Film School in LA

[Zachary Leazer]

Hey everyone,

 

I am currently active duty military. I will be getting out in June 2013 and moving to Los Angeles to go to film school. I want to be a director, but I want to learn every aspect of filmmaking. I understand people believe you don't need film school, but the GI Bill will pay for mine, so I'm going. Originally I was set on going to "Los Angeles Film School" because my friend went there a few years ago and is still working in LA. Now that I have done research on the place, it doesn't sound so good. I am researching many schools in that area now, but I have very limited college credits and no SAT scores. So basically I will need to attend a school that will accept me no matter what, or has low acceptance standards. Any advice or comments are welcome!

 

 

[Zachary J Esters]

Hi Zachary!

 

 

First and foremost, thank you for your service.

 

How many years will you have been in the military by the time you get out? If I remember correctly, the G.I. Bill also skips the entire "Admissions" phase with select schools. I don't think it is for ALL schools, but I know there are select schools (there's a list of them online somewhere) in which, if you've served military, the admissions phase is skipped, no ACT/SAT scores are looked at, and no "written essays" are required.

 

Look into the AFI Conservatory. They have Master's Programs for select disciplines in filmmaking. You could get a Master's in Directing. If you're looking for a "broad range of experience in all fields", please reconsider LA Film School and Full Sail University. The only downsides about the degree of these schools is, if I remember correctly, they are "nationally accredited" but not "regionally accredited." Nationally accredited school credits don't always transfer over to regionally accredited schools, so if you got a Bachelor's degree at Full Sail in Film production and wanted to get a Master's in Mechanical Engineering at another state university, chances are, that university is regionally accredited and you wouldn't be able to transfer your credits over. Thus, you'd have to do an undergraduate degree all the way over again in order to get a Master's in Mechanical. As far as the EDUCATION of the school is concerned, they teach you everything you need to know and you get to practice every aspect of filmmaking. And they don't look at ANY of your SAT/ACT scores.

 

If you're looking for a "regionally accredited" film school... I'd consider looking into USC or UCLA film school (very popularly attended schools by professionals). I haven't attended nor visited these two schools, but I've heard lots about them. Keep in mind that you MIGHT have to consider paying a little fee to take the ACT/SAT to get some scores if you choose one of these. It doesn't hurt to go ahead and just take the tests.... it widens your options, and may even help you make a better decision. :)

 

Regardless, after you've gotten your Bachelor's, still consider getting a Master's in Directing at the AFI Conservatory.

 

 

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

Zachary J. Esters