Online video communities are emerging as ideal places for unknown and often untrained artists to display their work. The Vancouver Film School (VFS) took advantage of this pool of young talent by holding an online competition, in conjunction with YouTube, to award scholarships to three aspiring moviemakers. The winners—Christopher Harrell, Stefan Ramirez Pérez and Jorge Rolando Canedo Estrada—can look forward to a great year spent honing their skills under the direction of accomplished faculty at a school that prizes hands-on experience and produces artists who have the creative vision as well as the technical knowledge they need to gain a foothold in the industry.

Many film artisans only begin their professional training in college or afterwards, without any previous formal experience in moviemaking. But Idyllwild Arts Academy, one of three arts-based boarding schools in the country, believes it's the earlier the better when it comes to learning one’s craft.

Looking to boost your moviemaking know-how, but not sure if film school is right for you? SmartFlix may be just what you’re looking for. A rental-by-mail service, SmartFlix specializes in instructional videos, and with a wide assortment of film-related titles, customers can check out videos on subjects ranging from screenwriting and directing to special effects to claymation and puppets.

Colorado has a long history of film production, whether that is existing to serve the Western locales of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid or the understated comedy of About Schmidt. It is a tradition and community that continues to be served today through the classes at the Colorado Film School. An offspring of the Community College of Aurora and the University of Colorado Denver, the school offers students a rounded curriculum in the way of both theory and production, explains school director Frederic Lahey.

At the Center for Digital Imaging Arts at Boston University, students can pursue studies in Digital Filmmaking, Photography, Audio Production and 3D Animation in a setting that honors the tried-and-true traditions of moviemaking while utilizing the newest technology.

For Jerry Sherlock, nothing compares to hands-on experience--the thrill of moviemaking while holding the camera and playing with fire. So he founded the New York Film Academy in 1992 with the hope of offering all ranges of artists the opportunity to get quality instruction in the heart of the indie scene.

In 1976, the Film Arts Foundation opened in San Francisco with 15 original members. Today it's still growing-servicing more than 2,400 members-and changing with these digital times. Veteran and independent moviemakers find assistance through the foundation in all aspects of the industry, from education to distribution.

For most moviemakers, a career as a successful Hollywood
producer would be enough to satisfy the creative urge. But for Jerry
Sherlock, executive producer on John McTiernan's The Hunt for
Red October and a number of other Hollywood hits, the desire
to teach the craft of moviemaking was always a lingering desire.
He acted on that desire 10 years ago when he founded the New York
Film Academy.

Anyone can tell you that America's moviemaking hotspots are
Los Angeles and New York City. But what about Rockport, Maine?
With the help of David Lyman, founder of the International
Film & Television Workshops, Rockport has become an important
outpost in the world of cinema education. In this interview,
Lyman discusses the benefits of his sleepy seaside town, and
how Mary Ellen Mark and Conrad Hall helped to make the program
what it is today.

Palm Beach, Florida may first bring to mind images of sandy beaches, palm trees, alligators and the Everglades, but more and more novice moviemakers are finding it is the perfect city to start learning their craft. The Palm Beach Film School (PBFS) has been largely responsible for this indie boom, bringing together the various members of Palm Beach's moviemaking community to provide its students with a top-notch education in the cinema arts.

With hundreds of schools now competing for enrollment, choosing the right film education program can be an exhausting process. Students looking for a professional approach to moviemaking-and the chance to network with seasoned professionals-might want to add San Francisco's Academy of Art College to their short list.

Socially-conscious moviemaking is on the rise-from thought-provoking documentaries like Spike Lee's When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts to dramatic adaptations of real-world atrocities such as those seen in Hotel Rwanda and The Last King of Scotland. But how does a film student break into this arena? The Center for International Disaster Information's PSAid Film Contest may be the answer.

Box office receipts confirm what The New School's assistant chair for documentary studies Annie Howell already knows: "Documentaries are hot!" This current trend toward truth in moviemaking has prompted the New York City-based university to create an all-new Certificate in Documentary Media Studies, a one-year, full-time, graduate-level program.

It's no secret that the film industry is part business and
part artistry. But when it comes to film education, a focus
on the latter has long been the norm. Metropolitan College
of New York (formerly Audrey Cohen College) is breaking the
rules when it comes to film education and leaving a string
of successful graduates in its wake. With an MBA program that
focuses solely on Media Management (not to mention a trip
to the Cannes Film Festival) Metropolitan College is redefining
the usual approach to film school with fantastic results.

With so many film education options out there, it's nice to see a name you know. After years of providing beginner and veteran screenwriters with the tools they need to be successful, Los Angeles' The Writers Store is jumping headfirst into the world of film education. With Writers University, the company is giving aspiring and professional writers alike the chance to perfect their craft-when it's convenient for them.

Long known as one of the world's top film schools, UCLA's dedication
to education doesn't end with each semester's incoming class.
UCLA Professional Programs Coordinator Stephanie Moore
chats with MM about the curriculum and how the Internet is revolutionizing
the way film is seen and taught today.

