Film schools can be a variety of different kinds of schools. The term can loosely be applied to any school that teaches filmmaking. The university program is very different from the one year full time film school for instance.
How you learn the material and filmmaking skills, your teachers and how long the program runs will vary with each program so look at all your options and then choose what is best for you.
Four Year University Program
You do your normal education as well as film classes for your major over the course of four years.
Benefits
– Scholarships are available.
- Lots of professionals teach part time at schools to keep the curriculum current and bring in other professionals to instruct and guide students.
– 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.
Disadvantages
– You may not own the films you make during school or with school equipment.
– You will have to share your time between regular college classes and filmmaking courses.
Small and Mid-Size Colleges
Schools that aren’t as large as the universities however still offer film degrees.
Good Points
– Poor grades won’t hold you back because their admissions are less strict.
– The school is smaller so you get more attention and might learn more because of it.
Bad Points
– There is less equipment and access to industry professionals and such because of the smaller size.
The Independent One Year Program
– The actual length of time varies but these are short programs of studies focusing exclusively on filmmaking.
The Up Side
– Spending less time in school gets you started on your career more quickly.
– You have experience working on real sets because a lot of classes take place in actual locations where professionals work daily.
Bad Points
– These programs force you to work on film full time leaving no time for other work or activities.
- They cost a pretty penny.
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.