I have plenty of questions that have been piling up in me for some time.
But, for the sake of everyone reading this I will try to keep it short.
Recently, I have been searching for some quality forums with experienced members that are willing to help and I hope I found the right place.
I'm still very young (soon to be 18) and obviously still have to (and want to) learn a lot. So, every advice and random thought will be accepted.
Anyway, the need for forms of expression has always haunted me (in a good way of course). Being influenced by movies, series and other media I found myself constantly creating ideas. Ideas that I need to share and express, and I found that directing movies and writting scripts can make me fulfilled.
I love movies and they are a big part of me, but I still don't watch them every day, follow every festival, know every director, actor or year of a certain era.
I just don't find it that much of a necessity if you really love the cinema and want to create it (even thought some people would disagre).
I appreciate everything that they bring and take, and find movie art as something that I need to be a part of, the feeling of knowing that I can make the difference.
To cut the whining, I have some questions about the film schools first;
How necessary are they anyway? Personaly, I would like to get educated in a film school but I find it hard to afford considering that I would have to go to another country ( there is only one school in my place and as I hear not a very good one). Is it worth to travel half a globe to spend the money in the new city on the new life? For something that you could probably learn on your own, with a few literatures and amateur movie making?
Also, do you thing you need to be well-read person to create good scripts or all you need is some motivation, hard work and and idea?
Is 'talent' all it takes to be successful next to hard work or do you need to be extremely lucky and well educated?
Can it be impossible if you live in a place with virtually no desire for your works and if you lack the ways to present it to the right people. And thus write or direct on a foreign language?
Seems to be a lot of stuff asked here. Not all questions need to be answered, but all of the answers will be apreciated. Thanks in advance. ?;)?
Welcome to filmmaking.net.
quote:
Originally posted by Coins
I have some questions about the film schools first;
How necessary are they anyway?
Not at all.
quote:
Is it worth to travel half a globe to spend the money in the new city on the new life? For something that you could probably learn on your own, with a few literatures and amateur movie making?
I don't think so.
quote:
Also, do you thing you need to be well-read person to create good scripts or all you need is some motivation, hard work and and idea?
It can't hurt to be well read. But you if write an excellent script that
people want to see no one will know if the writer is well read or not.
quote:
Is 'talent' all it takes to be successful next to hard work or do you need to be extremely lucky and well educated?
No. There are many very talented people who aren't successful
and there are people who work hard who aren't successful. Luck
as a little to do with it, well educated, not at all.
quote:
Can it be impossible if you live in a place with virtually no desire for your works and if you lack the ways to present it to the right people. And thus write or direct on a foreign language?
Can what be impossible? Success? If your movie is never seen
it won't be successful. But many movies not made in english are
successful.
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
Let me play devil's advocate for a moment here and defend film schools (full disclosure: I'm a second-year film major at the Minneapolis College of Art & Design right now):
It can be very tough to get a complete education in film while being entirely self-taught. When I started here I knew that I wanted to make movies, but I simply didn't know what I should spend my time learning about. That is one thing that an organized institution can provide, and I have been continually surprised at how useful some of those seemingly irrelevant classes actually have been.
As a film student you get access to some very nice equipment and more importantly, round-the-clock access to the expertise of qualified professionals who know exactly how to use said equipment.
It can be incredibly helpful to work under the guidance of accomplished filmmakers with decades of experience. A few books and some nice equipment are not going to replace that. Remember that however helpful a book may be, it can't answer your questions or offer critiques of your work.
In the professional world in general, but especially when it comes to filmmaking, connections are everything. Going to film school allows you to meet other talented filmmakers from all over the country, all of whom are just as useful a resource as your professors and a few of whom may someday be able to offer you gainful employment. George Lucas, Ron Howard and Robert Zemeckis all graduated from USC film school, and I have to assume that at least one key element of their success was the professional relationships they cultivated while in school.
In another two years I will emerge from my education not only with a wealth of new knowledge and an enormous mound of debt, but also a bachelor's degree. This can be very helpful for finding decent paying work in order to feed yourself before you catch a big break.
Yes, film school is incredibly expensive, and yes it is absolutely possible to become a successful filmmaker without attending one. However, the "learn by doing" approach can often only take you part of the way to having a well-rounded understanding of movies and how to make them. It will probably be another ten years or so until I can decide whether my college education has really been "worth it," but for now I absolutely do not regret my decision to go to school.
