Some Practical Advice for Film School Candidates

[digmedia]

<p>I have not posted on here in quite a while, but since my son is graduating from college this year, I wanted to pass on what I think we've learned about film school.</p>

<p>First, bjdzyak is giving some excellent advice. What you learn in class and where you go to film school is probably not nearly as important as [ol]
[<em>]getting experience with as many productions as you can, [</em>]making a name for yourself, even as a student, [li]learning what it is you want to do in the industry.[/ol]</p>[/li]
<p>How do you get experience? You find a school which has lots of hands-on experience. My son, for example, has worked on over 50 productions in his 4 years of college. He has worked as director, DP, producer, editor, sound editor, and on and on. He has begun to focus more and more on visual effects, and had the school send him to California to become certified on Shake, the industry's standard for vfx. You also want to immerse yourself in as many competitions as possible. His school, for example, does a 48-hour shootout each year, giving each team a random genre, line of dialog, and a prop to use, and gives them 48 hours to write, produce, score, and do all the post-production work and DVD authoring for a 5-minute film. In addition, all of the music must be original and the paperwork must be in order (location agreements, people releases, etc...), making the production totally "publishable." That gives great "real-world experience" and is done under tremendous pressure. His team also entered external competitions, and they ranked 4th nationally in Apple's Insomnia Shootout (over 500 teams signed up, although fewer than that actually finished in the time frame). He also formed a production company and has done several jobs, including commercials and concert films. Last summer, he was hired to make a documentary film in rural Nicaragua. It was a very small crew (just my son and a friend), but it was interesting that he had to please the client and get the work done on time.</p>

<p>How do you make a name for yourself? Through competitions like the above and through quality productions (where you can own your own film - unlike USC film school) that get accepted at film festivals. His team's capstone film project, a 33-minute short, was a high-budget (for a student film) affair using actual Screen Actors Guild professionals that they flew in to the location and paid, housed, and fed. It was a period piece, which meant (for the exterior shots) bringing in vintage cars, and having the police (Cleveland, btw) close off the streets to traffic during filming. The result? The film has just been accepted into an international film festival, which also landed it a spot in IMDB. The university also paid the expenses for his team to travel to Hollywood for a screening of the film there. He is now involved as Visual Effects Supervisor on a feature-length film, Trailerpark, based on the book by Russell Banks, a well-known author (e.g., The Sweet Hereafter and others). HBO had the film rights to the book, but dropped them, and the student group picked them up. His school contributed financially to the earlier short and to the feature length film, which is involving over 70 students.</p>

<p>And learning what you want to do? bjdzyak suggests finding a school based on which specialty you want to focus on, but I disagree with that aspect of his advice. I don't think you KNOW what you want to do until you do it. I've seen people who became totally enamored with special-effects makeup or production design or casting or scriptwriting only after doing them. The point is to get involved with productions, do lots of jobs, and you might be surprised to find out that your passion lies in a area you might not have even known existed. But when you do get that focus, then GET EXPERIENCE with it. And more experience. And more experience in as "real-world" an environment as you can get.</p>

<p>Sorry that this is so long, but so many of you are focusing on which school to attend, which is most "prestigious," etc, when in fact I don't think it matters, as long as it gives you opportunities, and you take advantage of those opportunities.</p>

<p>Too bad this will go by the wayside as other posts come in, because, IMHO, there <em>is</em> some good advice being offered in this forum, but I'm not sure everyone sees it, or takes advantage of it.</p>

[digmedia]

<p>To get a sense of the excitement of students filming a feature-length film, check out an article from the Athens News about the burning of a house trailer for a scene in their film:

Saturday night, 30 Ohio University students set fire to an old, run-down trailer.</p>

<p>As flames licked at the roof and smoke billowed out the windows of the dilapidated shell, students with cameras and equipment shouted orders to one another while shooting a pivotal and climactic scene for their upcoming feature film “Trailerpark.”</p>

<p>The film, based on a book of short stories by New York author Russell Banks (“Continental Drift,” “The Sweet Hereafter”), is the first full-length production to come out of an OU Media Arts and Studies class and an unprecedented undertaking by an undergraduate film class.</p>

<p>Frederick Lewis, associate professor of media arts and studies, said this is the first year his advanced narrative production class, MDIA 419, has actually attempted a full-length film. The class expects to wrap up shooting by April and to screen the film on campus by the end of spring quarter.</p>

<p>“This project is personally rewarding for me,” Lewis said, adding that he became fascinated with Banks’ ‘Trailerpark’ when he first read it decades ago.</p>

<p>When he learned that HBO had dropped the rights to the book in 2007, Lewis approached Banks and secured the rights for his class project. He then quickly had four students writing adaptations of scenes in the book for a script-writing class, with the intent of making a series of short films. “But we quickly realized that it had to be a feature,” Lewis recalled. “It pretty much demanded to be a feature.”</p>

