Top film schools

Guide to Top Film Schools

What are the Best Film Schools

Understand that filmmakng is a huge industry with many hundred if not thousands of specializations so it simply isn't possible to define what is a top film school as each specialization requires the teaching of a very different set of skills. The best film school for directors might not be the top film school for someone wanting to be a 3D artist or an actor's agent. Keep this fact in mind when looking at any list of top ten film schools because the institutions listed may easily not be the best film schools for your interests.

In trying to assemble any list of the best film schools I am reminded of the old saying that you can't teach talent, you can only encourage it. With due respect to all the world's late bloomers the fact is that most people seem to have talents they are born with and the top film school in the world isn't going to make you into a great filmmaker unless you already have talent in that direction.

Furthermore, most people with great talent in any field are already demonstrating their talent long before they graduate from high school. In fact they are often so compelled by their talents that they have a hard time doing anything else.

Top athletes view college as just the latest stepping stone in a string of successful steps. Great writers have piles of short stories completed in grade school. Great artists have been cartooning with remarkable skill since they could hold a pencil. The most highly regarded filmmakers have been creating clever short films staring their family and friends from the time they could hold a camera.

I say all this as a warning that if your interest in filmmaking is more theoretical than based on wanting to advance your current passion you should reconsider. Filmmaking is one of the very hardest professions to break in to and starting salaries are amongst the lowest. A degree from the top film school is at most a small item on the resume you will need to talk your way into the most menial job on a film set.

My Top Ten Film Schools

Are Top Film Schools Worth It in 2012? Surprising Film School Secrets!

Unlike the usual list of four-year universities offering film studies with similar time and tuition issues my list of the best film schools offers some real diversity. Included are some free options all the way up to more than $100,000 at the top end, and the time requirements vary from courses you can complete in a couple of days to half-a-dozen years. Read on to see my picks for the top ten film schools.

Although there are a handful of superstar actors and directors who command mutil-million-dollar salaries the real money is in producing and studio management. The biggest money makers in the film industry might have started at a top film school but it is as likely they started with a business degree because at heart they are businessmen or businesswomen who understand that entertainment is a business. Even the most successful actors and directors eventually make their real money and have their biggest successes with their producer work. For example Danny DeVito has more than 30 producer credits listed on IMDB and is considered one of the most powerful people in Hollywood.

1) UCLA Producer's Program
You thought I was going to recommend UCLA's top film school as my first choice, but if you are interested in a real career as a top money-maker then you should consider UCLA's program to train producers in the entertainment world. Movie making is a BUSINESS as much as an art. Since this is a graduate program this is an expensive and time consuming option. You will already need an under-graduate degree in business to be considered but this could be the launching pad for spectacular success.

2) NYU Master of Fine Arts (MFA) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Producing
New York University offers a similar program that leads to a dual Master degree. Again it is a master program so we are talking lots of time and many dollars. These top film school programs are not for the faint-of-heart or thin-of-wallet.

Are Top Film Schools Worth It in 2012? Surprising Film School Secrets!

3) Stanford University Entertainment Law Course
Entertainment law is another very highly paid profession working in the film industry and courses in entertainment law are offered by several universities within their law program. I hilighted Stanford University but UCLA of course would be another top choice here. Specializing in entertainment law while obtaining a law degree could lead to many of the highest paid jobs within the movie world.

4) Film School Secrets
Next is a very low cost option for my list of top ten film schools. Woody Allen said "Eighty percent of success is showing up." Anyone in the film industry will agree with that. If you hang around film sets long enough someone is going to hire you to work for them. The trick is getting onto the film sets. Film School Secrets was put together by a group of film school graduates and a former film school instructor. They were highly dissatisfied by how poorly the top film schools had prepared them to find work in filmmaking. One of the filmmakers, Seth Hymes, reveals their best kept secret tricks for getting work on film sets in excellent online videos. The videos teach everything you need to know to get started working on films. Very low cost but highly recommended because its not about wasting time or money in school. This is how to start a career ... now! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for beginners or film school grads still looking for work. See my review below.

5) Dov Simen's 2-Day Film School
Speaking of getting real. Dov Simen is a filmmaker and film educator who has been traveling the world giving a two-day film course that is an intense blast of everything practical that you would learn in four years of film school and a lot of things you won't learn. Any number of famous people in the film industry, including Quentin Tarantino, have attended Dov's classes and credit Dov with much of their success. I have taken the class in person and think it is excellent. The DVD set gives you everything and lets you review the material over and over. See my review below.

6) University of California - Los Angeles, Theater, Film & Television - Los Angeles, CA | (310) 825-5761
When people think of the best film schools they are usually thinking of the big three degree universities that offer majors in film studies. Although these are highly respected institutions that have taught some of the most famous luminaries in the film world none of these top film schools have been able to achieve a very high success rate for the typical graduate. They tend to provide a one-size-fits-all approach and often the instructors are not much more knowledgeable than the students.

