<p>Hey, bears and dogs, I promised I would get back to you on Colorado Film School once I found out some info. So here I am.</p>
<p>Even though the school has pretty much an open admissions policy, it is not a for-profit school. It's a part of Community College of Aurora (Denver), but in partnership with Regis University. This allows you to get a BFA in film there. Most of the students entering opt for the BFA track, but there are also shorter programs like a one year Advanced Immersion program and a variety of other Certificates.</p>
<p>BFA majors are: Writing/Directing, Writing/Producing, Cinematography/Videography, Postproduction, and Acting for the Screen.</p>
<p>Tuition is quite low (CCA is tax-funded). It's a unique situation between the state school (CCA) and a private university (Regis). The four-year totals for tuition are: Colorado resident: $25,000, Out-of-state student: $55,000, and for a Western University Exchange student (from most of the Western states), $33,000. Not per year... that's for all four years!</p>
<p>Their facilities and equipment seem to be good, and of course they tout that "The Colorado Film School has been identified by International Cinematographers Guild (ICG) Magazine as one of the 'superlative' film programs in the nation. Hollywood Reporter recently named CFS as one the top 25 film schools in the world."</p>
<p>I think it would be a good option, especially for an in-state student.</p>
<p>One of the unique things that I like is the way student films are budgeted. All film school equipment has real world rental pricing associated with it. Each production level is given an equipment budget. (Production III & Advanced Production: $10,000+). The student creates a project, and uploads an associated script. The professor evaluates the script/doc project according to 20 standardized criteria and ascribes a score in each category and additional comments. A score of 80% and up gives the student a green light and ability to reserve equipment. But if their script score is 83%, then they only get 83% of the budget. They can rewrite, incorporating critiques, raise their score and then raise their budget level.</p>
<p>The process mirrors the real world projects are funded by script quality. To take out the equipment, they need to upload location releases, talent contracts, fill-in crew lists, upload shot lists, etc. Students who plan ahead can reserve equipment as soon as they get script approval. The school provides equipment budgets and equipment rentals, and location insurance certificates. The student is responsible for the rest. Student out-of pocket expense ranges anywhere from $50 to $15,000. A high quality 20 minute film with high production value will generally cost the student around $1500.</p>
<p>This all comes from the Chairperson of the BFA program, so it sounds like an advertisement for the school, but if I lived in Colorado, I'd give it a look, especially if you know you are NOT bound for Dodge or SCA or any of the other top programs OR if you don't want to spend the money for such programs.</p>