Film school
 

I've been thinking of getting into screenwriting for a long time, so yesterday I went to check out the New York Film Academy in New York City at their open house. Half the people I've asked have said "if that's what you want to do, go ahead and try it" and the other half have said it's a scam.

Well, if it's a scam, they sold me. I really really want to go, but they even warned the parents and students at the open house that there is no job placement after it's over. It's all based on skill and you producing and selling your material, hoping someone finds it interesting.

The thing is, I think I can do it. Has anyone had any experience with these places one way or the other or have any advice?

Truth is that if you have talent you can sell a script without any college degree on it...

However, Expecialized education helps a lot...

So, i think you should put yourself to the test before investing time and money on it, just to confirm it for yourself...

Write down a few Plotlines of movies you would like to write or make... maybe a draft or two... see what people think (heck, this forum is good for that) and if you're feeling confident, just jump in it with all you got

I don't know too much about the film industry, or how much education is required, but if this is the business you want to get into, then I think you should definitly consider going there.

I really wanna be a writer, and after having done sat through an interview with three successful writers (each worked on different mediums) one of them told me something that really got to me - they said:

"It's not the name of the school that you went to. It's the quality and care that you put into your writing."

I guess the important part is whether your school would help you in your writing, rather than being something to put on your resume.

One of my reasons for going is to actually be able to have time to write something. I'd actually be forced to do something I enjoy, rather than coming home everyday exhausted from work and going right to sleep. I do want more education on the subject, but my main reason isn't really my resume.

I've taken two screenwriting classes as part of my English major (the first was by accident, the second because the first was an easy A for me), and both my teachers, 'screenwriters' themselves, always stressed that after writing ability, networking was the biggest part of the process.

Let's face it, if you're a decent writer, screenwriting isn't a mystical art to get the grasp of. Flip through any of the How-To books on screenwriting you'll find at Barnes and Noble and the entire format is given to you. Heck, if you can find a few scripts you can pretty much reverse engineer the process. I mean, you do a little searching and you'll easily find free programs that format for you.

All that being said, a great script is barely worth the paper you print it on if you can't get anybody to read it. Assuming you don't have any incriminating photos of an agency president doing obscene acts with a dead child and transexual horse, most agents in the business will be leery of taking on an unknown talent, and being the guy who bankrupts himself sending thousands of copies to every producer over and over usually isn't appealing.

Film school would (A) give you the dedicated time and environment you want nand (B: a group of people who not only share your interests, but will actually listen to you and be able to help later on. Even if you don't impress Michael Bay or Apatow, or whatever big name stops by (if big names do stop by), you'll be in a prime position to create your own movie with people from the school, and then have a viable example to offer future producers.

And that's my two cents.

^ Listen to that guy; he's right. Also, he plugged Celtx, so he's cool.

I started to major in Film Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, attending the Pittsburgh Film Institute for the practical production classes. And really, I found it completely useless and overly expensive. I was pretty disappointed by what I found there. I haven't been back to school since those three semesters, but the NY Film Academy was one of the alternatives I've considered.

All the same, I know a guy who went and did it straight after high school, and when he finished he moved out to Hollywood. He works at a movie theater now. Take that as you will. All the same, he was happy with it. I guess for a year's course you make several small films and one large project at the end of the year that you have like a week (or something) to complete from start to finish. (This is all second-hand, four-year-old information, mind.)

They've started a film program in my area (why they couldn't have done it four years ago so I wouldn't have had to go out of state I don't know) but I'm not sure I want to bother with it. You can only take so many History of Film classes...

I think as long as you can afford it, you should go for it. You don't wanna live with the "what if" hanging over your head. And what's the worst that could happen? You lose one year. There are far worse ways to spend that time than working on something you're passionate about.

I would do a little research around the teachers that would give you class if you attended to this course...

because really, if youre going to get any contacts or support, it has to be from them.. so it would be nice to find out if there is a true possibility of feedback and support in case you actually stand out in your course

I echo the comments about networking being important. It's the same as the games industry in that respect (minus the needed programming knowledge you get from schools), which I've been researching for a loooong time.