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Vancouver Film School Fishes For YouTube Talent
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MM: VFS is known to emphasize a hands-on approach rather than a theoretical one. What benefits do you feel the hands-on approach offers students?
SW: Theory is absolutely important. It’s an underpinning: It gives us context and a framework. Students learn theory and history at VFS. But what good is all that if you can’t apply it?
We recently spoke to Syd Field, the screenwriting guru, and asked him what the most important thing for an aspiring screenwriter was. Syd practically created the idea of screenwriting theory, but his answer was still, “Write, write, write, write, write.” That applies to all disciplines.
Theory alone never resulted in a great film, reel or portfolio.
MM: Vancouver has become a choice shooting location for many moviemakers; what opportunities does the local film industry offer to students at VFS?
SW: Film productions have long come here because they know they can find talented, professional crew here, and VFS has been a big part of filling that talent pool since the school was founded in 1987. Because our faculty work in the industry, they’re often a student’s best reference upon graduation and a means to break in.
It’s more than just live action film and TV, too; there’s a booming animation and visual effects industry here, and Vancouver’s also a world hub of video game development. That offers a wide range of opportunities for students with a variety of skills and backgrounds.
MM: The three winners of the YouTube Scholarship Challenge come from Germany, the United States and Mexico, and 50 percent of VFS students come from outside Canada. In what ways is this large international population an asset to the school?
SW: The large international population of the school is such a huge asset to VFS that we’ve opened offices in India, Korea, Taiwan and Mexico with full-time advisors to help students in those regions come to VFS.
The exchange of ideas, cultures and influences are vital to aspiring artists. This geographic diversity ensures that students here are getting different perspectives all the time. There’s a great deal of talent out there, just looking for a place to come together.
Our students are together for a year or less, but they bond quickly—they form tight relationships. That’s the beginning of their professional network, and the international student population means that network is a worldwide one. Vancouver is a great place to start a career, but these industries aren’t bound by geography—they’re global. Having connections all over the world is a huge asset to alumni.
MM: The winners of the YouTube Scholarship Challenge are, for the most part, self-taught. Often self-taught moviemakers are very independent and have their own way of doing things. What is the balance between individual freedom and VFS-taught methods in the classroom?
SW: Students in all programs have plenty of chances to flex their creative muscles, to develop their own projects and tell their own stories. But that’s only part of what it means to be a filmmaker or designer; film is collaborative and design work is often client-driven. We believe in giving students room to explore but also the challenge of working within certain limitations and collaborating with fellow students who may or may not have the exact same vision. That’s a crucial part of creative growth and it’s the reality of the industry, so it’s important for students to have that real-world experience along with plenty of creative freedom.
Visit http://www.vfs.com for more information.
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- Comment by Suzanne on 7/19/08 at 8:00 pm
This is very interesting - YouTube is an excellent way for aspiring film makers and unknown actors to be discovered when they normally wouldn’t have been.
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