Is
Film School Right for Me?
Four
years! Tens of thousands of dollars? Many considering
film school are overwhelmed by the commitment when
they consider it, others never acknowledge to themselves
what's involved, and only realize later what they've
gotten themselves into. Going to a film school is
no small matter, and deserves all possible consideration.
Much
difficulty lies in the fact that potential film students
only know that they love films, and have no idea if
they have any aptitude in making them. They consider
film school to be the place to find out, and they
are mostly correct. The problems lies in the fact
that it can take a year or more before students get
a chance to make a film in film school, by which time
they may get too entrenched in the routine of what
they're doing to really step back and consider whether
they have the talent to justify the extraordinary
commitment that a degree program represents.
Those
who are uncertain about their abilities or about whether
they will enjoy the filmmaking process are well-advised
to do anything possible to get some hands-on experience
prior to making a big commitment. It is possible to
produce a small film outside of school; however, working
alone and without instruction, you may stack the deck
against success.
Another
possibility is volunteering to work on someone else's
student film. This will provide a glimpse of the film-making
process, but won't provide any answers as to the individual's
abilities.
The
best test may be a short intensive program that allows
a person to make a film, like the program at the New
York Film Academy where I worked as an instructor,
in which students make three to four short films in
eight weeks.
In
any case, it is ill-advised to enter any field blindly.
Enjoying museums won't make a person a good painter,
nor will it guarantee that they will enjoy the actual
work of painting. The same applies to enjoying films
versus film-making. The best way for someone to find
out if film school is for them or not is to try making
a film.
Author
David Kost
New York Film Academy
