Need Serious Help

[ScottADD]

Hello everyone, I'm new to this message board but I am seriously in the need for help & any kind of suggestions...so hear me out (sorry, for the long talk). Okay, I want to become film director/producer but heres the thing. I live in Tampa, Florida & I've already was accepted to two film schools (Full Sail & Ringling) but I went to see & check these schools out & both are just bad film programs. To start, Full Sail doesn't believe in the film program at all. So much negative talk from the whole faculity from teachers to the principal when I went there to visit. I mean there the best when it comes to equipment but there program was just such a...I can't even describe it to yea. As for Ringling, well...that school calls there film program a "wing it" program for the price of $40,000 & to make things worse they have hardly anything together. Simply put there a massive mess. So, now I'm in situation where I have really nowhere else to go when it comes to schools because one, a University is really just out of the question because I don't want to take those two years of bull crap classes before ever get to film classes. two, I never took my SAT's so, that doesn't help much either especially when you've been out of High School for a little over a year now. I mean, I can't go to L.A. or N.Y. because no one in my family can't simply afford it (to damn expensive out there). I'm not saying I'm poor by any means but where not rich enough for me to go out there for school (which is expensive enough) & to live (which is almost impossible when it comes to living expenses). I mean not even loans or grants cover enough. So, I'm now in a situation where school is a big question mark & getting a job in a near by production company is pretty much out. Do to the fact I talked to the Director/CEO wanting a individual with a bit more knowledge in special effects & such. At that time I was planning on heading to school but as I said that has changed. I must say the money he was telling me I could make was some what interesting for example: just a part time editor earns up to $600 to $2,000 a day. Thats just part time! full time was even more impressive. The man really wanted to hire me because I am award winning filmmaker & I do solid work as he said but I don't have a few qualifications that he needed mainly in the special effects department (green screen) & not having enough knowledge in all aspects of filmmaking which I somewhat questioned on that. But back to the subject, I don't know where to go from here...I have a pretty good amount film equipment (2 film cameras, several editing softwares from Avid to Adobe, a few amount props, a computer entertainment system that can do about anything) but I don't have a crew, actors, & the money to do a independent film. What can I do? I need serious help. I wish I had connections to some well-known Hollywood moguls but I don't. My grandfather who worked for the FBI knew a few well know actors back in the day such as Rock Hudson & a few others but those folks are well...dead!

Help! please!

 

[Tim Kolb]

Well...the reality of the situation was pretty well outlined by you...

1. You haven't taken your SAT's (which you could do if you decide to...)

2. You don't really know if you can finance an education but have you explored it much?...it can be more difficult than it was 15 years ago, but there are options out there.

3. You want a job in this business, but you don't want to go to school (either one of these schools would give you a start...or you could keep looking...I'm sure there are state colleges that have programs. All these programs are quite often what you make of them.)

4. You have been told that you have no extensive experience and yet you are annoyed that you can't access the income that those with experience can earn.

5. You choose to criticize film programs and debate the assessment of a professional who is trying to help you when he tells you you don't know enough...he was giving you a hint, and not so subtly.


Bottom line: School allows you to get experience in an environment where the stakes aren't career-destroyingly high. Find a school and attend.

I've been at this for 20 years and I learn more every year than I did the year before...I'm 40. Sorry, but no matter how good you are, 20 years of experience are not replaceable. And yes, I bill fairly stiff fees per day for editing, but most freelance editors don't work 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year.

Many of the top professionals in the industry never even work with equipment they own. The fact that you have some counts for very little.

You may be very talented...well beyond your years possibly... But anyone who has had some schooling and some experience and possibly far less talent is more marketable. All the talent in the world is no good if you walk on the set and don't know your way to the craft services trailer much less what a DP or 1st AC does and how the work really gets done.


If you want to shoot your film cameras and attempt to make a film by reinventing wheels and get discovered at a film festival someplace, that's fine and there are those who have started that way... But then it's time to get a day job and start saving money for film stock and get to work.

Succeeding in this business is a long journey, no matter how you start...so make up your mind as to what you have the will to do...and go.

Unfortunately, that's how I see the situation...I'm not trying to be mean, just realistic.


You can buy gear for cash...you have to buy experience on time...an excellent indication of the relative importance and value of each.

