I’ve been scanning through the posts on this thread, and I’d like to add my thoughts...I went to three film schools before I got into Hollywood—Ohio State, UCLA and the American Film Institute. and i got something different from each one of them.
Here’s what i got, in no particular order:
The 2 main reasons to go to film school are 1) to get the use of the equipment (which means make as many films as humanly possible while you’re there), and 2) to meet like-minded people who you’ll grow with as you go out and follow the path you choose.
But just a tiny bit of caution—try not to listen to a word your professors tell you about how to make movies, tell stories, etc. Do your best not to let any of it in, because there’s a very very very good chance they’re wrong. Not wrong as in “bad,” but irrelevant to you. That’s the pitfall of film school. Many of these professors have been teaching for so long they’re stale. And, they’ll tell you you can’t do this thing or the other, and maybe you actually can.
The only feedback to listen to is your audience. As long as they’re responding to what you’re doing, even partially, that’s where you know you’re pointed in the direction you want.
You absolutely do not need to go to film school to learn how to make films...and, like Shadowhorse pointed out, film school can actually suck the originality right out of a budding filmmaker, just like trying to do what you think Hollywood wants.
I tell aspiring filmmakers to just start making little films, and get all the crappy ones out of the way. I really believe in the low-budget, ready-fire-aim school of developing yourself as a writer or filmmaker.
And, I know filmmaking is taught as being a collaborative process - and in most of its forms it is just that - but that’s not the only way to get it done. Think of Robert Rodriguez, perfect example—he did his little film on zero budget, and 1 friend (no crew). What that enabled him to do was make his movie rather than have to raise money, AND he got to learn everything about every aspect of the process. He did it this way because he didn’t know of any other way for him to do it with the resources he had.
When you do this, you never have to be at the mercy of having to raise gobs of money! And that’s a very good thing. Because raising money is a very different activity than making movies. You can spend years raising money—or spend them making movies! This will serve you greatly as you progress in your career, without ever having to sacrifice on your creative vision.
Yes, it is good to know the history and the theory—and you can get that from books, right?
I went to UCLA Graduate film school for about 3 quarters, I was new in town, and wanted to meet people, and I needed to use the equipment to finish up editing a film I’d shot...and those people I met there and at AFI are the ones I’ve grown with in the business, which is very cool.
Looking back at it, if I’m really really really honest with myself, I did all those film schools because I was a little intimidated about going out into the real world of Hollywood (I thought having those credentials would make me more viable)—and then I finally did make the leap, and I’ve had an amazing career so far!
I hope that adds to the answer to your questiion—and I’m wondering, where are you with it now?
