Chicago Film School?

[Nick Norton]

Was interested to see if anyone was in any way familiar with Columbia College in Chicago.

 

Has anyone heard anything about the film program there? Good, bad, etc?

 

 

Thinking about moving there from Orlando to attend the film program... any reason i should? shouldn't?

 

 

 

Thanks-

 

Nicholas

[Ira Ratner]

Was interested to see if anyone was in any way familiar with Columbia College in Chicago.

 

Has anyone heard anything about the film program there? Good, bad, etc?

 

 

Thinking about moving there from Orlando to attend the film program... any reason i should? shouldn't?

 

 

 

Thanks-

 

Nicholas

 

Hey, Nick. As a fellow Floridian, the main reason I would tell you not to move there is because it's too damn cold!

 

But more importantly, there's a lot of stuff right in Orlando happening film-wise, but it's a matter of what you NOW want to ultimately learn and do for a living. (Creative wise? Production? What role?)

 

On the other hand, I don't know how old you are and where you've lived besides Orlando, but in general, Florida is the PITS when it comes to witnessing and experiencing and learning the American experience. It simply SUCKS as a creative environment.

 

So if you're young and want to experience the world, go to Chicago, or New York, or ANYWHERE but Florida.

[Scott Fritzshall]

I graduated from Columbia College last year. I can answer questions about it if you'd like.

[Jesse Lee Cairnie]

I know that there are some amazing Cinematographers that have graduated from there.. Jeff Jur ASC (76'), Janusz Kaminski (87), Mauro Fiore ASC (87) and Robert Benavides (92).. the school has a consistent top choice for Student ASC awards and Student Academy Awards.. so I'd say though no school can be the best school in the world.. Id say columbia has a strong track record for a successful education in Cinematography.. Its why I'm going..

[Jayson Crothers]

I also went to Columbia and would be happy to answer any questions - a few alumni have discussed the school in the past, so you may also try looking through the archives.

 

It's also worth mentioning that Michael Goi, ASC went to Columbia - one of the most gracious and generous men I've met and VERY fast on set.

[Brennan Heldt]

I'm currently enrolled in the Cinematography program there. I'm only about to begin the cinematography core classes though so I couldn't tell you about the program as a whole, but the core film classes have been excellent and the film program is very solid. I know a couple of people that came up from Florida... they say it's worth it, despite the snow in the winter. One of my friends had never even seen snow before coming to Columbia!