 

[JimT]

Need Help

Need Help

I think you should seriously reconsider your decision about college. If you don't want to go the four-year route, then look into community colleges. Some of them offer excellent 2 year AS and AA degree in film. A good place to start is the Schools page on this web site. I took a quick look and the college in Palm Beach looked interesting (and SATs aren’t required). From the tone of your letter, I would highly recommend some college general education classes--things like English, History, Art--the more you broaden your knowledge base, the better director/filmmaker you will be. And if you are lucky enough to get to Hollywood and the pro-level, I can assure you that the great majority of the people you work with will have college degrees if not college courses. I ran a production company in Hollywood for many years and hired many young people---a lot of them with very little and some with no experience, but everyone had a college degree, that was my one requirement. So, I hope you give college some more thought. It could be an important step for you. BTW, in a college program you will meet other people anxious to get into the business and those people will be excellent job contacts in the future. Best of luck. JimT

 

[ScottADD]

Well, I just got a few shots in the face from Jim & Tim. I was seeking for suggestions & what I get is mainly harsh criticism, minor advice, & I believe (I maybe mistaking) a insult in one of the posts. I must say, it seems to me that 50% say go to school & 50% say you don't need school. I believe it was Tim who said "All these programs are quite often what you make of them." Well, I will have to disagree on that statement because these programs are what they are. It's not what I make them. Both programs just blow! It's pretty sad when you know more then some of the teachers. I mean, both schools leave you with the question of "who is teaching who?." I'm sorry, but I'm not going through students teaching teacher(s) which I did in my senior year in high school. I have not recieved anything new on this matter other then stuff I pretty much already knew. I guess, I'll thank you anyways for ur thoughts & comments on my crappy situation. I feel like a guy with a boat without a paddle. It's true on what they say "It's not what you know, it's who you know." it's a sad thing when that how things work in this world. That's life!

 

[Tim Kolb]

I'm not sure what you learned in high school...but apparently you think quite a lot.

I'm sorry if you find what I said harsh, but since when does the most talented kid in wood shop become a lead carpenter right after graduation? The best student in cooking/home economics will have a hard time getting a job as a high end chef right away as well...

Why you would think that you should move into a professional position in this field because you've done some notable work in your teens simply confuses me.

Of the groups you identified, I would be a card-carrying member of the 50% that says go to school. As Jim mentions, the tone of your post indicates that you might benefit from some time in school spent finding out what you don't know.

I'm not sure how you made your assessment of what these instructors know or don't know, but I'd bet I'm not the only one who has some doubts as to whether you're a qualified judge quite honestly.

When I was 20 I knew everything too... After 20 additional years, I know so much more about how much I don't know. I've traveled and I work with several companies in our industry on product development, I have awards ...and I have a LOT more to learn...and that's what drives me.

You can call that a shot in the face...I'd just call it some really aromatic coffee...wake up and inhale through the nose my friend.

 

[element80]

You've passed judgment on a program you haven't gone through, and on teachers you haven't studied under. If you know so much more than the film professors at the schools you might be attending, then why is it that you've been told you need more education. Even if that is the case, if you talk to David Mullen, you'll learn that he already knew most of what he "learned" in film school, too. He even helped his prof right a book. Film school is still a good thing, because of the people you meet, the equipment you have access to, and the experiences that arise. You can't expect to get good jobs without paying your dues, be it film school, working for free, or things like that. As for programs not being what you make of them, that's simply not true. Just about anyone can fulfill the requirements for a class, but the people that stand out are the ones who do something creative, that just happens to meet the requirements. Go to school and treat your projects as actual productions, rather than just homework to get a grade. If you make mistakes, learn how to correct and avoid them in the future. That's how you learn. Better to get the mistakes out in film school, than on a big budget production. The consequences are far less sever.

P.S. Did you check FSU? IF your work and equipment are as good as you say (or at least think) it is, they might let you slide on the SAT's (or you could always take them...it's on Saturday morning out of your life, and it'll give you far more options). They've got a pretty good program from what everyone says, and since you live in FL, it'll probably be fairly cheap.

 

[ScottADD]

Wow! okay! maybe I am coming off wrong here. First off, I've never said that I know everything about filmmaking nor did I say I was the most talented but I've been told though by a good amount of people that I'm talented but what does that count for? nothing! I know I don't know everything & yes, maybe I don't honestly have the right to judge others. I also never said that I should move into a professional position. I'm having a feeling I'm coming off on you Tim as a egotistical know-it-all. I do apologize coming off like that if thats what your thinking. To also tell you, I didn't learn everything from high school (even though, I had a great teacher in my film/tv production at high school who I'm very close with) I also worked for two production companies. One, being with Channel 14 as a camera operator for short time which got me a internship with MLB's Tampa Bay Devil Rays Television Production which gave me the position as an assistant producer. That's just a little of what I've learned from (there is more, but lets skip it because a story goes with it & I don't want to bore you.) It isn't like I don't know anything. I do though understand people have to pay there dues & believe me when I say this...but I'm one of those people who's had to pay my dues & I don't mean anything like trouble with the law or overcoming death kind of dues but yes, I have had my dues that alot of folks didn't think I would come through but I did & better then anyone could expect but that a whole other story.

