No Film School

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How to Become a Filmmaker by Not Going to Film School
by Ela Thier Every once in a while someone asks me if they should go to film school and my answer is almost always a big, emphatic NO. So I thought I should explain: The only good reason to go to film school is if someone's gonna pay for it anyway: if Columbia's film school offers you a full scholarship, run don't walk. If your parents would kill themselves if you didn't go to college and all you want to do is make movies, let them pay for your BFA. Bad reasons to go to film school include: 1) Getting a degree: No one in the business gives one iota (keeping my language clean here…) if you went to film school and what kind of a degree you have. The only reason to get a film degree is if you intend to become an academic and teach film criticism and so forth. 2) Learning how to make films: there are superior and less expensive ways to do that. Read on… 3) Having structure: when people say that they need structure what they really mean is that they need community. If you work with a group of people, you'll get lots done. If you're working solo, you'll procrastinate till the ends of the earth, not because you're lazy, but because the human brain doesn't work well in isolation. We need other brains around us to connect with. It's not structure you're looking for, it's people. You don't need to sell your limbs to a film school to build community, and attending film school doesn't guarantee that you'll have that any way. As far as deadlines go: festival deadlines are more exciting and effective than the deadline you meet to get a good grade. 4) Networking: that's the best reason to go, but there are other ways to accomplish that without selling the shirt off your back. So, what should you be doing instead of going to film school? The rest of this article is an answer to that question. But let me begin with a few disclaimers: 1) I did go to film school. I graduated 15 years ago, but my learning and career began only recently when I stuffed the film degree in a closet (where it belongs) and became proactive about building my skills and community. 2) Filmmaking is an expensive hobby whether you go to film school or not. There are many expenses along the way, which I'll discuss, but you can certainly spend a lot less than film schools will charge you, and got a much bigger bang for your buck.

3) I'm discussing the film school alternatives from the perspective of a writer-director. If you're interested in other aspects of the craft, you will need to translate what I write here to your own area of interest. Now let's go down the list of reasons people go to film school and demonstrate how those goals can be met more effectively (assuming that we eliminated the degree thing as a valid goal). CHOOSING YOUR TEACHER: Film schools don't hire their staff on the basis of the quality of an instructor. They need to write impressive things in all those shiny brochures that they print out, so their instructors are hired on the basis of how good they look on paper. One of my friends, an exceptionally talented actor with years of experience, was not hired to teach at a fancyshmancy film school because he didn't have a degree. But another friend, who studied acting for only three years, was hired to teach there because he has a degree. I myself repeatedly get writers in my own workshops who tell me that they learned more about screenwriting in one weekend with me than they did in four years of film schools. Guess what: the film schools they attended all turned me down when I applied to teach there. Go figure. You need to pick the right teacher not the right school. Once you're in the framework of a school program, the quality of your teacher is entirely a crap shoot. I had two good teachers in four years of film school (which is probably pretty lucky, some had none). Who are the good teachers out there? Whatever your area of interest is, ask people who work in that arena about teachers that they recommend. Many talented teachers don't bother with film schools, they teach privately. Check out specific teachers that your friends recommend, rather than programs. A good litmus test for choosing a teacher is whether you feel inspired and good about yourself in their presence. A teacher that shames you is no good to you. You will thrive and grow in classes where you feel great about yourself. We live in a culture that presents the arts like it's a competitive sport. Most film schools are preoccupied with discovering who are the "real" artists out there, and which people are a waste of time. This is a debilitating attitude for everyone, and it stunts creativity. Finding a teacher is like finding a partner: stay away from the abusive ones who injure your self-esteem. Spend your time around those who are kind to you, and have high expectations of you. Once you find a teacher you love, follow them religiously and to the letter. Don't begin to bend their approach, don’t do the pick-and-choose thing, until you truly mastered what they have to teach. Once you've mastered their tools thoroughly, you will naturally begin

