Degree In Film
A Degree In Film - Is It Worth It For You?
When it come to degrees in film: Caveat Emptor (That's Latin for "Buyer Beware")
In recent decades a degree in film has become a more and more popular course of study at universities. As the cost of filmmaking equipment has fallen, film schools have been able to offer much more hands-on experience which is really the way you learn filmmaking.
But as equipment and alternate training has gotten cheaper it has also become less clear why a degree in film is a good value for the high cost involved of both time and money.
Some people seem to think that film school is an easy route to fame and fortune in Hollywood.
If that's what you believe then you need to get real!
There is a short list of things the film schools claim you get from having a degree in film including the knowledge of how to make films and future helpful contacts.
But by some estimates much less than 10% of graduates with degrees in film are ever able to create a sustainable career in the movies.
If graduates had that low a success rate in any other field of study it would be considered a scandal. So why do students keep applying to film school, why don't the schools warn them?
Film schools are in the business of making money, not talking you out of your dreams.
Show Business has always sounded like an exciting place to work and there has always been an endless stream of people trying to make it in Hollywood. The draw to get a fast ticket in is irresistable. When I've talked to industry insiders and mentioned film schools they often laugh about the fact that people spend years and thousands of dollars to learn filmmaking instead of spending the time and money actually making films and learning from the process.
The fact is you don't need a degree from a film school to work in Hollywood. It doesn't even open doors. Persistence, hard work, famous relatives, experience, talent, luck and contacts are the way people get ahead in the film making industry. You simply can't work as a doctor without a medical degree, but in Hollywood many of the top earnering filmmakers got there without setting foot in film school. The techniques needed in filmmaking are more "crafts" than professional skills and the basics can be learned in a couple of weeks.
Over the years I have heard many graduates complain about what a disappointing experience they had after getting their degree in film. But those people didn't have realistic expectations. It's up to you to get real and start taking control of your filmmaking future.
So let's get real about what you can expect. It helps to start with some history.
A little film school history
The first film companies in California ran apprentice programs to train workers. But the apprentice programs were expensive and in 1929 they joined with the University of Southern California (USC) to establish a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Film.
The filmmaking students paid for their own education and the studios got to pick from the best and brightest to work in the film factories. The film schools made a profit and saved the studios a lot of money. It was a win-win for both of them -- and it still is. Be realistic about what film schools really are. They are a huge BUSINESS.
In the 70s everyone suddenly wanted a degree in film
For years the film industry continued to be dominated by a closed club of old white guys. Then in the 70s a revolution occurred when a few young film school graduates, including Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Martin Scorsese, started creating blockbuster hits like Star Wars and The Godfather.
The studios had never seen such profits. They realized that the young film school graduates were much more in tune with the tastes of a huge, untapped youth market. Suddenly everyone with a degree in film was in demand.
Of course the studios soon figured out that not every film school graduate was an undiscovered genius and the hiring binge stopped. But the mystique stuck that a degree in film was a sure path to fame and fortune.
Why do people want degrees in film?
Admit it. In large part it's the glamour factor. Tell someone at a party you're going to film school and you have a much better chance of scoring than telling them you're goal is to be an accountant.
Who benefits from film school?
A good friend of mine told me this story. She attended one of the top three film schools. She had a classmate, who was a close relative of a very famous director. The classmate arrived at film school with a story idea and quickly became the darling of the professors.
They helped him polish his script and encouraged him to use the school's equipment and classmates as crew to create his first film. After graduation he got a good jobs in the film industry with the help of his many family contacts.
My co-worker friend never got to make a film during her four years. She got good grades, graduated, then worked a succession of exhausting, low-paid jobs in the film industry and finally gave up to go back to school to become a nurse.
Clearly a degree in film helps people with the drive, talent and ambition as well as the right connections. If that's you then send in your application and good luck with your career. If not ... read on.
Now you're getting real
If your odds of success are small should you just give up the idea of ever being a filmmaker?
Not at all!
If you have a true passion for fimmaking then know that there are many ways to a satisfying career as a filmmaker and a degree in film is certainly helpful if you can get in and you can afford it. You'll still need drive, talent, the ability to make contacts and more than a bit of luck. When you try to get work it will be your work samples and contacts that get you hired, not the degree.
Before you (or your parents) sign that big check to get you into film school be sure you ask a lot of questions of the school.
- What are the qualifications of the professors? What are their contacts in the film industry.
- How many of the professors have actually worked in Hollywood? Have helped make a produced and distributed feature film?
- What percentage of the students find meaningful work in the film industry?
- What is the average starting salaries for graduates and what are the typical jobs they get?
- Will you actually get to make films?
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Useful Sites for Filmmakers
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Library Of Annotated Film Schools Filmmaker.com has a site where you can find extensive feedback from film students describing their experience at all the top film schools. Don't even think about signing up at a film school until you've surfed this site.
http://filmmaker.com/reviews.html
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If a degree in film isn't the ticket to Hollywood what other options are there?
If you can't afford a degree in film don't give up hope. There are many sources of training such as online film courses, local community colleges, appreticing with small companies in the film and video fields and, of course the completely free film schools at online film schools 4Filmmaking.com and FreeFilmSchool.Org. You'll have to work to make the contacts who will help you get ahead.