P.S. As far as FSU? I have checked that out but that school isn't enrolling anyone due to the fact of being overcrowed from what I heard on the news. As far as SAT's? Yea, I could go take them but I have bad reputation when it comes to testing. Simply put, I am a horrible test taker. My grads in school could have been really bad if it depended on tests (I grad with a "B+" average only if I would have tried harder I would easily earned "A" average). I am one of those students who schmoozed & charmed my way through school & did it very well. The problem with Universities is I don't want to take those 2 years of bull crap classes (ex. Math, English, etc.) One, I simply don't need them when I've already learned them & I have never been a by the book kind of guy. I want to go straight the subject that I want to learn. It's that simple!

 

[Tim Kolb]

Look...

Here's how I did it:

I decided to go into this field in the last semester of high school...so I started preparing for entrance exams very late. I just got in to a state school under the enrollment deadline.

I ended up doing a LOT of work in my very early college career because I sought out those opportunities and got noticed by the faculty and ended up with an internship/work study working in the Radio/TV/Film engineering department the summer between my freshman and sophomore years...I also took a "450" level class that summer because the instructor who taught it invited me in and "signed off" on it, even though the prerequisites were pretty much every class in the major necessary to get a BA, and I'd had something like two of them...

I was directing multi-camera studio shows the fall semester of my sophomore year (and I was TD'ing my own shows and 4 others because I had helped install a huge new switcher over the summer that just intimidated the hell out of everybody...). I was the only student at that time who's crew was allowed to take multiple ENG cameras and VTRs off the campus property without staff or faculty supervision to do remote shoots (my shows were "crewed" by juniors and seniors, but it was because I was an engineering dept "staff" member that it was allowed...). This was a big deal in the mid-80's.

I ended up getting a full-time internship for the second semester of my sophomore year (I actually was chosen over another student who was older than I was who has gone on to work as an FX editor on many feature films and television shows). That internship turned into a full-time position and I simply never returned to finish school. I started my own production company at 23 in 1990 and was walking down the aisle at the Emmys in Chicago to pick up a statue before I was 30...to add to my shelf of other awards for other stuff...

The point to all this is this:

I thought that I knew more than most people around me at almost every juncture in this story. That feeling lessened as I got older, but as I mentioned in the interview that Studentfilmmakers Magazine did with me back in September...my main regret is that I simply squandered so many chances to learn from others around me. OK, so maybe I WAS the smartest guy in the room...maybe (and more likely) not. The fact is that I rarely thought i could learn much from anyone. I guess i was bright enough to get by...but I would have been better off being wise enough to be open to the fact that I can always learn something.

Maybe those instructors don't know as much about some computer software program as you do, or about something very specific that you've experienced in your very unusual opportunities...but I have no doubt you could still learn from any of them. I'm 40 and I'd go to film school in a second if I could...because I know I'd learn things that would make me better, and I am more fascinated by this industry everyday.

Your experiences are a great start, but from a career point of view, being a television station camera operator, or an intern (assistant producer is a pretty wide open term with decidedly "errand boy' implications to the outside world no matter what your duties were) make a pretty small jumping off point.

You just aren't going to have the opportunities to get your feet wet in the working world like you will in school...period. Why? Because there is money at stake on projects in the real world...often large amounts of it. A talented-yet-unproven young technician is a big risk to take. When you're in school, you work in a variety of situations and You assume roles like Operator/Cinematographer, DP, Director, 1st AC, etc, etc... because you are required to and therefore you learn. You might have to hand around doing odd jobs in the industry for 10 years before you would be even considered for a 1st or 2nd Camera Assistant...and that's assuming you're pretty technically solid. You'll grip for a while, maybe slide up to gaffer after a couple years and the pros in a given market get to know you...etc.

That's assuming a "film crew" type career path is what you want. You could probably leverage your television station work into an ongoing gig, but if you're as sharp as you imply, I think you'll get bored with the repetition pretty quickly.