to adapt their methods to your own way of thinking. But at first: imitate them. Become your teacher. Here are the best teachers that I encountered: DIRECTING ACTORS: By a long shot: Adrienne Weiss. Her info is on her website at www.DirectingActors.com She teaches in NY and LA. Her weekend seminar is a good start, but you will want to also join a scene study class at least a few times for a chance to exercise the tools that you learn. Her workshops are not free, but if you compare her fees to film school, it's a joke. DIRECTING THE CAMERA: Spend $400 and buy the DVD set of Hollywood Camera Works. Website is: http://www.hollywoodcamerawork.us This DVD set includes nine hours of demonstrations of every camera technique under the sun. It's clear, concise, and powerful. You will need a friend to get through this course: watch the tapes from beginning to end for an understanding of the bigger picture. Then watch the tapes again, and use a camcorder and dolls (or actual actors) to practice each technique. I have a collection of 8" dolls and a cheap consumer camcorder which I use to practice the technique they discuss. SCREENWRITING: In my experience, writing is a much more difficult task than directing or any other aspect of production. It's the only aspect of a filmmaking where the art is entirely original (rather than interpretative), and it's mostly done in isolation. It is also the most crucial part of any production. You can have production value up the wazoo and the greatest actors of all time, but if you don't have a great script, you will not have a good film, period, end of sentence. A great script is what will help you attract people to work with you, such as actors, crew, etc. It will also be the reason you'll have a great film. There is not getting around having to have a great script. You can't fix a bad script in post. It takes a several years and very hard work to become a terrific screenwriter. You could partner up with a writer, or you can take it on to learn to write. Know that no matter how good you are, there is a LOT to learn. Write and learn, constantly. Begin by writing five short scripts before starting a feature. Once you're writing features, you will need to write 5-10 of them before you'll be writing scripts that can begin to compete with what's out there. Learning how to write for TV is

certainly practical if you want to be a working writer. But do what Stephen King does: never write for money. You will be most successful if you write what you truly care about. As far as learning the craft goes, there are many resources, books, classes, etc. And if you've engaged in any of them, you know that most of them are not very useful. Here is a streamlined list of the writing resources that I believe are invaluable: Books:  The Screenwriters' Bible, by David Trottier. The book earns its title.  William Martell is my favorite screenwriting teacher in the country. See his website at www.ScriptSecrets.net Spend roughly three months reading his daily tips – every day. Order his entire blue-book series and his book Secrets to Action Screenwriting. Christopher Vogler's book The Writer's Journey is a must read. Don't write any more scripts until after you read his book. It's a quick, fun, easy read.



Classes: There is a plethora of writing programs out there; they are all a crap shoot. Remember that you are looking for a good teacher, not a good program. A few that I think work are:  The Writer's Bootcamp have a strong enough curriculum that it's instructor-proof. The price is outrageous but it's the best class I'd taken. Take the 6-week class. the two-year program is too expensive; you're better off spending that kind of money making films, not learning about them. I should mention that their approach to writing is quite different from mine. They have you plan out every beat of the script before you write it, whereas I have you design the structural scaffolding of the story and then discover the characters and story organically as you write. But like I said: if you decide to study a certain approach, follow it to the letter before becoming creative with it. That's what I did when I attended the writers' bootcamp. William Martell's weekend seminar: see www.scriptsecrets.net I haven't been able to get him to come out east yet… This guy is a major font of knowledge and experience, which he communicates clearly and in a very unassuming way. Lots of information. No pontification. Nice combo. If you want to learn how to write for TV take Ellen Sandler's pilot writing seminar. www.SandlerInk.com Needless to say: I think my workshop is the bomb. I studied in many different places, and then organized what I think are the most effective tools into one single course. My weekend workshop and weekly classes are designed as "the course I wish I had gotten to take".







MAKING FILMS: One of the things you get to do in film school is make films. That's important. However, you are paying astronomical amounts of money and going into debt, while using outdated equipment and student crews. You can spend a LOT less, rent out good equipment, and pay a professional crew that will make you look good. How do you approach this, and how much do you spend? First off, know that your first film (if not the first few) may not even be watchable. You are learning. If you are new to making films, spending thousands of dollars is foolish. Be humble, know that you have much to learn, and start by making short video projects for free, or by spending a few hundred bucks on each. Begin by grabbing your consumer camcorder, a bunch of friends (and/or actor-friends) and play in the park. Eventually: have a script with you. Create some match-stick storyboards. Spend a day filming. Have fun. You may want to start with a silent film in order to practice telling stories through visuals, and to avoid thinking about sound which is a whole area of production that is nice not to have to think about at first. Whether you're Mac or PC, get a simple editing software for basic editing and practice editing your footage. At every step of the way: get friends to see what you do so you're not working in isolation. Ask people to only tell you what they liked. Choose only one or two people who you trust to give you real feedback. Get in the habit of gravitating towards people who applaud you. Keep your work away from critical people. Feedback should come only from the one or two people you trust who are making films as well. Because creative blocks are contagious, you need to protect yourself from people who aren't pursuing their own dreams in life. They get pissy with people who are doing what they love. Get feedback from someone who is taking chances like you are and dong their best; their feedback will be both generous and constructive. When you're ready, it'll be time to tell a story with a mini-DV camera. If you've done your networking (see below), you know someone who has a mini-DV camera and will want to DP your shoot. Again: good script, match-stick storyboards, actor-friends, etc. If you have a script you're really excited about and have done your homework, you can up your budget to $1,000 or $1,500. After a few of these shorts, and after honing your writing skills and creating a gorgeous short script, you'll be ready to film your professional calling card. Don't do this prematurely, but don't wait till "some day". Decide right now when you'll be filming your professional calling card and begin working towards that.

