r/filmschool

I have looked at several with good alumni working in the industry, but can't tell how the actual quality is, or if these students success had nothing to do with the school.

Hi everyone,

I know this might be a bit different from the usual posts here, but I’m 16 and currently trying to navigate what path I want to take for my future career. I’ve found two main fields I’m really passionate about, but I’m feeling pretty indecisive...

1. Filmmaking: I’ve been making films since I was 10, starting with stop-motion and then moved up to 3D animations. The thing is that I’m not necessarily looking to enter the traditional film industry right away, I just like working on my own stuff but creating those visuals is so fun for me!
2. Business: On the other hand, I’ve gotten into reselling on eBay (selling items for myself and my family) and really enjoyed the business side of things. I'm also fluent in English, French, and Chinese, which I feel could be a strong asset in international business or commerce. The idea of starting my own venture or business down the line really excites me too.

Right now, I’m leaning toward pursuing a university degree in business so I have a strong, flexible foundation, while continuing to work on my own animations as a side creative outlet.

For those of you further along in your careers:

• How did you figure out what field to pursue when you had multiple distinct interests?
• If you were in my shoes, would you recommend getting a business degree, going to film school, or blending both?

I’d love to hear your personal experiences, advice, or any paths you think I should consider.

Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone, I just finished my GCSEs and I'm facing a dilemma on whether I should pursue a job in the film industry as I'm going through options on what I should study in college. My dream since I was really little is to become a director while also acting a little, but I'm aware that the odds of making it big in the industry are super low. I've also never done any notable activities in this field so now I'm questioning if my dream is too unrealistic. Any advice from anyone who has any info or personal experience in the industry would be extremely helpful.

I’m a senior in high school and am planning to apply to a few colleges to major in film production pretty soon. I was hoping someone could give me advice on things that could help me get in. My favorite option would be the University of Colorado (I Live in Colorado)
Ex. Things to write about in my essay and personal notes and creative things I can do that would make me seem more desirable.

I have written many things and have been working on screenplays for a while now. I am also currently working on a short film.

As the title suggested, I am currently a high school student studying in senior year and would like to go to film programs in my college. I would like to know what’s the reality in the US film schools and the industry. Is international students common?
Please let me know if you have any advice.

\#NYU #USC #Emerson #Chapman #universities

I'm going to be a first year student at the University of Colorado Denver studying Film & Television. It wasn't my plan originally kinda (back and forth between Drexel, DePaul, and UCD). Drexel's cost after financial aid and the trouble getting co-ops (from what I've heard from current students) was too much so I took it off my list so I was stuck between DePaul and UCD. Ultimately, I chose UCD because it was cheaper and I didn't have to pay any deposits. I do still want to try and transfer to DePaul (my sophomore year, hopefully, if not junior year). However, I have been looking at other schools and one that's peaked my interest is Chapman.

The thing is:

• The film industry is not great right now and I want to secure myself a job as much (and as soon) as possible so I don't know if I should stay at my cheaper school or go to a more prestigious, more expensive school because I don't know if either one will secure me a career and set me up for success post-grad
• Now I know it's not required to be in LA for film anymore, but it seems like it still helps to be. I also know lots of filmmakers have made it studying in other cities but I don't know what the film market is like in Denver or Chicago. I think the livelier the market is, the better networking and getting connections will be.
• My goal is to be an independent filmmaker (primarily directing and screenwriting) but to also go mainstream (who hasn't dreamed about winning an Oscar?) so having post-grad connections is crucial to me.

So I should stay at UCD, transfer to DePaul or Chapman, or is there some other school that's right for me? I want a school with a great film program that'll set me up for success post-grad and is worth the money (which I know, "no film school is worth the money anymore" but film school is something I've wanted to do)

Today is my first day at Annapurna College of Film and Media .

A) Go to a meh film school or not, but live in the city by yourself within walking distance of sets, studios, productions, and other filmmakers and hustle your way into whatever filmmaking role or emphasis you want?

OR

B) Go to a film school with a significantly stronger program for your specific emphasis, but live an hour away from the city, commute at least 30 minutes to school without traffic, live with your parents, and have to drive everywhere (not Uber) whenever you want to get to a set, production, networking event, or industry opportunity?

I have been looking for schools in both Europe and the United States, and I'm lost about which ones I should apply to. I have a 3.5 GPA, founded a broadcast at my school, been on ASB for one year, and received a NATAS Student Emmy for writing. I also participate in both school and club volleyball, which I have been doing for 4 years, collecting a highly coveted spirit award, serving as team captain on junior varsity, and going to Italy because of my skills. I've also been in choir for three years, moving up to the highest choir my senior year.

With all my extracurriculars, a good essay, and a damn good college short film, which schools will I have the best odds of getting into?

My top options are Chapman, USC, NYU, Vancouver Film School, Emerson, SCAD, AFI, DePaul, UCLA, MetFilm (Berlin), NFTS (UK), and La Fémis (France)

Edit: I also have dual citizenship in both America & Italy, which might help my pathways.

Additionally, I would like to go to college and still switch my major to some sort of medical major.

Hi, I'm a 17 year old English-italian student that lives in Italy, I'm finishing up school here in June 2027 and need to start picking a university. I want to study film production in the UK since Italy doesn't really have programs I like, but I don't know where to go!

I've looked at the guardian ranking and gotten a few ideas but I'm not sure if that ranking is really reliable and would love to hear other people's experience. When I go to England in October I'm going to visit "the university of Sunderland" but I haven't seen much about it so I'm quite skeptical, I'm also going to visit the "university of York" and "university of Leeds". I've also seen others like UEA, AUB and the university of Bristol but I can't visit them yet because they aren't close enough to where I'm going!!. I would like my studies to be practical>theoretical and quite hands on so I can get as much experience as possible.i really need connections in the industry as well! I have seen the "big schools" like london MET but im not sure they fit what I want?? I'm also wondering if a CILECT certified school, or a screenskills one are better? I'm not really sure, I really need help, ANY suggestion would really help, thank youuu

Hello I am currently located in a small town in Oregon. The top rated school for film in Oregon is at Southern Oregon University in Ashland. Due to being poor I get both the federal and state grant making my tuition 0. My dream dream since I was in 5th grade has always been to direct horror films.

Me and my friends would always be running around with cameras shooting ghost hunter films with my shitty keyboard phone. But of course once I hit 16 the expectations in my life were to start focusing on getting a "real career" and it just got put on the backburner until i met my fiance. Their family is the polar opposite of mine. My father in law pursued art, culinary school, tattooing, was a teacher at an art school in california for film and now owns his own business. So they've shown me a different life in pursuing your creative dreams that my family always said was a waste of time and money.

My options currently are SoH for film with no tuition and small student loans just for housing or getting a degree in something unrelated and self funding myself. My father in law has a house full of professional film equipment and software he'll allow me to borrow on either path I take so that is a financial plus for me. I've also heard that SoH film has an active film market and hands on training but I'm worried about it since it's not located in california. Any advice and insight would be appreciated.