There are many tricks to get onto professional film sets where you can learn and make contacts. There are many opportunities for filmmakers working outside of the Hollywood mainstream. As an independent filmmaker you can follow your passion to carve out your niche in the world. The cost of equipment to make films has plummeted and new opportunities for distribution are opening every year.
Do you know who George Lucas is?
He's an independent filmmaker who lives and works on a beautiful ranch in Northern California and has as little to do with Hollywood as he possibly can. He does have a degree in film but he's also the worlds most successful independent filmmaker and has all the power, fame and fortune anyone could want.
There are many, many other independent filmmakers, some highly successful, who work mostly outside of the Hollywood system and get to control their own destiny. Wouldn't you like to be one of them?
Every year some young filmmaker, who may have barely finished high school, manages to create a brilliant new original film that wins all the awards at Sundance, and Hollywood welcomes them with open arms. "Nothing succeeds like success" is doubly true in Hollywood.
If you truly have the passion and talent to make films then do it your own way with or without a degree in film. Go for your dreams with everything you've got. Never give up.
And Happy Filmmaking!
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Alternate sources of getting started in filmmaking besides a degree in film
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There are a lot of way to learn about filmmaking. If there aren't any good, cheap classes available in your area here are some excellent, comprehensive resources you can get.
Product Reviews
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Review of Film School Secrets - As Good As The Buzz?
 Film School Secrets is a web based set of lessons in filmmaking that at long last reveals how little value there is to a film school degree. There has been a lot of talk and blogging about this course that you may have seen. Numerous film school grads are appearing and saying "About time someone spoke the truth!"
Assembled by former top film school graduates, a former NYU film school instructor and working filmmakers, this course unveils the two biggest dirty film school secrets: the best film schools are outrageously overpriced for what you get, and are next to ineffectual for starting a job in filmmaking.
If you have ever considered applying to a top film school you need to first find out about the online film training that is creating all the buzz while it is still open to new students.
Film School Secrets is currently available for a low price but has already seen one increment and will soon be increased again. Despite its still modest cost don't believe this is a superficial, useless course like many others. This is filled with the solid insider secrets you need to at long last start a real career.
The core of the instruction is 8 modules of video training:
Module 1: Learn what working in filmmaking actually is and why grads of top film schools are laughed at by real working filmmakers and film directors. You just need to know the secrets to starting a career today and not blowing time on pointless, costly classes that turn you into a joke.
Module 2: How to get onto film sets and be paid to learn. The only way to learn how to make films is by working side-by-side with professionals who are creating films. Nothing you could be told at film school substitutes for the real experience of helping to make a feature film.
Module 3: Learn all the filmmaking technique you need to know to get started. Most professional filmmakers will tell you it only takes a few hours to pick up the underlying techniques. Lighting, sound, and camera operation just aren't that complex.
Module 4: A film is nothing unless it starts with a wonderful story that audiences want to experience. Learn what makes a great screenplay. How to find pros who want to help you.
Module 5: How to inexpensively hire experts to handle the things you haven't learned so far. Making a film takes more than one person and here's how to connect with top masters who will help you for a lot less than the cost of film school, or even for FREE if you know how to ask.
Module 6: Shoot your movie locally like the big studios are doing. Being in Hollywood is really a disadvantage if you want to make a movie. Shooting where you live can lower your costs to practically nada.
Module 7: How to successfully make your own film even if you've never done it before, have no equipment and hardly know what you're doing.
Module 8: How you can employ the most cutting-edge methods for marketing your films with digital and online distribution.
An important part of Film School Secrets is Seth Hymes' hilarious exposé book, Film Fooled, which takes you course by course through his real experience at NYU film school, one of the top ten film schools in the world. Nothing will convince you of the uselessness of film school quite like getting to read the often childish course of study taught by bumbling teachers with almost no filmmaking experience.
Seth also gives you access to the NYU Production Handbook which NYU claims is worth the cost of their tuition all by itself.
I was so impressed by this course that I agreed to throw in my 350 page Filmmaking Reference e-book that sells for more than the current cost of Film School Secrets by itself if you order now. You can see how important I think it is for you to try this course before you apply to an expensive film school.
That's not all you get:
You get real interviews with filmmakers who've made it telling their most guarded secrets that got them into the inner circles of filmmaking. Just do what they did for your own success.
Included is the invaluable permission to contact and ask questions of the course authors at no extra expense.
Pros and cons of Film School Secrets vs. a top film school
Pros:
- Actually teaches how to get started as a filmmaker rather than a lot of theory that is useless in getting real jobs.
- Following this course and actually doing what you will learn will literally save you years of your life and thousands of dollars getting started as a filmmaker.
- A tiny fraction of the cost
- You will finish the course materials in a matter of days
Cons:
- This is not a total course in filmmaking techniques. Many basics are taught but you will need to supplement the lessons with some other low-cost, or free instructions on film making techniques.
- The mostly video presentation is very easy to follow but some students may prefer written materials or physical books.
- Your friends and family may not take you seriously until they see your name in the credits on the big screen
By the time you finish this course you will know why film school is not what you need to become a filmmaker, and know secret real-world strategies for getting started, plus you will have contact with experts who can help you along the way.
There is no risk as there is a complete, no questions asked, money-back guarantee for 60-days.The cost has gone up recently and will soon be raised again.
Don't just sit there.
Dare To Be Amazing!
Click on this link to discover all about Film School Secrets.
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The Filmmaker's Basic Library has all the top-rated filmmaking resources.
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