film school

Pleased to hear it. Sorry about the "complications" (though you need the last three tracks of the Ceelo, they failed for some reason).

anyway...

Haha $40k right. If I do indeed take "the plunge", I'm looking at twice that.

I look at all of these poor bastards and I'm not sure I don't just prefer it on this side of the counter.

The new Super-8 stuff I just processed is nice. Maybe I will.

I just went because I had to get a BA in something. And the only hard work was usually self-induced.

unless you want to be third power strip inspector on the set of Alias or something. But I never could relate with the folks who wanted to work on ANY film.

That is to say, for free.

Welcome to exactly what I meant.

School is funny!

8 Mile (Oscar screener, woo)
Three Kings
parts of Battleship Potemkin, Birth of a Nation and some German Expressionism
It Happened One Night
Citizen Kane
Wild Strawberries
Goodfellas
Kiss Me Deadly
The Man Without A Past (my prof. was a critic for the Dallas paper, got us into an early screening)
A Decade Under the Influence
and some Martin Scorsese 'Journey Through American Cinema'

It was embarassingly easy - my final paper on the 'subversive' sound editing of Three Kings (compared to Saving Private Ryan) got an A+.

that typo should prove it

seriously. it will make you ill. For one thing, you have to watch seemingly nothing but Maya Deren films, Kenneth Anger atrocities, or worse yet you'll deal with film theory classes where professors will rant about how the film Psycho is literally about feces because Janet Leigh's car's license plate starts with the letters ANL

I went to film school and now I'm in L.A. and I haven't used a single thing I've learned since I got out here, and about 95% of my friends out here who I went to school with could have received the same gigs they have now if they'd just studied English lit or something, would probably would have better prepared me for my future, a future that looks increasingly cold and gloomy with each passing day! o how I long for the sweet embrace of warm death

I always heard that there are two ways to get ito film: go to school, or go straight into the business as PA/lackey. Both cost about the same amount of money.

I'm very happily in film school. Fuck all y'all.

No, seriously - I think a lot of these complaints are coming from schools that aren't running practical, higher-end terminal degree programs specifically in FILMMAKING. I did all my theoretical shit during my BA at a university not really noted for their film theory programs, and *SURPRISE!* there was a lot of shit to tread through. Now I'm doing an MA program that goes up to 35mm cameras and is completely practical, no papers or tests. Mostly just a lot of filmmaking. There are some stray film history screenings, but most film screenings are either to analyze it from the perspective of what we can learn from it for practical filmmaking principles or because the director, DP, screenwriter, or editor of the film to be screened is going to do a Q&A afterwards.

Is that privileged and is it expensive? Hell yes, I don't deny that. And yes, there are assholes, although luckily they seem to attract each other well and repel the rest of us. But if you're gonna dump hundreds of thousands into a program, um...don't you want it to be as substantial in making films and learning the technical end as possible?

Okay, end rant. I'm tired and must sleep. Let the flaming commence.

Yeah, that'd be cwayze awesome! I've always loved manual labor and other lackey things.

"But if you're gonna dump hundreds of thousands into a program, um...don't you want it to be as substantial in making films and learning the technical end as possible?"

yes! what school are you at?

"Going to school (in whatever field), and then sitting in on the classes in the film department without hassling with grades, essays, or anxiety: TOTALLY CLASSIC "

yes! I've done that and have sat in the front row and then quickly ran out right as the post-lecture would begin.

I'd say that if I were to go to film school, I would get as much technical experience as possible and fuck the theory. Theory I can do easily but I'm a tech retard, and I'm starting to believe that had I more command of machines other than the computer I use as a word processor, I would be in a more advantageous position right now. You are more likely to suck Satan's cock in Hell than to have a conversation with a future employer wherein theory will be discussed, FYI. Use it for embellishment that makes you happy and don't let it get in the way of a good story.

Oh, and Meshes of the Afternoon is awesome, like watching how a Cocteau Twins record sounds (it's also the sleeve of the first Primal Scream 12"). The HS teacher above noticed that my gang were all buying records where the artiste used a film still for the sleeve, and if the film was in his library we'd get to see it. As this was '83-'86 we saw a lot of kitchen sinkery from the '60s.

Everyone I know who did the University of Westminster degree course in Photography, Film and Video is now happily working in some hands-on part of the industry (eg. my friend who edited The Full Monty). I think most of them only had to work for 'experience' for about six months, which is admittedly a bit easier to do in Britain if you are not a rich kid.

yes! what school are you at?

London Film School

Film theory on the other hand - dud. Hardly anyone I know who studied film had any interest in the form anyway and 99% of them graduated and still said stupid stuff like, "I hate watching a film in widescreen, what are the black bars for?"

But one girl I know works in a role for a big film company, but she has big boobs and blonde hair and that goes a long way in the meedya. Having an actual clue, on the other hand, largely counts for shit.

Not that I'm bitter.

They just opened up a film school where I live (and in the same part of town, even) called The Carolina Film Institute. Went to an open house a few weeks ago, looked like a nice program. It's a "sister school" to the Seattle filom institute.

http://www.carolinafilminstitute.com/

Are these kinds of schools worth it? It definitely seems geared towards someone like me who really needs lots of hands-on experience to learn anything. And I would like to learn the more technical end of filmmaking. Or should I just save up for a decent camera and shoot my own movie?

Also my high school film teacher (he's a local filmmaker as well; I took 3 years of film/video under him at the Fine Arts Center high school here in Greenville) is one of the instructors there apparently.

I just find it amazing they're opening a film school about 5 minutes from my house.

The main benefit of film school is the free equipment and contact with the other students (i.e. potential collaborators), rather than the curriculum or teachers. It's difficult to know you'll get this out of a brand new program. Ten months is a little long too, imo. These guys have the right idea with their six months.

i dunno, i think it could be a good idea LB. ya sure making your own movie would teach you a hell of a lot but it's a lot easier said than done. there's definitely a huge advantage to being thrown in with a lot of other ppl who are learning at the same time and have the same type of systematic support and access to equipment.

i think 10 months is fine, it's not like we're talking about a 4-year program. anything that gets you out there, using the gear, learning all the little details and practical shit, and just shooting movies, is a good thing!

another thing to keep in mind is the opportunity to meet other ppl interested in moviemaking and who are willing to do stuff to make movies for little $$. when you make your movie, you will need access to a lot of these people.

agreed. my concern is not so much the ten month thing (although I still think that is a shade too long), but the new program thing. difficult to know whether enough of the right kind of students/collaborators (who, like s1ocki says, are the main point of attending film school) will be there the first year it runs.

As someone who went to USC for film school, I really must say that going to film school outside of Los Angeles is kind of a dead end, unless you just plan on making mumblecore films or something. I can't stress how important proximity to the actual movie business is.

that assumes people who are interesting in making films have any interest in the hollywood side of the movie business

Ummm, hi

You're right, I'm sorry. I should have prefaced that. In hindsight, that comment seems pretty snotty. If you are interested in making Hollywood type films, though, going to school elsewhere isn't terribly useful. Half the point of film school is contacts and meeting similar-minded folks. Personally, I found it very useful for the writing end of things. I learned a lot of stuff that you can't just get from books or seminars, and the sheer amount of experience you get from writing/making films in film school is invaluable.

what happened with this, lb?