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Andrew Gingerich
Exploding Goldfish Films
Check out my vodcast on iTunes: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=96931870
and my blog at http://www.exgfilms.com
-----------------
Andrew Gingerich
Exploding Goldfish Films
Check out my blog at http://www.exgfilms.com
and my reel at http://portfolio.exgfilms.com
And the counter-arguments.
(1) It can be very expensive. While if you get work on a filmset you will be paid before long.
(2) In film school you will learn a lot of theories and a lot of other things you will not need. If you do not want to be a writer does it really help to take screenwriting classes? It might some but for a lot of people that would be a waste. Same with sound and cinematography and editing. People in the film world specialize for a reason.
(3) Tarentino (worked in a video store), Roger Corman (engineering degree combined with working on movie sets) and Kevin Smith (dropped out of film school) all managed pretty well without completing film school.
RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA
RJSchwarz
quote:
Originally posted by agingeri
Let me play devil's advocate for a moment here and defend film schools
Differing opinion are always welcome and of great value.
quote:
It can be very tough to get a complete education in film while being entirely self-taught. When I started here I knew that I wanted to make movies, but I simply didn't know what I should spend my time learning about. That is one thing that an organized institution can provide, and I have been continually surprised at how useful some of those seemingly irrelevant classes actually have been.
Here you and I agree. It's tough and many people don't know what
they want to do.
quote:
As a film student you get access to some very nice equipment and more importantly, round-the-clock access to the expertise of qualified professionals who know exactly how to use said equipment.
I found this to be exactly the same jumping right in without going
to school. Okay, not the around the clock aspect - but do film
students really have access to qualified professionals at 3:15AM
on a Sunday? On every job I've ever had I had access to the
expertise of qualified professionals who knew exactly how to use
their equipment
One thing I loved about not going to school, but working on film
sets, was watching pros do amazing things without some very nice
equipment. It was very educational for me to watch working
professionals on low budget shows.
quote:
It can be incredibly helpful to work under the guidance of accomplished filmmakers with decades of experience
I agree. And not going to film school but getting a job on a set
gives you this opportunity also. My very first job (in make-up
efx) was with one of the masters of the craft. Not only did he
teach me everything he knew but it was on the job so I saw it
work (or not work) under the stress of making the days.
quote:
In the professional world in general, but especially when it comes to filmmaking, connections are everything. Going to film school allows you to meet other talented filmmakers from all over the country, all of whom are just as useful a resource as your professors and a few of whom may someday be able to offer you gainful employment.
I agree again. And you can make connections with dozens of working
professionals on film sets. I'm sure you meet plenty of talented
filmmakers at your own level in film school, but on a film set
you meet experienced pros who are actually hiring for their next
project.
quote:
In another two years I will emerge from my education not only with a wealth of new knowledge and an enormous mound of debt, but also a bachelor's degree. This can be very helpful for finding decent paying work in order to feed yourself before you catch a big break.
I spent the exact same amount of time working on professional
sets. At the end of four years I wasn't in debt and I didn't have
a degree, but I had over 20 films on my resume, a wealth of new
knowledge and dozens of connections. That was (and continues to
be) very helpful for finding a decent paycheck while working in
the business I want to be in.
In all the years I've been making movies - as crew, as a writer or
as a director - no one has ever asked if I had a degree. But they
always ask "Who have you worked with?" or "Let me see your work."
For me, it was better to say, "I worked with Bob on three shows."
rather than show my degree. Because the guy hiring knows Bob and
trusts his judgment.
quote:
However, the "learn by doing" approach can often only take you part of the way to having a well-rounded understanding of movies and how to make them.
This is where we disagree. Very much.
I have been making my sole living in film, TV and theater since I
was 17 when I dropped out of high school to take a job. The
"learn by doing" method took me all of the way to having a
well-rounded understanding of movies and how to make them.
=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
=============================================
The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
Thanks for the replies to everyone, they really helped.
Also, I would like to get more aquinted with digital filmaking, considering it is mostly used today and highly accessible. What books would you recommend to get in touch with today's technology?
I would like to know more about shooting formats and best cameras you can get for less money. I believe books are the best way to learn with the absence of film school so it would be good to get some more. I already have a couple on film theory in general and was planing to buy the Rodriguez book: Rebel without a crew.
