write screenplays.
December 9th, 2009 at 5:00 am
Think long and hard about film as a career. Much of the work is freelance — no health insurance, income can be erratic — so you’re always looking for the next job. Unless you’re very successful, it doesn’t pay particularly well. Most of the work is in NYC or L.A., so you have to be willing to relocate to one of two very expensive cities. The areas you are interested in are very creative ones, so you have to bring your own creativity to the process. They can’t teach you how to write a successful screenplay or direct a dynamic video because there is no magic formula for those things. Your ability to get work will depend on who you know and your connection with successful projects, so getting that first step in the door is really important. It’s helpful to go to a school that will help set up internships for you because that will help you make connections that might land you that first job.
Some schools to look at that have film programs — USC, UCLA, Northwestern, NYU, Ohio University, Wright State U. (Ohio), Central Florida U., and Ithaca College. There are several additional programs in California — I think Cal State Long Beach has one and there’s one in San Francisco. Columbia College in Chicago and Full Sail U. in Florida also offer courses in photography and film camera work, but their programs may be more technical training (I’m just not sure).
December 9th, 2009 at 7:55 am
Film schools are specifically designed for film. Now if you wet to the LA Film School, you would be a bit dissapointing with what they have versus what the USC School Of Cinematic Arts has for you to play with.
Plus, going to a University always looks better on a resume over a vocational school. So even if screenwriting/directing does not work out for you, going to USC or another university alone would open plenty of doors for ya.