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Film School 102
Education Insiders Give the Lowdown on Film School
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Still wondering whether or not film school is the right choice for you? Here, the heads of some of the country’s top film education programs—New York Film Academy’s Jerry Sherlock and Michael Young, Vancouver Film School’s Marty Hasselbach, AFI’s JJ Jackman, UCLA’s Stephanie Moore, Pittsburgh Filmmakers’ Charlie Humphrey, Digital Media Education Center’s Jaime Fowler and Academy of Art’s Dr. Elisa Stephens—conclude their roundtable discussion.
Jennifer Wood (MM): What is the most important piece of advice you’d give a student debating whether or not to enter a film education program?
Jerry Sherlock & Michael Young (NYFA): The difficulty for many people deciding whether to go to film school lies in the fact that they may only know that they love films, and have no idea if they have any aptitude in making them. They consider film school to be the place to find out, and they are mostly correct.
The problem lies in the fact that it can take a year or more before students get a chance to make a film in some film schools, by which time they may get too entrenched in the routine of what they’re doing to really step back and consider whether they have the desire, talent and drive to justify the extraordinary commitment that a long-term program represents.
Those who are uncertain about their abilities, or about whether they will enjoy the filmmaking process, should do anything possible to get some hands-on experience prior to making a big commitment. It is possible to produce a small film outside of school; however, working alone and without instruction may stack the deck against success.
Another possibility is volunteering to work on someone else’s student film. This will provide a glimpse of the filmmaking process, but won’t provide any answers as to the individual’s abilities.
The best test may be a short intensive program that allows a person to make a film, like the programs at the New York Film Academy, where each student makes four short films in eight weeks, or seven films in the one-year program.
Marty Hasselbach (MH): When weighing the pros and cons of different programs, keep in mind the opportunity as well as the financial costs. Compressed one-year programs like those offered at VFS may have higher tuition, but graduates from these accelerated curriculum will also have the benefit of three additional years of industry experience (and income) by the time they would have graduated from a four-year degree program.
JJ Jackman (JJ): There are as many ways to make a film as there are people ready to teach it, and it behooves anyone interested in film school to do as much research as they can on the various programs. Go to the school, get a feel for the environment, talk to students currently in the program, see if the “personality” of the school fits in with the way you’re most comfortable being taught. There are so many incredible programs out there, to not do the research is to shoot yourself in the foot before ever getting started.
Stephanie Moore (SM): People usually don’t regret mistakes they’ve made, but what they didn’t do. If you have the opportunity, and can devote the time and energy to being a film student, go for it!
Charlie Humphrey (CH): Get a good liberal arts education first. Read, read, read and then write, write, write. These are the fundamental skills of good filmmaking.
Elisa Stephens (ES): When you decide to pursue a profession in film, you are entering a large and difficult industry. Before making the important decision of whether to enter a film program, think about what will prepare you best for a successful career. You must educate yourself on what a film program will offer, and how this matches up with the current expectations in the industry. The Academy of Art College helps students succeed in the real world from day one, because our students have an edge. Every Academy Motion Pictures student graduates with a demo reel, scripts or portfolio, industry contacts and the skills and knowledge required for success. If you do decide to attend film school, enter a program that you know will offer these benefits.
Jaime Fowler (JF): If you’re not sure what specific aspect of film you want to study, go to a community college nearby so that you can look at the variety of different positions in the industry. Don’t shoot for the top schools or specialized training until you’ve made up your mind and feel good about that decision. Not everyone is right for this business.
MM: What is the most important piece of advice you give to your students who are moving from the classroom into the industry?
NYFA: However great your talent and lofty your dreams, the only way to continue making movies when you leave film school is to be relentless: perseverance, perseverance, perseverance.
MH: Learning the craft of filmmaking is an evolutionary process, and while film school gives you a solid background in the fundamentals, your continued desire to learn, to experiment and to take risks will be key to your success in the workplace.
JJ: Use the connections that you’ve made during your time in school to help get your career started. Shine in the classroom, prove yourself to be a collaborative artist, a team player and a good storyteller. The folks you’re graduating with are quite possibly the folks you’ll be working with for the rest of your life. Filmmaking is a huge profession, but it’s also incredibly tiny, and everybody knows everybody. A good reputation will spread fast, a bad one even faster.
SM: Stay connected. Maintain your relationships. The people who are in the industry now were film students a few years ago... and they knew each other.
CH: Be willing to make any problem your problem. Exhibit a willingness to take ownership of problems, and follow through on every detail. Anticipate, but don’t presume. Love what you do, or get out.
ES: Students should gain hands-on experience from the first semester they enter film school. Students can only make a successful transition to the industry if they have ventured beyond the traditional classroom. The Academy has professional management and faculty and has invested millions in facilities that are current with industry standards, because we firmly believe in preparing students for work. The best advice I can offer is to gain a film education, like the one offered at the Academy of Art College, that makes the transition into the industry as seamless as possible.
JF: I suppose that the most important advice that we give to students is to be persistent. Let people know you’re in this for real. A lot of people will fax resumes all day. It’s a waste of paper. Go out and meet people, attend meetings, conventions, arrange tours and interview as much as possible. But go out and be a face. And don’t let them forget about you. If they don’t see you, they’ll never hire you. If they see you twice, they might remember you. But if they think you aren’t serious, you’ll never get hired.
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