You can think what you want...but you asked for help and what I'm telling you is what I think will help you. I'm not trying to tell you you'll not make it...I'm trying to tell you to leverage you're early head start wisely and don't skip the college (2 year/4 year, whatever it is) career where you learn the basics. I don't care how great your high school program was...it's not the same as a competent college program. Maybe the schools you looked at weren't good for you, but that doesn't mean that there aren't any...

And don't go by "what you've heard" on that local school...march your butt down there and ask for yourself after you show them what you've done to-date.

Anything you do or don't do based on hearsay is simply avoiding addressing the issue head-on.

You are at a very important point in your life. I think you know what the right decision is...you just hate the thought of a school environment. The thought of working today and getting some money while "working your way up" seems pretty tempting and you may be able to make some sort of a living for the rest of your life going that route.

However, whether or not you decide to work hard and overcome some personal hurdles now may very well be the decision that determines whether you'll retire from a position that still pays hourly someplace...or are doing projects that you enjoy because you want to do them when you're 75.

There simply isn't much else any of us can tell you...this is a decision you have to make in your gut and go with it. Unfortunately, the stakes are kind of high...

Good luck.

 

[ScottADD]

Well Tim, that is a interesting post I must say (any young up & coming filmmaker could take something from that post). So, let me ask you this if you don't mind. What would be the best option to make it as a film director/producer? I know there really no correct way but what is your take on it? I want to be a movie director/producer & hopefully, get into Hollywood which I know is hard to get into but the so-called "impossible oppritunity" is what I am aiming for. If you haven't noticed I am a very determined & confident individual (at times mainly for people that don't know me well...may come over as being over confident or even cocky which I'm not.) who has come over alot of obstacles & pretty much thrive on the impossible (I was on track of becoming professional athlete which today some think I should have stayed with it but well...not going to get into that story) but my biggest problem on most cases is where to start (if you know what I mean) because wants I start then I'm pretty much on my way in most cases. I'm the type of guy who always looks to be the absolute best in pretty much in things that I want. I have achieved everything that I have aimed for so, now my next target is to make it for the big times which some may say may never happen but proving people wrong is what I do. Your thoughts on the matter? (What would be the best option to make it as a film director/producer?)

 

[director15]

Re: Need Serious Help!! (Please Read!)

Re: Need Serious Help!! (Please Read!)

Hello everyone, I'm new to this message board but I am seriously in the need for help & any kind of suggestions...so hear me out (sorry, for the long talk). Okay, I want to become film director/producer but heres the thing. I live in Tampa, Florida & I've already was accepted to two film schools (Full Sail & Ringling) but I went to see & check these schools out & both are just bad film programs. To start, Full Sail doesn't believe in the film program at all. So much negative talk from the whole faculity from teachers to the principal when I went there to visit. I mean there the best when it comes to equipment but there program was just such a...I can't even describe it to yea. As for Ringling, well...that school calls there film program a "wing it" program for the price of $40,000 & to make things worse they have hardly anything together. Simply put there a massive mess. So, now I'm in situation where I have really nowhere else to go when it comes to schools because one, a University is really just out of the question because I don't want to take those two years of bull bad classes before ever get to film classes. two, I never took my SAT's so, that doesn't help much either especially when you've been out of High School for a little over a year now. I mean, I can't go to L.A. or N.Y. because no one in my family can't simply afford it (to damn expensive out there). I'm not saying I'm poor by any means but where not rich enough for me to go out there for school (which is expensive enough) & to live (which is almost impossible when it comes to living expenses). I mean not even loans or grants cover enough. So, I'm now in a situation where school is a big question mark & getting a job in a near by production company is pretty much out. Do to the fact I talked to the Director/CEO wanting a individual with a bit more knowledge in special effects & such. At that time I was planning on heading to school but as I said that has changed. I must say the money he was telling me I could make was some what interesting for example: just a part time editor earns up to $600 to $2,000 a day. Thats just part time! full time was even more impressive. The man really wanted to hire me because I am award winning filmmaker & I do solid work as he said but I don't have a few qualifications that he needed mainly in the special effects department (green screen) & not having enough knowledge in all aspects of filmmaking which I somewhat questioned on that. But back to the subject, I don't know where to go from here...I have a pretty good amount film equipment (2 film cameras, several editing softwares from Avid to Adobe, a few amount props, a computer entertainment system that can do about anything) but I don't have a crew, actors, & the money to do a independent film. What can I do? I need serious help. I wish I had connections to some well-known Hollywood moguls but I don't. My grandfather who worked for the FBI knew a few well know actors back in the day such as Rock Hudson & a few others but those folks are well...dead!

