Film School Or independent projects?

[Cyrus Jehangir Viccaji]

A little BG

 

Dear All- just joined this forum- and have read some solid advice- thought id get some too... I'm a reporter/producer for a Tv channel with a 13 ep Art series and a few one-of docus under my belt. These I have shot, scripted and editted myself.. I'm a Bachelor of design with minors in film and photography....graduated 3 yrs ago and joined TV with the purpose of having cameras and editing suites at my disposal. Believe it or not- i think i have pushed the limits of the PD 170-- really---and am very proficient on FCP and FCE!! and I keep up my still film photography using a variety of stocks...but now its time to move on to better formats.....for film and video.....Which is why im planning on doing my masters....The aim is to return to pakistan with the skill to man a 16mm or 35mm cam myself as DOP-- and to script, direct and edit the things i shoot....Here- there is little or no specialization- a purely theoretical course is of little use for practical execution-- A director here needs to be a cameraman, light's director, editor, director all rolled into one....

 

QUESTIONS

 

Am looking for a masters in filmmaking that is hands-on, vocational- where i get to use 16mm and 35mm cams and stock to experiment with first hand...so far, the only courses i have come accross that seem credible ---and are not a theoretical cover-up -- are the London School of Film, and the NFTS-- but these are impossible to afford.... What about the US? Have shortlisted Colombia, Tisch, Stanford, UCLA, ----anyone with some inside info on theor courses?? are they really hands on- or are they mainly theoretical??

 

Also- film schools in europe?? low budget??

 

Also- am based in Pakistan-- any logistical support- stock ftg etc required-- pls contact me for details and a portfolio of work...Tks all!!

 

Cyrus.

[Adrian Sierkowski]

You forgot AFI as well here in the US... but a Masters is almost always incredibly expensive and those schools you list in the US are very hard to get into, so I am told.

 

Might be easier to spend the money on a 35mm camera package, an old MOS one, some film, and shoot. Or S16mm, or hell even S8mm and shoot and shoot and shoot and shoot. This industry isn't really about BA/BS/MFA etc.

[Kevin Pham]

Adrian's advice reflects how I feel. I'm a cinematography major at CSUN and I must say I feel my attendance at school is greatest rewarded by the contacts you make, free rentals/insurance and the experience of working with film stock.

 

The internet, textbooks, a library and willpower are all you need to gain theoretical knowledge, and the money you could be spending on tuition at those EXPENSIVE schools you've mentioned could be rather well spent on excellent equipment, film stock, and processing, like Adrian said. A lot of film classes deal with criticism and artistic theories. If you're new to working with film, I recommend taking up photography as a hobby and getting yourself a nice film SLR with complete creative control over the functions. Learn to work with a light meter and learn about loading film correctly, etc.

 

I do wish you luck on whichever path you take.