School vs. Career
Sunday, July 13th, 2008 |
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I have been getting a lot of questions about film school vs starting one’s career.
So here’s my opinion, for what it’s worth. In school you will never get the real story on how the big boys (and girls) make movies. Period. What you will get is a lot of stepping stone information. You will learn all the basics and with the amazing growth of technology you will learn a lot about post production and post production software. Most schools have courses teaching Final Cut and Avid editing platforms. You will also get an opportunity to learn Photoshop, After Effects (and scores of other post production enhancing softwares. Me, I edited my Super 8 films by hand with a splicer & tape. . . You will lean a lot of visual concepts. You will also get some basic production skills. In some programs you will get to work on pretty big productions (relative to a school project). Some schools even have film industry pros teaching. In fact, my mentor, who hired me for my first job, now teaches at USC Film School. (Roger Pugliese was the Unit Production Manager on Pretty Woman, my first job).
Here’s what else you will get: You will learn the ability to learn. Almost every job recruiter will tell you that this is the real reason the seek college grads. They want to know that you have the ability to learn new systems. This will really benefit you when you finish school and jump into the world of production. You will be forced to constantly learn and adapt to new systems.
Beyond that you learn a lot with the general education you receive.
What you don’t really learn is how a big show (Feature Film, Commercial, or Music Video) really works, from pre production through post. This will only be learned by being involved and working on professional projects.
Here’s the great part about working in an entry level position (like a Production Assistant), you get the opportunity to see what everybody’s role is on set. You will have get the chance (in most cases) to jump in and help most departments, seeing first hand what they do and how they do it.
So if you can’t wait to get a job on that big movie, do it. Just stay in school. Work during you breaks. Most big cities in the US get a big “Hollywood” production through during the course of the year. If not your town, find out where and get yourself hired. Even working for free can have it”s benefits. Maybe you can get credit, or if you kick ass and work hard maybe you’ll get paid too. We had 3 free interns on the low budget feature that I worked on this summer and they all ultimately got paid. Check with your local film commission or permit office, in fact, make friends with them, as they can become your best friend. Why? They will usually be the first to know if a show is coming your way and might even be able to help you get on board.
So bottom line: Stay in (or go to) school. You can always get your first job in the “Biz” but you will NEVER go back to school.