Help! please!

Do it Mariachi style. U don't have money for a crew you be the crew and get your actors that aren't in the scene that you are filming at the time to help you , they'll just be standing around anyway right? Most up and coming actors would volunteer to be in your film if you don't have a lot of money. To cut down the cost of the film write your screenplay around things that you have. You live in a big town like tampa build your movie around that. you live in an apartment building make a movie about your apartment building. live near a nursing home make a movie about that your old man owns a liquor store make a film bout that.

 

[ScottADD]

Hey there director15, thanks for the advise. I did the samething you described in your post in my movie I did in high school. I wrote my own script, directed, produced, put $2,000 dollars down on equipment (some was used from school) & costumes, used thespians (drama students) for actors, got permission to shoot in the areas I needed also got permission from Warner Music Group to use a song (due to the fact the film was being sent into a festival which I won). Believe me, it isn't like I haven't thought of that idea again. It's just not all that easy to get up & coming actors when your not assoicated with any kind of acting groups or in school anymore (at least at this time).

 

[director15]

I tell you what you might try. A friend of mine who is also a filmmaker went to the local public library and asked permission to hold a casting call there and put up flyers about it , a lot of local actors came and they all worked for free. so you might try that. i hope this can be of some help.

 

[ScottADD]

Wow!! good idea director15. That's something I'll have to take into serious consideration. That's really something I never really thought of doing before.

 

[JimT]

I am responding to your characterization of my response as "minor advice." All I will say is that you should be aware of with whom you are communicating with on this web site. One thing we all have in common is that we are all student filmmakers. The fact that I have been making films and videos for many years doesn't matter, I am still a student of the art and I still have so much to learn. Many of the people who read these posts are in positions to hire people like you. So, in a sense, with your posts, you are "interviewing" for a job. With your posts, you are saying, "This is the type of person I am, do you want to hire me?" JimT

 

[director15]

Wow!! good idea director15. That's something I'll have to take into serious consideration. That's really something I never really thought of doing before.

glad I could be of some help. i'll probably be doing that next summer about this time. i just came off of filming a short and am filming anotherone. good luck with you film I can't wait to see it. who knows we both might be academy award winners some day.

 

[director15]

Well...the reality of the situation was pretty well outlined by you...

1. You haven't taken your SAT's (which you could do if you decide to...)

2. You don't really know if you can finance an education but have you explored it much?...it can be more difficult than it was 15 years ago, but there are options out there.

3. You want a job in this business, but you don't want to go to school (either one of these schools would give you a start...or you could keep looking...I'm sure there are state colleges that have programs. All these programs are quite often what you make of them.)

4. You have been told that you have no extensive experience and yet you are annoyed that you can't access the income that those with experience can earn.

5. You choose to criticize film programs and debate the assessment of a professional who is trying to help you when he tells you you don't know enough...he was giving you a hint, and not so subtly.


Bottom line: School allows you to get experience in an environment where the stakes aren't career-destroyingly high. Find a school and attend.

I've been at this for 20 years and I learn more every year than I did the year before...I'm 40. Sorry, but no matter how good you are, 20 years of experience are not replaceable. And yes, I bill fairly stiff fees per day for editing, but most freelance editors don't work 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year.

Many of the top professionals in the industry never even work with equipment they own. The fact that you have some counts for very little.

You may be very talented...well beyond your years possibly... But anyone who has had some schooling and some experience and possibly far less talent is more marketable. All the talent in the world is no good if you walk on the set and don't know your way to the craft services trailer much less what a DP or 1st AC does and how the work really gets done.


If you want to shoot your film cameras and attempt to make a film by reinventing wheels and get discovered at a film festival someplace, that's fine and there are those who have started that way... But then it's time to get a day job and start saving money for film stock and get to work.

Succeeding in this business is a long journey, no matter how you start...so make up your mind as to what you have the will to do...and go.

Unfortunately, that's how I see the situation...I'm not trying to be mean, just realistic.


You can buy gear for cash...you have to buy experience on time...an excellent indication of the relative importance and value of each.

Hey Tim Kolb don't mean to criticize you , but you said SCOTT ADD criticized "profesionals" who knew more than he did. They do not know more than he does. I would think he would know more about his artistic expression of his film than they would. Secondly why do you think most filmmakers criticize film school after they've attended. The great filmmakers all say that film school wasn't really helpful. Not trying to criticize school , but don't you think SCOTT ADD knows more about what he wants for his film than his professor.