<p>After that, the project snowballed into a massive undertaking, with his class of 70 students working at a daunting pace to pull off one major film, instead of a series of shorts. Since the beginning of winter quarter, the students have spent countless hours and a number of long, cold weekends planning and shooting scenes for the film.</p>

<p>ANDREW POLAND, A JUNIOR VIDEO production student and director of photography on Saturday’s shoot, talked about the amount of time and energy that goes into such a large project. Poland was one of many students who spent much of Friday and Saturday this weekend outside shooting in the cold. “Basically all my time is spent on this feature,” he said.</p>

<p>In addition to burning down a trailer on Saturday’s shoot, the crew built an entire trailer park set from the ground up at Lake Snowden where much of the film will be shot. Lewis called the set “surreal,” and said that undoubtedly, drivers passing by “are going to think that’s a real trailer park.” Next week, all nine actors on the film and part of the crew are traveling north to shoot a series of scenes in Michigan.</p>

<p>In addition to having the rights to Banks’ story, Lewis said, “This year there was just the right combination of talent.” Because of the students in the class, he said, “this was the year to try it.”</p>

<p>Patrick Muhlberger, one of two directors on the film and a junior video production student, said he’s spent the past six months refining and rewriting the script. He and three other students – Jeff Bowers, Nick Knittle and Jonny Look – began writing scenes for the film late last year. Look, a senior video production student, is the other director on the project.</p>

<p>The crew plans to do a screening for Banks once the film is finished, Muhlberger said. “I think he’s been impressed with how we’re handling the film… Our main goal is for him to see it and like our adaptation of his work,” he added.</p>

<p>Muhlberger said he and the other students saw endless possibilities with Banks’ book. “There’s so much fun stuff in the book that we were really eager to tackle,” he said.</p>

<p>In tackling a feature production, students on the project have also learned what it means to tackle a major budget – the estimated cost is around $45,000. Just last week, Student Activities Commission gave the project a $20,000 grant, on top of $2,500 given by the Honors Tutorial College and a $1,500 performance grant given to the project from the School of Media Arts and Studies. Lewis said that students have been fundraising since the summer and are still seeking more funds. </p>

<p>Given the magnitude and scale of the production, Lewis said his students are seeing what it takes to make a real feature film. “This is even more like the real deal than ever before.”</p>

<p>Muhlberger agreed. “What we’re getting is a really professional experience,” he said. “We’re learning how to deal with a big crew and a lot of other aspects that go into professional film-making.”</p>

<p>Conor Hogan, whom Lewis called the “producing lynchpin” of the entire project, said he’s already learned a number of lessons as coordinating producer for the film. Hogan, a junior, said the project is helping him find out what “producing in the real world is like.</p>

<p>“There’s been a huge difference between doing short films and this,” he said.</p>

<p>Junior Andrew Heaberlin said he’s been working on the logistics of the trailer-fire scene since mid-December. Heaberlin, who was instrumental in planning and pulling off the shoot, said that all the work involved in setting up the scene made it a massive undertaking. “It’s really not an easy or small thing to burn down a trailer,” he said.</p>

<p>Muhlberger said, “I had no idea it would require this much time for just a half-page of script.”</p>

<p>After buying the old trailer, Heaberlin said, the crew had to get approval from the state EPA to actually burn it. Then, with cooperation from the York Township Volunteer Fire Department, the crew set up the trailer at Hocking College’s fire-safety program’s burn site.</p>

<p>Before the shoot, all that was left inside the trailer were remnants of a kitchen, a ceiling fan, a torn-up bathroom, and hay scattered across the floor. When it came time to light the trailer, the two directors and Heaberlin went in armed with road flares and hay. When they came out, the empty shell had already begun to fill with smoke and orange and red flashes were starting to light up the windows.</p>

<p>Heaberlin called the entire experience “fantastic and mind-boggling at the same time.” He said he never thought he’d be working on such a major project during his college career.</p>

<p>As soon as the fire was raging, Poland sprinted back and forth across the set shouting directions to his crew for all needed shots. Poland had four cameras filming the trailer burn, two for the main action shots and two others for close-ups and cutaways.</p>

<p>After the shoot was over, Poland said, “Man, it was just nonsense.</p>

<p>“For every single thing in this shoot, we had to be above just being on top of our game,” Poland said. “Our ‘money shot’ was this wide silhouette shot, and we got it.

