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Hey everyone! How's it going? I'm very passionate about the film industry but can't over how much film school cost. Traditional schooling sitting in a classroom doesn't sound interesting or fun to me. Instead I'm looking into a film school alternative called The Film Connection. Has anyone heard of this program? You actually work one on one with someone already working in the film industry and get hands on experience and make connections for future gigs. I know it's more about who you know than what you know when it comes to the entertainment industry. What do you all think?

Never heard of it but sounds awesome. I'm wanting to go to film school as well. And i fully agree with you about it's who you know more than what you know. So i would go for it sounds great. Where did you hear about it? Cause i would not mind checking it out.

Never heard of The Film Connection, but I'm young/interested in screenwriting, directing, editing, etc. and due to Film Schools costing so much, I'm attending a community college that offers programs in both film-making and video production, so I'm taking classes in those fields to hopefully get my associates degrees in a couple of years.

relaying advice from a friend of mine who was asked the same thing on a film forum that i admin for...don't go to film school...it doesn't work...it teaches generic boring techniques and how to make films that make money rather than films that are any good

Thanks for the feedback. I feel the same wway about film schools.
You can check out The Film connection's website for a whole lot of info.
I can't post the link cause I'm new here, but it's a simple url.

Originally posted by jaden101
relaying advice from a friend of mine who was asked the same thing on a film forum that i admin for...don't go to film school...it doesn't work...it teaches generic boring techniques and how to make films that make money rather than films that are any good

Yeah, just look at Paul Thomas Anderson; great director and he left NYU after attending for like 2 days because he didn't like the professor/course he was enrolled in. Instead, he used his tuition to fund his first film.

Same with Kevin Smith he left after a real short time also.

Education form can help for some. The film industry is mostly all about networking, hard work and luck.

If you go to university and do say a course in script writing, a person who didn't and has a good script will have the same chance of making it.

I'm currently studying film studies at university and intend to go on to film school. Having spoken to a few people about it, the best means to pay for it seems to be getting an employer to fund it.

I made the dreadful mistake of attending the NY film Academy. I paid $5200 for the six week course. The only practical information i learned was about film stock. When i wasn't having film theory vomited all over me i was able to pick up a few tips on lighting and composition. It costs a lot of money to go to film school and even more to make a proper short film. I would suggest investing your money in a camera and a few courses in editing. The cost of an associates degree in film production at a community college will cost you less than most film schools and you will actually be able to apply that degree to other area's.

I've taken a few screenwriting classes and they're very helpful. They teach you the more minor details of scriptwriting which is the difference between a crap script and a good script.

It's also very useful to hear from other people about your script.

I stopped going to a scriptwriting class years ago, all follow the rules crap and you must follow and do it MY way to get a successful script and so on.

It's good to know the 'formula' of most scriptwriting, and then if your script breaks the 'rules' then good on you, more adventurous.

I've got my script writing information from a section on scriptwriting that I did in Film Studies, reading film scripts/layouts of favourite films and important films, books on scriptwriting, and talking about it with friends who are interested in scriptwriting too.

If you want to go to scriptwriting classes or do a degree in Scriptwriting(friend is currently saving to do a degree in scriptwriting) then fair enough.

Yeah that sucks. The last class I took had a really cool teacher, really open minded and wanted us to experiment and try things even if it 'broke the rules'.

Freaking A! I just got off the phone with someone from there. It sounds like they treat you right. Get your foot in the door and all. How come you haven't picked up the phone and enrolled? What's so hard to decide?

I'd have to say working on the live set to get trained on some film already in production mode would be the coolest, no?

Originally posted by MoviesKillMe
Hey everyone! How's it going? I'm very passionate about the film industry but can't over how much film school cost. Traditional schooling sitting in a classroom doesn't sound interesting or fun to me. Instead I'm looking into a film school alternative called The Film Connection. Has anyone heard of this program? You actually work one on one with someone already working in the film industry and get hands on experience and make connections for future gigs. I know it's more about who you know than what you know when it comes to the entertainment industry. What do you all think?



Called 'em back. Your advice is - Go to Media Warrior.ning.com They'll chat w/ U there on Film Connection.