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Best Affordable Film School...


Benjamin L

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Ultimately, "success" needs to be defined by the film student/filmmaker. One person may prefer to work their whole lives as a 1st AC on big budget productions, and another might prefer DPing their own work and having a side job. Another might want to be a multimillionaire by the age of 30, or have won the Sundance Film Festival. The reason I think it's hard for a film school or any other person to prepare anyone else for the "film industry", is because firstly everyone's aspirations are different, and its a very personal decision to make, and secondly, because as is said by almost anyone with any experience at all: every road is different, and there is no formula for this subjective "success" that everyone is looking for.

 

As for the value of film school, I think that there's value aside from whether or not you end up getting jobs at the end of it. 1st you get technical experience (and experience period). And 2nd, you meet people who you will hopefully collaborate with later. At the end of the day you have to make a living, but there's no one who says you have to make films in the existing industry (or at least no one forcing you to only make films within that system at first).

Edited by Jason Outenreath
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Hey Ben,

 

In our industry most ppl are really helpful and accessible. What you are getting in here is solid advice.

A bit harsh and blunt but hey, you need a thick skin in this industry and this is as good an intro as poss.

 

So keep your chin up and if you do decide to go onto film school make sure you get some work, at the same time, on shoots as a trainee, runner, PA etc....

 

Good Luck

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California has a two-year residency requirement for the public colleges in order to get that cheap tuition. But if you satisfy that, the best choice is L.A.C.C. supplemented by extension classes at UCLA.

 

LACC's tuition is almost non-existent. Plus here's a little secret-- if you're cool, you can sneak into most of UCLA's classtime film showings... and about twice a week they show every kind of movie imaginable, at night, for free.

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Thanks Jim!

 

Yes, that is pretty inexpensive.

 

Well, to be more clear, I could pay a little more if it would help get me into a good college. I was mostly referring to those 40,000 a year colleges.

 

 

The price does sound as if it could save quite a bit for the following money drought, (Or so I hear money is tight while getting up in the film industry.) It also sounds like a great film school. Though I feel I must be suspicious as to why it costs so low.

I've also had difficulty finding information on it as to admission difficulty.

 

Thank you Jim, I can use all the help I can get. :D

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Hi Ben!

 

If I were you, I’d try to figure out if the program leans more toward the professional/industry side or the fine arts side. I went to a fine-arts focused school and while I appreciate what I got from it, only about half of it is immediately applicable to post-grad jobs. (Nobody wants to read a Maya Deren thesis paper? Crickets?) If you want to be in academia, they’re amazing, but you can definitely get stuck in them.

 

(To be fair, I took it a step further and started teaching film/writing right away, so now I’m applying for the same production jobs I would have fresh out of film school. Sigh.) <_<

 

Also, a lot of larger companies are fairly adament about earning college credit for internships, so it seems very worth it to explore these options before graduation.

 

As far as cost goes, I know in my Midwest hometown the cheaper film program has most of the same equipment as the insanely expensive private art school… and sometimes its adjunct faculty.

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Thank you Stacey. :) I'll take that into consideration.

 

Also, just to clarify, by industry vs. fine arts school, you do mean one that talks about how to get work in the industry, job descriptions, as opposed to style/art based learning?

 

 

 

 

Thank you everybody,

 

 

-Ben

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Thank you Stacey. :) I'll take that into consideration.

 

Also, just to clarify, by industry vs. fine arts school, you do mean one that talks about how to get work in the industry, job descriptions, as opposed to style/art based learning?

 

 

I'd check the mission statement firstly. They should be fairly upfront about whether their primary goal is to prepare you for entry-level positions on-set, in post, et al, or if their primary goal is fine arts application in media. I don't think one is necessarily better than the other; it just depends on exactly why you're going.

 

For example, NYFA's is "a unique educational institution, devoted to providing the most focused filmmaking, acting, and animation instruction in the world. Our film school's workshops offer an intensive, hands-on experience which gives students the opportunity to develop their creative skills to the fullest extent possible." Versus Tisch Arts: "to educate its students in the history, art, craft, and technology of film, television, new media, animation, and sound production, integrated with a strong liberal arts education." And no, they're not my alma maters....

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Thanks Everybody. ^_^

 

I'm just wondering, if I don't go to film school, are you suggesting that I work my way into the industry right after graduating high school?

 

I mean, now a days so many people have a college education that it may actually seem very below average to just have a high school diploma. Now sure, I didn't expect film school to help me learn all too much helpful info. I also didn't expect it to be able to show off to producers...

 

I'm just saying, how do I start moving up that ladder with just a high school diploma?

 

Also, who here is in the proffessional industry? I won't look down on anyone who isn't, I would just feel more comfortable knowing where all of this is coming from.

 

Thanks to all of you. :)

 

 

What do you want to do with film? Do you want to shoot a camera, direct, write, gript? If you want to become a camera operator what do you want to shoot? You might want to be a Big Time Hollywood cameraman, commercial, sports, action sports, wildlife, news, reality, whatever.

 

 

-Ben

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Dustin,

 

I believe your post was a little bit confusing, as it was within the quotes. :huh:

I was able to find it though.

 

I thought I had mentioned it at some point, surely.

 

I'm interested at entering the industry with cinematography.

Maybe oneday get a script sold if I'm lucky, and start off on a more creative track.

 

But cinematography.

 

I'm considering SDSU as a good option (Tell me if I'm wrong.) I think I will be doing well enough to at least apply. Still not close to being a guarentee on admission, more so looking there because of the lower price.

Is it a good film school?

 

Thank You,

 

 

-Ben

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I'm just wondering, how exactly can someone get one of these "entry level" production jobs. I have no idea where to look. Thanks.

 

 

Hey Stephen, just some advice about the forum...

you could put that in your own new post in the "general discussions" area.

It will probably get more views than it would on this older post.

 

Good luck,

 

 

-Ben

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