5 Great Tips for Choosing the Right Film School for You
The first place that comes to the mind of a person willing to make a career in films is perhaps Hollywood. And if not Hollywood, other prominent capitals of film-making are New York and Vancouver. Film courses are offered by several states and even online. With the sophistication of digital technology, films can be made literally anywhere. What is necessary for you is to decide your purpose in joining a film school, whether you want to be immersed in the Hollywood industry lifestyle or focus on the art of film from a remote place.
1. Your Focus and Strengths of the Film School
All film schools have their own unique features and they are good. But you should think upon whether they are good for you. For example, a film school may be very strong in teaching direction skills, but may be very weak in screenplay writing, and your purpose behind joining the school may be to learn screenplay, or you may want an all-rounder curriculum in production, direction, editing and writing. So, you should consider which aspect you want to focus upon and whether the school you want to join is strong in that aspect.
2. Faculty
You can also inquire whether the faculty in the school at present are still connected or working in the industry. Hands-on work is important, and therefore, you must find out how much time is given to classroom training and how much time is devoted in the production studio and with a camera.
3. Outside Classes
You might also be willing to take classes outside the school or get another major in some other topic. In that case, you should consider the quality and quantity of the other programs of the school.
4. Good Career Programs or Internships
You can also inquire about whether the school has a good career program or internships so as to provide you a valuable work experience and a chance to establish some good contacts.
5. Did Any Celeb Go There?
This is actually not a basic criterion of choosing a film school that some famous celeb was in the same school. But there are certainly some advantages of a famous personality being associated to the school. E.g. the very famous past students tend to support their past school and so, the school is better equipped with latest materials, has a powerful reputation and strong Hollywood allies, which you can be benefited from. But you should also remember other consequences of this, like big tuition fees.
New York Film Academy was started in 1992 by eminent producer Jerry Sherlock, the producer of famous classics like The Hunt for the Red October. He was supported greatly by his friends who wanted to send their children to a good film school, but found it too costly. Sherlock designed an affordable school which he founded on the principle of learning by doing. The curriculum of New York Film Academy is truly unique and blends the traditional filmmaking methods with a new approach that is designed with a concept of taking students actually out and letting them shoot films as a part of their coursework. Images in this article are their courtesy.