</p>

[bimachris]

<p>Great advice! I’m heading off to undergrad film school this fall! Just counting down my final days in HS. :)</p>

[digmedia]

<p>Yikes! I forgot to list the most important suggestion of all: [ul][li]4. Try to build the best film team in the school, or, alternately, get onto the best film team in the school.[/ul][/li]Realize up front that you cannot do this alone. You need to be in a group of 7-10 diverse people to get things accomplished: producer, camera, actors, editor, technical, and music people. And the more talented these people are, the better the films are going to be. And the better the films, the more resources and attention your group is going to be able to get from the school.</p>

[paying3tuitions]

<p>Film is collaborative teamwork. I appreciate Digmedia’s point. The chance to work often on other students’ films is important, not just your “own” project. It’s normal as an undergrad to frequently exchange crew roles to help bring each other’s student projects to fruition. </p>

<p>This gives every student a chance to make mistakes, try tasks they didn’t know existed, meanwhile not get hired or fired while climbing the learning curves. While in school, developing a talented, trustworthy team sounds like excellent advice, too (Dig’s 4th point) </p>

<p>Looking into who owns film rights to projects made as a student is a valuable tip. Thank you, Digmedia. </p>

<p>It is also great to hear the sound of a parent who is fully supportive of the offspring’s decision to enter this field. </p>

<p>Speaking of school, I’ll add that film students can also look forward to academic coursework outside of the film department/major, too. Imagine the greater vision of a cinematographer who’s studied East Asian history; the writer who’s had some experience learning a foreign languages (for dialect awareness); the set designer who’s taken music appreciation or art studios; a class in small business development (relevant to budgeting, production choices) if that’s offered at the university. The artistic breadth and personal confidence that accompanies education is helpful to many.</p>

[nyumom]

<p>Film school should not be about “competition(s)” but about the passion of film as an art form including studying other academic subjects other than film, studying abroad and learning about other cultures, and broadening the student’s focus in terms of taking various internships in the field, etc. Also, it’s not difficult to sign up on IMDB, the internet movie database.</p>

[digmedia]

<p>nyumom -</p>

<p>It depends on what you are looking for. </p>

<p>If you are looking for a job in the industry, you need the experience and the team effort and you need to make a name for yourself. You also may need to discover that your real passion lies in an area other than just being a director. If you are looking at film as a lifelong hobby or to make small art films or to work alone as an artist, my advice does not apply.</p>

<p>I guess that there <em>are</em> people who do not want to be “commercial.” But employment has its benefits as well, and it will be a competition for slots. My son’s group has made promotional films for the university, TV commercials for local merchants, and concert videos for bands. And, as I mentioned above, hired to make the film in Nicaragua. Is this “art?” I guess not, but it paid the rent while he was in school. And I think it makes him much more employable in the future.</p>

<p>BTW, IMDB lists the following as making a film eligible for inclusion as a title:
[ul]
[<em>] has been released to cinemas
[</em>] has been shown on non-local TV
[<em>] has been released on video or prints have been made available to the public
[</em>] is listed in the catalog of an established video retailer (e.g., Amazon.com)
[<em>] has been accepted and shown on film festivals that don’t accept everything regardless of its quality
[</em>] has been made by a (now) famous artist or person of public interest.
[<em>] has become famous for some reason and is widely talked about/referenced in non-local media or the ‘film community’ or is now of general historic interest for some reason
[/ul]
IMDB does not accept for listing a film which:
[ul]
[li] has been digitized and put on some internet page for downloading [/li] [</em>] is being offered to the public on the web via home made video tape/DVD-R copies
[<em>] has been made during/for a film class, workshop or any other educational program
[</em>] has been made for a local institution (such as a university or company) for internal use
[<em>] is of a strictly private nature (home movies)
[</em>] is an amateur production made for local consumption by friends, family members and neighbours, the local school campus etc. (including “local access television”)
[/ul]</p>

[nyumom]

<p>I know all about IMDB having been personally connected to it, thank you. I also have two kids working in the “industry”, so I’m very familiar with what’s going on in terms of employment, etc.</p>

[3boysnjmom]

<p>I agree with digmedia and paying3tuitions. I have a son who graduated from Film school
three years ago. He loved his experience there and worked in many student productions both film and theatre. He was originally interested in film editing or sound and ended up specializing in sound and music. He recently returned from several years in China – where he worked in a different field – but has found it difficult to break into the audio post-production in NYC. He has had many interviews but at the last minute studios/networks/ad agencies/post production companies decided to stop hiring or promote interns from within. He currently has two internship positions in order to beef up his resume with new skills and more current experience. One internship is related to filmmaking in China and he is very excited about this opportunity both here and perhaps in China. On the other hand, these are nonpaying positions.</p>

[digmedia]

<p>nyumom -</p>

<p>Thanks for calling me “digimedia.” I made a mistake when I signed up for CC way back in 2003 and gave myself the name “digmedia.” I was meaning to combine “Digital Media” into one word. In my mind, it was a soft-G, but all these years, it has always probably been mistaken for a hard-G, as in “I dig media.” So for all that time, I wished I had chosen “digimedia” instead.</p>

<p>You were reading my mind!! :)</p>