You will film it on HD video, you will hire a skeleton (minimal number) of professionals who love the script, who are friends with you, and who are building their own reels. You will spend roughly $10-$20K creating the short film that will get you noticed at film festivals. Get as close to $10K as possible (rather than 20) because you may need to film a second one. In a future article, I will write about the nuts-and-bolts of making a professional short film for $10K'ish. It's not pocket change, but it's a tiny fraction of film school, and you'll have a professional film rather than a student film. All I will say for now is that your approach to crewing your film, is to see it as a search for mentors: as a new director, you want to surround yourself on set with people who will respectfully teach you as they work with you. Stay humble and open to learning all the time. Proceed with self-confidence, delight and trust in your own, personal vision. Others will have a lot to offer you, but the buck needs to stop with you: you understand your vision of the film better than anyone else. NETWORKING & EXPERIENCE: The best reason to go to film school is for networking and community, but there are other, possibly more effective ways, to do that. 99% of your gigs will come from friends. This is why to be a filmmaker, you need to make friends with other people who want to make movies. Make it your goal to make friends, and you will thrive. This will be your greatest asset. The two main ways to do this is 1) attend workshops, events, and get involved with filmmaking organizations 2) work for free. You will need to do both. Let's tackle the two: 1) Getting involved Become a member of every filmmaking organization under the sun. I've used or have been a member of: www.Mandy.com www.Shootingpeople.org www.NYWIFT.org (men and women welcome.) www.Cinewomen.org (men and women welcome) www.dctvny.org (good for classes in lighting, editing, camera, sound, video production. Excellent networking.) (Last three are NY-based.) Weekly classes are best because you get to know people over time. You may want to join or start a writing group (use craigslist to organize one), or another type of group (directing group, producing group, etc.) Come up with any ploy you can devise as an excuse to be around other people who want to make movies.

When it comes to relationships quantity and quality are both important: deepen existing relationships, and continue to widen your circle. If you're a shy one, like myself, don't worry about spreading your business card around to twenty different people at a given event. Just focus on one person that you think you can hit it off with, and get to know that person. Oh yes: have a business card. Make it your goal to go to an event (panel, screening, workshop, etc.) at least once a week. And never ever be hard on yourself for fruitless outings. There will be a bunch of them. Luckily, you're not in film school, so you're not wasting money, just an evening. I'll be writing an article soon on how to network effectively. 2) Working for free There is no avoiding working for free, for a while – perhaps quite a while. Use www.mandy.com or www.media-match.com to find internships and/or PA work (production assistance). Those unpaid gigs is where you can get involved, gain some experience, and make friends. Know that even unpaid gigs are not easy to find. Most gigs are found through friends. In working for free, be prepared to: -Do menial, boring work -Never speak to the "higher ups" unless spoken to (they're not mean, they're just incredibly busy – and you're there to help them, not to create more work for them.) -Work incredibly hard and receive no money or even a word of appreciation. You may stand in the cold for 12 hours, directing traffic away from a film shoot. There is much much grunge work to be done in film production. Be prepared to do any of it that you are asked to do. Never ever offer resistance, or you'll never be asked back. And always do your best. If you always do your best work, no matter how menial, you will be asked back again and again, and will eventually transition to getting paid for your work. The most important aspect of free work is the opportunity to build relationships. The most fruitful relationships down the road are with peers who you are working along side with, or people who have done just a tiny bit more than you have. It is also fruitful to build relationships with people who you mentor. Teach what you know every chance you get, because you won't really know it until you teach it. It's good to have friendships on all three plains: students, peers and mentors. What doesn't really work are efforts to connect with people who are way ahead of you in terms of their career. They don't have time, and they can't really help you even if they want to. The people who will get you work are the people who will be growing with you.

Lastly: never ever burn a bridge. Don't lash out at anyone, don't treat anyone with disrespect, always express appreciations of people and stay courteous and professional at all times, whether you're speaking to an accomplished producer or a new intern. If you're a pleasure to have around, you'll be asked to hang around. This article is by no means even remotely an exhaustive list of what you can do instead of film school. But the point I'm trying to get across is that you don't need a degree to be a filmmaker. You need to find a good teacher, you need to make friends, and you need to gain experience by working for free and by making inexpensive short films until you are ready to invest $10-20K and direct your professional calling card. This calling card will be the necessary stepping stone to raising the funds you will need to direct your first feature. Additional resources are listed on my website at: http://ThierProductions.com/Resources.html
This article is copyrighted © by Thier Productions and may not be reproduced or distributed, in whole or in part, in print or electronically, without written consent of the author.

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