Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Film School Secrets - Do You Really Need Film School to Be Successful?


It's a question that has been surfacing more and more over the years, and the answer might surprise you. Sure people like George Lucas and Martin Scorsese went to film school and became outrageously successful, but these are two of the reasons why we wanted to share some film school secrets with you today. Filmmaking school does not guarantee you success as a Hollywood producer.

In fact, people like Steven Spielberg are more touted in the industry because they take a different approach. Instead of going to filmmaking school they opt to work from the ground up and build a reputation in the business. Spielberg was initially turned down by the USC school, but after a grueling internship at Universal Studios he was able to move up the ranks with hard work. Eventually he was accepted by USC and earned a degree, which is far more common. Here are three more film school secrets that you ought to know:

Secret #1- When it comes to filming school you're not going to make any vital contacts there. The majority of your interactions will come from film sets, festivals, and on-hand areas of the business. If you do find someone through schooling there might only be one or two that are used later on down the road.

Secret #2- If you want to learn how to make a film it doesn't require you to go to filmmaking school. It's one of the biggest film school secrets that most people don't realize. You can actually learn everything faster by being on a set as opposed to in a classroom. If you want to study hard and learn technical terms then go to school to be a lawyer or doctor instead.

Just look at all the people who work in the construction industry. The majority of the people who learn their skills take an on-hand approach to their work. This is the same concept you find in film colleges. It's the easiest ways for a newcomer to learn the ropes and pay his or her dues before seeing true success.

Plus, in today's world you can buy your film equipment for a few thousand bucks. Years ago people like Lucas and Scorsese had to figure out ways to access it.

It's also important to understand that filming school isn't taught by successful filmmakers. Instead these are professors who know everything by book-smarts and not the true essence of making a film. The people you should be learning from are never in a classroom teaching students. You also don't want to be paying tens of thousands of dollars to be taught by an amateur anyways.

Secret #3- There isn't really a need to get a filmmaking school degree. It's a great help in the medical or business world, but here the situation is reversed. Take the time to find a set you can work on and move up through the ranks. It's the best way to get noticed and alleviate all the issues that come with these film school secrets. In the end you will earn more respect in the industry.

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