7) University of Southern California, School of Cinema-Television - Los Angeles, CA | (310) 825-5761

8) New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, Film & Television - New York, NY | (212) 998-1800 | Email

9) Online Film School - 4Filmmaking.com
This site where you are reading has nurtured hundred of thousands of visiting filmmakers by providing free information and links to many other free or low-cost sources of training. Before you commit years of your life and thousands of dollars to a big name film school see what you could get for free or low cost on the Internet. If you have the passion you can make it happen. The best film school is the one that will teach what you need to know to accomplish what you want to do.

10) Just do it
Countless individuals without any formal training or in many cases without even a high school diploma have simply started making films with whatever equipment they had, for example Kevin Smith, and by showing up and not giving up they have achieved fame and fortune. Low cost equipment and free to low cost training from web sites and local community colleges has made this option more real than ever before for the beginning filmmaker with a real passion to tell stories. It worked for them, it could work for you.

Selected sources of filmmaking training

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 Disclosure: I am an affiliate for some products I recommend and may receive some compensation if you buy them through my links. Regardless, I only recommend products I have personally reviewed and/or own and believe them to be worthy of your consideration. Film School Secrets Review - More Value Than Film School? Film School Secrets is the online film school course that has finally gotten everyone questioning the value of film schools. You may have heard some buzz about this or seen articles elsewhere. A lot of former film school students are pronouncing "About time someone spoke the truth!" Assembled by former top film school students, a former NYU film school instructor and working filmmakers, this course reveals the two biggest nasty film school secrets: the foremost film schools are outrageously costly for what you get, and are next to useless for getting a job in filmmaking. If you are even more or less looking at going to film school please do yourself a favor and check into the course that everyone is talking about while it is still available. Film School Secrets is currently available for a low price but has already seen one increase and will soon be raised again. Despite its still modest price 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 heart of the instruction is 8 modules of video training: Module 1: How the film industry really works and why even top film school graduates are considered a joke by most employed filmmakers and film studios. With the correct strategy you can get your career started now and be taken seriously for a lot less time and money than attending to film school. 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 people who are creating films. Nothing you could be told at film school replaces the actual experience of helping to make a feature film. Module 3: Acquire all the filmmaking proficiency you need to know to get started. Most employed filmmakers will tell you it only takes a few hours to pick up the fundamental techniques. Illuminating, sound, and camera operation just aren't that complex. Module 4: Requirements of a great screenplay. How to tell stories that audiences will pay to see. How to find knowledgeable pros who will help you refine your script to perfection. Module 5: How to get top experts to work for you for very little money, or even for FREE is you know what to say. Shooting movies takes more than one person so get the best helping you for a fraction of the cost of four years at film school. Learn from the experts while you produce your film. Module 6: Shoot your movie locally like the big studios are doing. Being in Hollywood is in reality a disadvantage if you want to make a movie. Shooting where you live can lower your costs to practically nothing. Module 7: Ways to create your own movies without any experience, equipment or knowledge of filmmaking techniques. (Yes it can be done!) Module 8: How to sell and distribute your film taking advantage of the latest in on-line marketing and digital distribution. An important part of Film School Secrets is Seth Hymes' hilarious exposé book, Film Fooled, which takes you course by course through his actual 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 infantile curriculum taught by bumbling teachers with almost no filmmaking experience. You also get a copy of the NYU Production Handbook. NYU would like you to think that this book alone is worth the price of tuition. You get your own copy included at no extra charge. I was so motivated by this course that I agreed to include 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. That's how important I think it is for you to try this course before you apply to an expensive film school. You get even more: The course includes interviews with successful filmmakers spilling the secrets of exactly how they broke in to exciting jobs in movie making. These are a blueprint for how you can succeed, too. Finally the course includes the ability to contact and ask questions of the authors of the course for no extra cost. Priceless! 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 taking action on 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 Have the knowledge you require to break in after just days Cons: The course doesn't try to teach you the complete details of filmmaking. You will need to continue learning as you work your way up the ladder. The materials are presented in online videos but some students may prefer all the materials to be in a printed book. Even so the videos are very clear and easy to follow. Family and friends will finally take you seriously when your name is up in lights When you finish the videos you will realize why the last thing you need to do is waste time at a film school. You will know the real strategies to get started as a filmmaker. You will also have experts you can contact to assist you along the way. There is a complete 60-day, no questions asked, money back guarantee so there is absolutely no risk. Get this course before the cost increases ... or the film schools are able to get it outlawed! What are you waiting for? Be Dazzling! More about Film School Secrets Info Info The Filmmaker's Basic Library has all the top-rated filmmaking resources.