By Carl Schoenfeld, Program Leader Raindance Postgraduate Film Degree.
What is the point of film school?
There are quite a few filmmakers who suggest that emerging talent should put their money towards making a film and presenting this at festivals instead of investing in a degree.
Ask any festival programmer: they see a lot of films that have been made by filmmakers who’ve not attended film school long before their festival starts. Submission numbers to the Sundance film festival have more than tripled since 1999 when films like The Blair Witch Project shaped the mould and gave rise to that question above. This year, more than 12,000 films competed for less than 200 screening slots, from which about a third may find a buyer, and so a future audience. In the wake of the ‘digital revolution’, the UK currently produces 3 times as many low budget films than it did just 5 years ago. So if you are wondering whether you should invest your money into tuition fees, now costing even more than when film production was limited by the cost of film stock, you can benefit from a clear awareness of what you want to achieve, an understanding of what makes your film stand out, and the knowledge on how to communicate this effectively to your crowd funding or other investors, your cast and crew, and the sales agents who have established relationships that can help getting your film into cinemas and festivals. A good film course can help you with that.
Why not work your way up the pecking order, as many great filmmakers have done?
A traditional alternative is to get a job as a runner, find a department that interests you, and work your way up the ladder as camera assistant, 3rd assistant director, associate producer, etc. If you approach a work placement or traineeship as part of a Degree, your potential employer can see how you sought them out for reasons related directly to your career plan, that you are serious, and that you will make an effort as the experience counts to your studies. More importantly, you get to rapidly build on this industry experience as a carefully selected focus of your studies prepares you for opportunities. Any academic ‘desk research’ during your course should feed your current filmmaking questions to ask when you sit down with the Director of Photography during down time, or if you are stuck in traffic with the director.
How big are you?
Film courses are offered by many traditional universities running large classes, or regional institutions, as well as industry-based new entrants. Some students flourish well in smaller organizations where the curriculum is less structured and staff work along evolving job descriptions; others want large-scale technical resources and very specialized events that are possible only with big student numbers. It helps if you know which environment is best suited for you.
Who is teaching?
Nothing tells you more about the tone and the values of a school than the people who work there. If the school doesn’t have a ‘voice’, how can they help you to find yours? Google the names of course leaders and lecturers. Have they done anything of interest? Are they on IMDb? Are they on LinkedIn? What do their past students say about them? If you send them a query related to your career or project, do they respond?
What are they teaching?
It sounds basic, but be sure to examine the curriculum. Is it well at home in the 20th century, looking at society through films, celebrating a canon of beloved directors, hoping to get students to do more of the same? Or is it engaging with 21st century skills, including understanding and building an audience through research and social networking? Can the school help you to understand the business side of filmmaking and emerging opportunities? You will get nowhere without the money making sense. How flexible is the curriculum in accommodating what you want find out about how and why people make films, and more importantly, to prepare you for work in the industry?
Which filmmakers have been there?
It might tell you less than you think, as good students explore grounds that are beyond their teachers’ comfort zone.
What is the theory/practice ratio?
There are many Film Studies courses that contain little or no opportunity to actually make films, to much student frustration. Elsewhere, students can be required to make film poems, silent films and black & white films by a top down curriculum that may not meet your aspirations or prepare you for any type of industry work you might do once you leave school. Make it clear in your first query how the school can support your personal projects and career goals.
