Good Film school & Good academics

Matt · November 19, 2004

Hi, I am looking for mainly an academic school, but I would really like to at least minor in film. Is there a good academic school with a good film program?

Thanks!

David Mullen ASC · November 19, 2004

UCLA, USC, and NYU are all respected universities with strong film programs.

Dan Salzmann · November 24, 2004

NYU.

Curran Rowe · November 25, 2004

If you're just interested in minoring in film but otherwise having a good academic experience, Wesleyan University in CT is a great small, liberal arts college with an established film program. A lot of established filmmakers are Wesleyan alumni.

Chris Keth · December 9, 2004

I go to the Rochester Institute of Technology. I think it fits the bill pretty well.

Brandon Adams · December 10, 2004

Hi, I am looking for mainly an academic school, but I would really like to at least minor in film. Is there a good academic school with a good film program?

Thanks!

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I'm currently a student at Chapman University and am enjoying both their film and general eduaction classes. There are lots of opportunities for non-majors to take classes.

Annie Wengenroth · December 14, 2004

I go to the Savannah College of Art and Design. The film and video program is getting better and better every day. The facilities are great. The academics are lousy though; they could care less if anybody here knows how to write or anything like that. So if you want a school that emphasizes both, scratch SCAD off the list...just my 2 cents.

Ellen D. McCarn · December 21, 2004

I went to Northwestern and the academics are excellent there, with plenty of flexibility on your "electives". The film department is quite good, if sometimes skewed more towards theory than practice. There wasn't really such a thing as minors when I was there, but things may have changed. I heard they had added a minor program right after I graduated. Hope this helps!

DavidSloan · December 25, 2004

NYU, or Columbia.

Trevor Allen · December 31, 2004

Hi,

UCLA, USC, NYU are the big three.

I went to UCLA...great school....but they do not offer a minor in Film (but as a non-film major you can still take many of their film courses)...so that may factor into your decision. I'm not sure if NYU or USC offer a minor in film, I'm sure it says on their websites.

Trevor

January 11, 2005

I'm a freshman film major at Northwestern, and I think it's the best possible combination of academics and film. It's one of the best schools in the country, and the film experience here is as professional as I could imagine any college film program. It's true, the classes progress a little slowly, and there are many film majors who only care about the theory part (those ones tend to be a bit on the pretentious side), but there are just as many if not more that are completely into production.

The student production club, Studio22 is where the real film education is. By the time you get around to learning the stuff in production classes, you already know everything backwards and forwards from your on-set experiences, which is an awesome way to learn the technical and practical aspects of filmmaking. Older kids are eager to teach younger kids the ropes, and the student body is as much a wealth of film knowledge as the faculty. It's pretty much the perfect school for me, and from the sound of your question, probably for you too.

John Ealer · January 12, 2005

I have a BA in Communications Studies and Film from the University of Iowa and a MFA from USC / Cinema.

The UIowa program, while very small, was extremely hands on and very focused on "personal filmmaking." It was an extremely rewarding experience which dovetailed nicely with USC's "studio system" approach to film school education.

J

Mark Allen · January 12, 2005

Well... as far as Academics, it's hard to beat UCLA - it's also inexpensive if you are a resident in CA (which you can become after your first year living here)... which also makes it just about the hardest school to get into in generally and even more so as a film major (which you apply for after being there a year and a half).

I am not sure you can say USC has good academics - but they have a very hollywood oriented film school which can be very good.

(on the flipside if you love experimental films and think hollywood sucks - consider San Francisco State - one of the most adamantly experimental film schools around.)

If you like commerical type production - then consider Pasadena Art Center (in California). People leave there and get work. Very intense, expensive, and good school.

Also - if you're thinking of being a DP - film school is a great place to be - because most people want to be directors and are fighting eachother on some strange political level - but if you are "the DP" they will fight over you... I suppose you need to be good, but you do get a lot of opportunities to shoot in most schools.

I went to UCLA (but studied theater... because I wanted to direct, I wanted to know the history of drama and work with actors and study acting)... however, I knew a bunch of film people and one of them basically made their own program to be a DP - they let him.

Lots of smaller schools will let you invent your own education program as well. I spoke to someone who went to UCI who seemed like they did that - but that was a long time ago.

Also - I would weigh heavy to being in the city you want to work in eventually. Contacts are everything. Those people you get to know in school could be great assets.

Lindsay Mann · January 27, 2005

rumor has it Syracuse has a pretty good film school. I can't speak for their academics because the only kids I know there are burnouts or college atheletes. Then again Hakim Warrick is a pretty smart guy. I go to BU. We just got new Arri lights and super16 cameras. In September I would've told you our film dept. sucks, but we have an Avid Lab and we're doing just fine. And, though I ignored it, the College of Arts and Sciences offers amazing classes.

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