Film School

Film school can be a lot things. These types of schools vary as does the curriculum and program of filmmaking itself. There are university and college film schools, community college film programs, and separate facilities focusing on film studies programs.

They all teach varieties of the same thing but the methods, techniques, costs, program lengths and even material covered will be different each place thus it is best to explore all your choices and then choose the one that best suits your needs.

Four Year University Program
You do your normal education as well as film classes for your major over the course of four years.

Good Points
- The schools give out a lot of money.

- The teachers are pros who know the business and teach part time so they can bring in other pros to teach you as well.

- The universities get the best internship requests sent to them so they can place students in prime positions for paying jobs and Hollywood’s powerhouse elite.

- Camera gear is always available to students so they can learn on the actual equipment.

The Down Side
- Some programs own your movies and work instead of you so you should ask questions before turning in your application.

- You won’t be able to focus on film entirely because you’ll have other classes.

College Film School
The school is smaller than a large university but offers a film degree program.

The Up Side
- Poor grades won’t hold you back because their admissions are less strict.

- Fewer students give you a more personalized education.

Disadvantages
- There is less equipment and access to industry professionals and such because of the smaller size.

Shortened Filmmaking Study Programs

- Shortened filmmaking programs that focus just on the craft with variable lengths of study.

Benefits
- You get to start working in the business sooner because the program is shorter.

- The schools take place in real working conditions so you get to see and sometimes work on actual lots and locations where you never know what may happen.

The Down Side
- These programs force you to work on film full time leaving no time for other work or activities.

- The programs aren’t cheap and you may be hit with added costs and fees for film.

Alternative Film Programs

Alternative programs include independent study facilities and weekend crash course type functions.

The simple things will be taught and the basics but you won’t learn enough to get going immediately because filmmaking is a skill that takes time to develop.