Since opening their doors 15 years ago-- with a class of 12 students-- the Vancouver Film School has grown into one of the world's most respected film education institutions. In an interview with MM, Vancouver Film School's Managing Director Marty Hasselbach discusses the school's unique approach to learning, their adherence to the rule of quality over quantity and how a year at VFS is like a year spent in France.

Think your college midterms were hard? Try graduating with honors from Stunt University! Sure, it's not what generally comes to mind when the words "film education" are uttered, but stunt people are an essential ingredient in what makes the Hollywood formula so successful. It's stunt industry vet Gregg Sargeant's mission to make people realize that.

With six different degree programs for what they call "creative minds" and production facilities that would make most of their Orlando industry neighbors jealous, Full Sail's reputation is growing on a national level. David Franko, Full Sail Real World Education's Program Director for Film, recently spoke with MM about what makes the Full Sail program unique.

With the largest independent film program in the Northwest, the Seattle Film Institute is satiating the Emerald City's interest in moviemaking.

We know you have questions about whether or not film school is the right choice for you. So we went to the experts. In part one of our roundtable discussion, 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 and Digital Media Education Center's Jaime Fowler give some insight into whether a career in film is right for you.

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.

Part health club, part Internet café and part moviemaker hangout, New York City's DV Dojo is changing the way people approach film-and taking their students from "aspiring moviemaker" to "first-time director" in as little as one weekend.

Deeming itself the "hands-on film school" since opening its doors 10 years ago, the New York Film Academy has been dedicated to the belief that "a top-quality education in filmmaking should be accessible to anyone with the drive and ambition to make films." Here, students Don Boner and Peter Cohen square off about how far that education has taken them.

In any college curriculum, there are electives and there are requirements. Since 1952, for students at Columbia College Hollywood, making a movie is the latter. Taking a hands-on approach to the moviemaking process, the school guarantees that you won't leave without adding at least one film to your credits. Here, CCH's Director of Admissions (and alum) Amanda Kraus talks about their student body, state-of-the-art facilities and the Columbia College advantage.

If you don't live in Hollywood but are interested in getting an education in moviemaking, Filmmaker's Central School of Cinema may be the answer. Here, the school's executive director and co-founder, Rayelle Belleau, talks about their unique approach to film school, their international expansion and what a hands-on education can teach a student about "follow-through."

Call him a revolutionary, but Jimi Petulla's method of learning by doing is really just a "a throwback to the Renaissance period," where you learned your art by paying your dues and taking advice from a true master. Through his Film Connection program, aspiring moviemakers all over the country are becoming working moviemakers-and learning from the best in the business. Here, Petulla talks about bringing the 12th century into the 21st.

It may not be considered one of America's hotspots for moviemaking, but for the past three decades, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has been home to one of the country's most distinguished media arts organizations. Recently MM spoke with Pittsburgh Filmmakers' executive director Charlie Humphrey about the group's founding mission and the city's important cinematic history.

From one day to one year, completion certificates to PhDs, London to Los Angeles, whatever your film education desire, the growing crop of film education programs is making experts out of novices every day. But which program is right for you? MM takes a look at a score of film schools and education programs the world over to find out where you might fit in.

Film schools in Southern California sometimes seem almost as plentiful as actor/waiters, and they continue to churn out hundreds of freshly minted moviemakers each year. If you’re serious about getting a film education—and a career—in this land of dreams, you’d better have something unique to offer. For four and a half years now, the Los Angeles Film School has been doing just that—supplying aspiring moviemakers with the aesthetic and technical skills they need to "make it" in Hollywood.

At only three and half years old, the HD EXPO organization certainly seems to have come along at the right time--finding immediate success with their inaugural 2001 event. But HD EXPO founder Kristin Petrovich and her team knew that in order to truly make a difference, education needed to be part of their plan--and so the HD EXPO Workshops were born. Here, Petrovich discusses the birth of HD EXPO's workshop component and why it's important to separate high definition myth from fact.

Think you need a year to learn how to make a movie? Four years? A long apprenticeship? At New York City's Weekend Film School, aspiring auteurs can learn the tools they need, both creative and professional, to stop talking about movies and start making them--and, according to Joe Mefford, it takes them all of 48 hours.

Say that you're an aspiring moviemaker, fresh out of college or high school, looking for that perfect film school-the one that will give you all of the experience, training and contacts you need to help you find a great job in the industry. MM speaks with Krane about why The Krane Academy could well be the film school for you!

s Center for Digital Imaging Arts

To hear David Tames tell it, a great education is all about being on the cutting edge. And as Program Director of Digital Filmmaking at Boston University’s Center for Digital Imaging Arts, he’s certainly willing to back that up. Tames spoke with us about the school’s philosophy, why it’s better to learn from pros, and the history of moviemaking as a technologically-intensive art form.

A school for moviemakers with serious ambitions, Columbia College Hollywood offers the equipment, the courses and the instructors to prepare young artists who believe they're ready for a rigorous and rewarding learning environment.