Read This Before Spending a Lot of Money on Film School!

by: WilliamSchwarz
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Every year there are lots and lots of new movies produced and released throughout the world. If you've ever sat through the end credits of any of these films you have a good idea of the large number of people employed by this industry. Several film schools have opened in recent years to help supply studios with new technical and creative talent. Many of the graduates of these institutions are now enjoying successful careers.

But film school can be expensive or far away. Is getting a student loan and going into debt for several years a future filmmaker's best way to enter the business. Could there possibly be another way, and is film school even worth the expense?

It's up to the individual enthusiast to decide whether or not film school is the best way to gain entry into the field, but it's always good to examine all of the available options.

I'm telling the following story in the hope that it will be helpful for future motion picture professionals who are trying to decide whether or not to attend film school. It's about an acquaintance of mine and the way he got started in the movie business. I don't know his current whereabouts (he travels around a lot) so I haven't gotten permission to use his real name. I'll call him Paul.

One day Paul learned that he would be receiving an inheritance. It was his mother's job to decide the way this money was to be spent. The only condition was that it was to be used in the furthering of his education. She asked Paul what kind of career he wanted to go into.

He replied that he wanted to work in the movie industry and would like to go to film school. Employment in the motion picture business seemed fine to his mother, but she suggested another route to this goal.

What if he used the inheritance to make his own short movie. That could be his film school.

Paul thought this was a good idea, so he went out in search of some help on this project. He found a local special effects technician who was interested in getting involved. I also happen to know this man. We can call him John.

This is the deal Paul offered to John: John was to contact some of his special effects colleagues and together they would compile a list of effects that they had always wanted to create but had never had the opportunity to do. Paul would write a script that used as many of these effects as possible and a short film would be made from it that they would all work on together. The technicians wouldn't be paid for their work, but Paul would supply all of the necessary materials.

The response from the effects crew was enthusiastically positive and together they put together a very entertaining and well made short film. Everybody had a great time completing the project and Paul learned a lot about how films are put together. He also had a nice portfolio piece that would come in handy at future job interviews.

Of course there are a lot of people who went to film school and are doing very well, but Paul's story is certainly not unique. Many of the top professionals in the industry learned their skills by making their own films.

In one of the most famous quotes attributed to him, Stanley Kubrick stated that in his opinion, the best way for a young hopeful to get into the film business is to get the necessary equipment together and make a movie. Robert Rodriguez, John Waters and Quentin Tarantino are just a few directors who have made similar statements.

With the availability of affordable video equipment and helpful software, just about everybody has access to all of the resources they need to make independent films. They can even get their movies seen by uploading them to the internet.

Once again, there are a lot of people who have found success in the motion picture business by going to school to learn their skills. At the same time, plenty of folks have made it to the top via other routes. Check out as many options as you can before making up your mind. Best of luck to you all in the future!

About the Author

If you're interested in a career in the film industry and want to know what the best way is for you to get into the movie business, take a look at Flashfink's Squidoo page to see if going to film school is right for you.  

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