New Filmschool Ponderings

[Bruce Greene]

My biggest mistake at film school was... that I was not cocky enough. Seriously. Most uncertain directors want a cocky cinematographer in school.

 

I'm trying to make up for that now!

[Phil Rhodes]

They teach the business of filmmaking. They also teach, as I've stated in another recent post, self responsibility. Expectations run high in our business and a good film school sets those high standards into motion early on.

 

I have said this myself. There are only two or three places on the planet where filmmaking is anything other than a fringe artform. In those places, the depth of experience and the commercial imperative to train crew exists. Elsewhere, the artform may be taught very well, but as Gregory says, there's much more to it than that and there are precious few institutions who are capable of providing a sufficiently comprehensive education.

[Bob Speziale]

I'd say you could learn anything on the internet that you could in a classroom and probably in more detail if you had a hunger to learn the subject. But when you did learn it what would you have? Knowledge. That's all you need if it's just a hobby. Or maybe you could impress a local wedding photographer to take you on part time to shoot b-roll based on the quality of your reel. You wouldn't have a diploma that could get you interviews for better paying steady work. You wouldn't have access to better equipment, or competition with your classmates, or a dialogue with your classmates and teachers. In essence you wouldn't have credentials. You would have no feedback or structure to judge if your work is good for others or just good to you and some friends. No defined career path. Now if you are a genius filmmaker like a Tarantino you don't need anything else. Tarantino didn't need film school but he did live in LA and cultivate friends in the movie industry. Almost no one graduating the best film schools in the world will have Tarantino's success. No school is a guarantee of success. Most school programs in any discipline have the potential to earn you a decent middle class living provided you are willing to put in the years required to master your field.

I'm paraphrasing but the kid was straight up like "What the hell am I doing in college when I could just learn from individuals willing to spill for way cheaper"

 

This thread was sort of inspired by what the student told me.

[Gregory Irwin]

My biggest mistake at film school was... that I was not cocky enough. Seriously. Most uncertain directors want a cocky cinematographer in school.

 

I'm trying to make up for that now!

 

I like the adjective "confident" rather than cocky. Cocky could suggest over-confidence and that doesn't always translate to "competence". College trains students with a mindset towards responsibility, work ethic, handling pressure, organization and yes, confidence. No matter the degree being sought, the student needs all of this instilled. These intangibles can be what separate the strong from the weak. But even after graduation and the start of your career, you are still the rookie with loads to learn.

 

G