Every passing year sees the completion and release of more new movies, and every year skilled people are required to make them. To fill this need, many good (and not so good) film schools have sprung up during the last few decades. Many successful artists and technicians are graduates from these schools.
But there are a lot of people with plenty of desire and potential who don't have the financial resources to attend film school. Should these people give up on their dreams and get into some other line of work, or can the enter the business by some other means? Is it even possible that film school might not be the best route, anyway?
It's up to the individual enthusiast to decide whether or not film school is the best way to gain entry into the field, but it's always good to examine all of the available options.
It's with the hope that it will help future movie makers decide whether or not film school is the best route to take that I'm offering the following story about a friend of mine and how he got into the business. This friend travels around quite a bit so I haven't been able to ask him if it would be alright to use his real name, so I'll call him Paul.
Paul was informed that he would be the beneficiary of a small inheritance. This money had to be used to further his education and Paul's mother was assigned to make sure that this stipulation was adhered to. Naturally, she asked Paul what he wanted to do with his life.
He said that he hoped to someday build a future in the movie industry and that he thought going to film school would be the best way to get started. His mother figured that his goal was reasonable, but she had a suggestion for a different route to take.
It seemed to her that if he used the money to make his own short movie, wouldn't that be a good way to learn how it's done?
This seemed to be a good idea to Paul, so he got to work. What he did first was to find a local special effects technician who would be willing to help him out. He located one who also just happens to be somebody I know. Let's call him John.
This is the deal Paul offered to John: John was to contact some of his special effects colleagues and together they would compile a list of effects that they had always wanted to create but had never had the opportunity to do. Paul would write a script that used as many of these effects as possible and a short film would be made from it that they would all work on together. The technicians wouldn't be paid for their work, but Paul would supply all of the necessary materials.
The response from the effects crew was enthusiastically positive and together they put together a very entertaining and well made short film. Everybody had a great time completing the project and Paul learned a lot about how films are put together. He also had a nice portfolio piece that would come in handy at future job interviews.
Paul's story is by no means unique. Although there are a lot of successful people working in the film industry, there are also plenty of self taught filmmakers who are doing very well.
In one of the most famous quotes attributed to him, Stanley Kubrick stated that in his opinion, the best way for a young hopeful to get into the film business is to get the necessary equipment together and make a movie. Robert Rodriguez, John Waters and Quentin Tarantino are just a few directors who have made similar statements.
Video equipment and movie-making software are now relatively affordable and easy to find, making it possible for just about anybody to get started making independent movies. Once they're completed, these films can even find an audience when uploaded to the internet.
There are probably as many ways to find success in the movie business as there are successful filmmakers. Anybody with plans to enter the field would be well advised to check out as many of these paths as they can. I wish you all the best of luck in the future!
About the Author:
If you're interested in a career in the film industry and want to know what the best way is for you to get into the movie business, visit Flashfink's Squidoo page to see if going to film school is your best option.
No comments:
Post a Comment