 

[Tim Kolb]

you said SCOTT ADD criticized "profesionals" who knew more than he did. They do not know more than he does. I would think he would know more about his artistic expression of his film than they would. Secondly why do you think most filmmakers criticize film school after they've attended. The great filmmakers all say that film school wasn't really helpful. Not trying to criticize school , but don't you think SCOTT ADD knows more about what he wants for his film than his professor.

Scott criticized the production company person who said he needed to know more about post production than he does...he doubted that. He criticized the instructors he'd met briefly (since he obviously wasn't a student) and a school he hasn't attended... I'm not endorsing any of these particular schools mind you, but for someone a year out of high school, that's fairly brazen...and not terribly endearing.

Scott may be incredibly knowledgeable, but he's existed on the planet for 19 or 20 years...some of us around here have been DOING this since he was a fertilized egg.

I just had a chat with one of the younger guys who works in the studio here...he told me that on the first day at his film school, all 200+ freshmen were sitting in a huge pit class and were told to count off by 20...the "20s" were asked to raise their hand...then they were instructed to look around at that amount of hands up because only one out of 20 made it through the major with a degree because it was grueling...and his graduating class had...8. School doesn't create a Spielberg or a Laszlo Kovacs (may he RIP as of Saturday night)...it prepares a person to try to be a professional of that level. I can also say that I learned far more after school than I did while i was there...but what i did learn was vital to me starting a career.

It's a lot of work and you learn to work in groups, which I'm betting Scott may find challenging since the instructors are all idiots, I have no idea how he could tolerate neophyte students...

I hope you guys do well, but it's going to be a tough road because without at least some mentoring, you're going to have to make mistakes that others have made yourself instead of being warned while being taught and simply avoiding them....you feel that learning the "rules" of this business is probably useless because you're going to break them all and teach us all how it's done...

You can point to a lot of filmmakers who have broken a lot of rules, but for the most part, to intentionally break a rule to accomplish a goal, you probably need to know they exist...and why.

As far as understanding Scott's film...I didn't get from his post that anyone was critiquing his film...they were assessing his potential skills.

I posted extensively on what I thought of Scott's situation and after two long posts he asks OK...what would you do?

...first I would listen to what is being said by some people who aren't giving him the advice he wants to hear...those of us with industry credentials volunteer our time here to try to help students out, but wasting my breath (or my typing) isn't something I enjoy.

I'm done...you guys can go ahead and plan out your projects...good luck to you. It will definitely be a journey of discovery...one way...or another.

 

[director15]

thanks for the interest. surely we can all agree that all we want is the best. but we d have to admit a lot of the things they teach you in film school you don't always do. also if these people were really experts they would be making their own films instead of teaching classes. I'm am just trying to give him advice own how he can make his film without having to go through film school. your right though we all need to listen to everyones advice.

 

[JimT]

to director 15

to director 15

You do not know what you are talking about. How dare you suggest that teachers in film schools do not how to succeed in the real world. I am in LA, I have worked in Hollywood for over 20 years, I have a national Emmy and a Peabody and I have taught for ten years as an adjunct professor at a university in LA...on the same staff and at the same university was an Oscar winning writer, an Emmy winning director, producers that have both TV and film credits...and on and on…and this is only at the university that I taught at (not USC, by the way). You simply do not know what the heck you are talking about. We in the industry pride ourselves in taking the time to teach young people about film and television. I don't know what experience you have in higher education but you certainly have none in the universities in the Los Angeles area. As far as the teachers I Florida, I don’t know, but I would bet that many of them are very qualified in their respect fields. I think you should be careful about using unsubstantiated generalizations. JimT

 

[director15]

First of all JIM T , I didn't really say that they didn't succeed I said if they were experts , like a lot of professors want you to think , than they would be making film after film. You take filmmakers like Robert Rodriguez , Quentin Tarantino , and Ron Howard they never went to film school and they make excellent films. Other filmmakers like Oliver Stone have went on to criticize film school afterwards and most filmmakers that are good ones say that the only thing that helped them in film school was the connections. I'm sure JIM T that you are very good at what you do , but you people don't have the right to say that you have to go to film school because the teachers there have more knowledge than young filmmakers like our selves. I'm sure that film school is good in a lot of ways , but its not fair nor is it right to say that Scott , myself, or any other filmmaker does not know as much as you know and couldn't make our films or that we have to go to film school to make our films.