Should you go to film school?

Many aspiring filmmakers don’t know if film school is right for them. Some people are dead set against the idea of going to film school, while others say you aren’t actually serious about being a director if you don’t go to film school. So, I’m sure that those of you who are confused about what you should do have gotten some advice that has been pretty across the map by now.

The important thing to realize is that everyone has different goals when they get into the film business. Some people want to be famous, others want to express their art, still others just want to make a big paycheck working with movie stars. Some, like me, decided to try it once and got addicted to the fast paced problem solving and creativity aspects of it.

I think its best to make an analogy to music. Many famous musicians, in fact, most of the best of them, did not go to school to study music. They simply learned from a family member, or taught themselves, and then just joined a band and went for it. Some of them eventually lucked out and got a record deal. This is similar to a director who makes short films and enters them into festivals hoping to get discovered. The idea here is that this type of person requires absolute artistic freedom, and is willing to sacrifice the big (and small) pay checks for the love of their art…whether that be music or film. This sort of person could go to film school, or could not. At best it will give them access to equipment to make a really killer short film. At worst it will give them time to sit around and procrastinate while wasting their (or their parent’s) money.

Conversely, a person who goes to school for music tends to move on to being a studio musician, classical concert musician, or studio engineer. You work for hire. On average, these types of people tend to be significantly more technically astute than their self taught counter parts. However, this type of person is hardly ever the one with artistic control…because they’ve essentially based their livelihood around their chosen career. If you have a masters in Piano and Music theory…then you pretty much have to play Piano to put food on the table. So either you work as a bartender the rest of your life, or you start accepting paid gigs in which you may not be 100% in love with the music. The same is true for the film student. They come out of school with much more technical knowledge, but won’t have the trust of major studios to direct the next big budget extravaganza. You’ll be doing working as a PA, an AD, or at best directing some small studio films, and sci-fi originals…because you have to make a living. That being said though, it is a good living. As a director you’ll make at least $13,000 a week under DGA minimum.

The third stream sort of finds itself in the middle…the film entrepreneur. If I had to make an analogy to music, this is a person like Ani Defranco. They make the music, then start the record label to distribute it. This is the person that just enjoys the process of making films, but doesn’t like the restrictions on how it should be done. You like the run and gun atmosphere of doing it yourself, and hope to make a small living self distributing. For this type of person, film school is a terrible idea. All you will end up doing is fighting with your professor the first time they say film is “organic” (*this is me holding back from ranting*). If you are this type of person, go out and help someone else make a movie who is like the first type of person listed above. This website is mostly for you (and a little bit for the first kind of guy). If you are this type of person you are probably the micromanagement type. You really don’t care much about what the overall plot is…but then next shot won’t be right unless we crane downwards while dollying forward just as the bear jumps out and attacks the alien, and the pick up truck flies off the cliff and explodes. If this sounds like you, then save your money (and prevent stress) by not going to film school and just start filming things.