Thinking of Going to Film School? Read this First!

Every passing year sees the completion and release of more new movies, and every year skilled people are required to make them. To fill this need, many good (and not so good) film schools have sprung up during the last few decades. Many successful artists and technicians are graduates from these schools.

But what about the aspiring filmmakers for whom film school is too expensive or far away? Are these people out of luck or is there another way to realize their dreams? Is film school even worth the time and money in the first place?

Whether or not to seek training at a school is a decision that only the future filmmaker can make, but it's always best to weigh all of the options first.

I'm telling the following story in the hope that it will be helpful for future motion picture professionals who are trying to decide whether or not to attend film school. It's about an acquaintance of mine and the way he got started in the movie business. I don't know his current whereabouts (he travels around a lot) so I haven't gotten permission to use his real name. I'll call him Paul.

Paul was informed that he would be the beneficiary of a small inheritance. This money had to be used to further his education and Paul's mother was assigned to make sure that this stipulation was adhered to. Naturally, she asked Paul what he wanted to do with his life.

His reply was that he hoped to get into the movie industry. In his estimation, film school would be the obvious way to get eventually enter the business. This career goal suited his mother just fine, but she had another idea about how Paul could learn the necessary skills.

What if she allowed him to use the money to produce a short movie of his own? It seemed to her that it would be the best way to learn how films are made.

Paul liked the sound of this idea, so he got to work. The first thing he did was look for a local special effects technician to get involved with this project. He found one who also happens to be a friend of mine. I'll call him John.

Here's the deal that Paul and John made: John would go out and find a bunch of his fellow special effects people and ask them if there were any effects that they had always wanted to create but had never found a project that needed them. A list would be made of these effects and Paul would put together a screenplay that would call for as many of these effects as possible. They would then all collaborate on the film that would be made from this story. There wasn't enough money available to pay the technicians for their time, but Paul would pay for all of the building materials.

The effects crew enthusiastically agreed to this offer and the result was a very slick looking short film. Everybody involved had a lot of fun and Paul learned how movies are made. He also had a nice portfolio piece to show when looking for work in the future.

Paul is by no means the only person to enter the film business by making his own movie. A lot of successful people in the industry learned the trade in film school, but there also many self educated professionals in the crowd.

In one of the most famous quotes attributed to him, Stanley Kubrick stated that in his opinion, the best way for a young hopeful to get into the film business is to get the necessary equipment together and make a movie. Robert Rodriguez, John Waters and Quentin Tarantino are just a few directors who have made similar statements.

Video equipment and movie-making software are now relatively affordable and easy to find, making it possible for just about anybody to get started making independent movies. Once they're completed, these films can even find an audience when uploaded to the internet.

Once again, there are many paths to success in the motion picture field and it is in the best interest of all who plan to enter it to consider as many of these paths as possible. Best of luck to all of you in the future!

About the Author

If you're interested in a career in the film industry and are wondering what the best way is for you to get into the movie business, take a look at Flashfink's Squidoo page to see if going to film school is your best option.

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