In the Six-Week Workshop at Manhattan Edit Workshop, students learn the art and theory of editing with the help of the school's Artists in Residence program, which brings in working editors to screen and discuss their work, sharing the lessons they've learned throughout their careers. This summer, Manhattan Edit Workshop welcomed Harry Keramidas, editor of all three Back to the Future films, to share the lessons he's learned throughout his career.

Sol Negrin, ASC, the cinematographer for "Kojak" and Coming to America, knows first-hand how important it is for newcomers to have the support of an experienced professional. Which is why he is now a professor of Cinematography, passing his knowledge on to the students of Five Towns College in Long Island, New York. MovieMaker spoke to Negrin about his creative influences and the advice he shares with his pupils.

The Boston University Center for Digital Imaging Arts doesn’t just focus on classroom instruction. Lectures on film techniques are useful, but wouldn’t hands-on practice be better than a professor who turns on Casablanca and then relaxes at his desk with coffee and a blueberry muffin until the credits roll?

When Full Sail University was founded in 1979, its focus was on teaching its students about the latest developments in audio and sound technology. It has since added degree programs geared toward different aspects of the entertainment industry, including music production, game development, media design and, of course, film.

Bruce Sheridan is out to change the notion that a film producer should be a business-savvy individual who just so happens to work with films. As the Chair of the Film and Video department at Columbia College Chicago, Sheridan recently created the school’s new MFA in Creative Producing program.

Located in the heart of the Bay Area, six-year-old San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking (SFSDF) has quickly emerged as a hands-on moviemaking mecca. To give people a taste of their hands-on atmosphere, every few months the school invites prospective students to their "Free Day of Film School," where visitors get to see what's in store if they decide to attend SFSDF.

What are your options when you decide to go to film school? Many people would automatically say you’d be best served going to Los Angeles or New York City. Keith Sensing, executive director of the International Academy of Film and Television (IAFT), is hoping to change that.

On a list of the top three new media schools in the country, one would expect to find such esteemed institutions as MIT and NYU, but Full Sail University?

Located in the heart of Hollywood, the Los Angeles Film School offers aspiring moviemakers an ideal learning environment. Students have access to the latest moviemaking equipment, as well as 350-seat theater and multiple sound stages.

The University of Central Florida's M.F.A. Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema program requires its students to not only create a feature-length film, but also to raise the $50,000 in order to make it. That seems like quite an intimidating task, especially in this economy, but students' UCF films have met with success.

When the SAE Institute commenced its first nine-month course in Sydney, Australia, with a four-track Sony tape recorder and a 12-channel mixing console, not even founder Tom Misner knew how much they would expand in the next three decades.

The world's largest student film festival, Campus MovieFest (CMF) began only eight years ago when four students at Emory University provided their peers with everything they needed—including camcorders and Apple laptops—to make a movie in one week.

The Rocky Mountains and spacious landscapes aren’t the only things Colorado has to offer to moviemakers. For more than 10 years, the Colorado Film School has given aspiring moviemakers the opportunity to learn and develop their talent.

Moviemaking hotspots like New York and Los Angeles are generally the first place a potential film school student turns when looking to learn more about the moviemaking process. The cities are host to a plethora of film schools, but you can find a few off the beaten path, too—like Academy of Art University. Located in San Francisco, the university has both BFA and MFA programs and is made up of many schools that target different areas of the arts and offers various courses that cover acting, cinematography, editing and screenwriting, to name a few.

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.