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Originally posted by West Land Productions

IS IT BETTER TO GO TO A FILM SCHOOL (ex. Full Sail) OR GO TO A 4 YEAR COLLEGE (ex. EMERY) OR TO CONTINUE TO FIND PROJECTS AND OFFER HELP?

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Meh, its personal choice mostly. Though I may warn you, Full Sail is a load of hot crap served on a silver platter. No mas.

In my humble opinon, I would suggest a 4 year liberal arts college. maybe Marlboro if you've heard of it. There are some, like Marlboro, which allow you to design your own degree, meaning if you really had an inkling to, you could go into say filmmaking, humanitarian aid with a focus on African countries, and Political Science with a focus on the real underlying intentions of our Founding Fathers and their struggle to create a dictatorship.

A bit far fetched that was, but you get the point. It never hurts to have a back up plan.
Or you could just offer help and make projects. You get a buttload of experience and eventually you will maybe make some connections, but its a tight world. You either in in in or out out out.
And thats the short and tall of it.

That's it! You people have stood in my way long enough! I'm going to clown college!

Several questions arise that you should answer. What do you want out of film school? What type of film education? Connections? Job opportunities upon graduation? What are your goals? Do you want to be a director, producer, screenwriter? Different schools offer different types of education. Having a degree might not get you what you want. The film business is about going after what you want day-in and day-out! If you can write your own scripts then you are way ahead of those that cannot. Everybody in the business needs good scripts. If you can write great scripts and shoot them yourself or find financing to direct them then the sky is the limit. There is no faster way to the top of the heap then being able to write and direct. No studio will hand you the reins of a multi-million dollar film because you have a film degree. If you have a great script then you have a lot of leverage. If you do not write then you have to find a great script. All the filmmaking education does you no good without a great script to shoot. I am not trying to keep you from your goals...I want you to define them so you can start taking steps in the right direction. Take the right path! I want you to make the best films out there so we all can enjoy them.

i agree with you both, especially on the full sail, dont waiste your time or money on that, i personaly have known way too many people that have much regret for going to that school. Just like Kess said, you've got to decide on what your goals are. No degree can match experience. Even if you do decide on going to film school, do as much as possible while your there. Make your own movies or join up with other projects, just stay busy. As far as the big schools go, it's really a waste of time in my opinion if your plan is to be a director. If you want to go the school route, i would suggest a small school. I am going to a small technical school for video production. The only reason(s) i am doing this is because: 1. it's super cheap and the government is paying for it, (God bless GA's scholership programs.) 2. I'll learn all the basic technical stuff i need to know and graduate in a year and a half. 3. I will make some good connections there through teachers and students. 4. I will be around other people that are interested in the same thing as me. 5. I'll get to use all of their great equipment for free to do all 5 million projects i'm working on for myself!

I dont plan on using that degree except for a job until i get where i need to be but it will help boost me where i want to go. Just decide on what you want to do and bust your balls at it constantly, you'll end up where you want to be.

It is impossible to really make the comparison. Full Sail might work for some people depending upon their personality, their roommates, the folks at the school at the time. The guest lecturers. Also it might not.

Going the work experience route could work well if you get onto good productions that have crew that help and don't shout all day. Or it could be a nightmare depending upon your own luck, location, persiverance.

Life is what you make of it and you need to figure out which of the three would work best with your personality. Then cross your fingers and hope. I would also add that you should work for free on every and any set you can no matter what your choice to get additional experience.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

First THANK YOU to all who have replied to my topic! I really appreciate your input and advice. In honestly what I want, what I am most passionate about is Directing. I hope to eventually have my own Production Company. As for writing, I can write and have completed a full length feature (all 90 pages) but I tend to mostly write short stories. I have actually done just about every type of film/video imaginable. I taped and edited Training Seminars, Internal company quarterly celebrations, Personal events, Weddings and Spoofs. I just have a few follow-up quesitons...

1. Why is Full Sail bad? I have heard mixed reviews, seems they are most known for Recording Arts.

2. What Liberal Art Schools or other Colleges do you recommend? (I am 24 and only have a semester under my belt.)

3. I am living in the Atlanta, GA area is there anyone who needs help with their next project? ANYTHING, hell I will even make snadwiches if that's what it takes.

Again thank you for reading and replying!
John

full sail has just made a bad name for itself in that they charge an outrageous tuition fee but dont realy provde much work, and that their main goal is just in getting the tuition and they have been in trouble before several times with their accredidation for that. Yes, you would learn alot of good stuff there because they have nothing but state-of-the-art equipment, but everyone that i know that has gone there has regretted it because now the only job they can get it just some low level assistant job and they spent almost $100,000 to get a job that anyone can get. I would stay away from it, but in their defense, there are some that have gone on and been succesful after going to that school. It's cool that you live in atlanta, i will be moving to marrietta in a month to go to chattahoochee tech and will be making many shorts and features while i am there (i am working on one now but we are almost finished.) If you ever want to hook up let me know and i will give you my contact info.

Full sail is overrated and underqualified. Visit if you haven't already. Make your own decision

I suppose if you don't mind making a deposit of your legs, 7 fingers, one eyeball and your firstborn child you could give it a go.
Recording arts is big there, but you could have gotten more information on filmmaking from Terry Schiavo. The professors I encountered were bumbling mongoloids.

And the reasoning that some of their students have gone on to be succeusful is bollocks. You get that anywhere. You can get a kid from a town with a population of 10 that goes on to be the next Francis Ford, but its not going to make people move there.
Bad analogy, but you catch my drift.

My suggestion for schools is check private. In Public institutions you would have to dick around with general studies. In private liberal arts colleges you can usually bypass that shiz.

And if you want to come up to the ****** of Northern Wisconsin, you could help me. Though you won't be paid, but room and board I could handle. And it would give you nothing but pure unadulterated etertainment, and if that is enough to get you jumping onto a plane your hopeless.

That's it! You people have stood in my way long enough! I'm going to clown college!