Choosing a Film School – Questions You Should Consider!

 

The film industry is perhaps one of the broadest and most creative fields to work in. There are many film schools all over the world where aspiring filmmakers can learn how to hone their craft. These schools will teach you and hopefully prepare you for the wonderful, yet challenging world of making movies. In order to choose the best school for you, these 7 considerations are something you need to examine and answer.

1. Location

Location needs to be your first consideration when thinking of starting your filmmaking career. Hollywood is probably the first place that comes to mind when you think about filmmaking. If Los Angeles is not to your liking… then there are other film making capitals such as Vancouver and New York. Some states even offer film programs online. In addition, advances in digital technology have made it possible to make film from virtually any location. Therefore, you need to decide if you wish to be in the movie center of Hollywood or if you wish to focus on developing your craft in a more remote location.

2. Strengths Of The School

Different schools have different strengths. The question is whether those strengths are right for you. For instance, a school that is great in screenwriting might be weak in directing, which is what you might be interested in pursuing. And one school may focus on cinematography, when you are actually only interested in sound design. Be clear on what you want to do, and then choose from there.

3. Who Is On Faculty?

Does the school’s faculty have someone that is either connected to or working in the industry? Hands on training is important, therefore you need to find out how much will be devoted to class instruction and how much will be spent working with a camera in the production studio. Because it is the worst to get into a class and then only concentrate on what is in a book or manual…when you really want to get hands-on experience.

4. Is Making Films While In School A Major Priority

Even though you attend film school, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will actually get to make a film while there. In some schools, students compete for a chance to direct a film while in other schools, students are required to complete a video production or film before graduating. When I went to film school, it was a requirement to make films…some of them were only 30 seconds long. However, this is vital…because you really only learn how to make a film by ACTUALLY shooting a film. No matter what length.

5. Does The School Have a Good Internships/Career Services Program?

Once you graduate, will you be left hanging with no contacts? Ideally, a good school needs to provide you with a few good contacts and some valuable experience. What good is a degree from a school and there is no place that you can go to continue? A good film school should give not only experience of making short films, but it should also give you some kind of head start out in the real world.

6. Did Anyone Famous Attend School There?

Obviously, you must never make your choice of school based on who attended school there only. However, there are some benefits associated with attending a school with a big name graduate. The famous alumni usually like to support their Alma matter meaning that those schools have strong reputations, great equipment, and powerful Hollywood allies. However, big name ties translates to hefty school fees so be aware of this.

In conclusion, if you are looking for the best film school to study at then this article will provide a nice starting point. Use the points discussed herein to make the best selection. Happy searching!