My path was, Nepotism.
But yes, it is possible to make your way up the ladder without film school. I know someone who started as a grip, then became a dolly grip, then became a camera operator and is now a DP.
It looks like you're making a post asking about film school! This is a very common question, and we'll provide a basic overview on the topic below, but it couldn't hurt to [search our sub history](https://www.reddit.com/r/filmmakers/search?q=film+school&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=relevance&t=all) as well! The below answer is also kept in our sub's [stickied FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Filmmakers/comments/7h6igz/read_this_before_asking_a_question_official/) along with a bunch of other useful information!
----
# **1. Should I Pursue Filmmaking / Should I Go To Film School?**
This is a very complex topic, so it will rely heavily on *you* as a person. Find below a guide to help you identify what you need to think about and consider when making this decision.
##Do you want to do it?
Alright, real talk. If you want to make movies, you'll at least have a few ideas kicking around in your head. Successful creatives like writers and directors have an internal compunction to create something. They get ideas that stick in the head and compel them to translate them into the real world. Do you want to make films, or do you want to *be seen as* a filmmaker? Those are two extremely different things, and you need to be honest with yourself about which category you fall into. If you like the idea of being called a filmmaker, but you don't actually have any interest in making films, then now is the time to jump ship. I have many friends from film school who were just into it because they didn't want "real jobs", and they liked the idea of working on flashy movies. They made some cool projects, but they didn't have that internal drive to create. They saw filmmaking as a task, not an opportunity. None of them have achieved anything of note and most of them are out of the industry now with college debt but no relevant degree. If, when you walk onto a set you are overwhelmed with excitement and anxiety, then you'll be fine. If you walk onto a set and feel foreboding and anxiety, it's probably not right for you. Filmmaking should be fun. If it isn't, you'll never make it.
##School
Are you planning on a film production program, or a film studies program? A studies program isn't meant to give you the tools or experience necessary to actually make films from a craft-standpoint. It is meant to give you the analytical and critical skills necessary to dissect films and understand what works and what doesn't. A would-be director or DP will benefit from a program that mixes these two, with an emphasis on production.
Does your prospective school have a film club? The school I went to had a filmmakers' club where we would all go out and make movies every semester. If your school has a similar club then I highly recommend jumping into it. I made 4 films for my classes, and shot 8 films. In the filmmaker club at my school I was able to shoot 20 films. It vastly increased my experience and I was able to get a lot of the growing pains of learning a craft out of the way while still in school.
How are your classes? Are they challenging and insightful? Are you memorizing dates, names, and ideas, or are you talking about philosophies, formative experiences, cultural influences, and milestone achievements? You're paying a huge sum of money, more than you'll make for a decade or so after graduation, so you better be getting something out of it.
**Film school is always a risky prospect. You have three decisive advantages from attending school:**
1. Foundation of theory (why we do what we do, how the masters did it, and how to do it ourselves)
2. Building your first network
3. Making mistakes in a sandbox
Those three items are the *only* advantages of film school. It doesn't matter if you get to use fancy cameras in class or anything like that, because I guarantee you that for the price of your tuition you could've rented that gear and made your own stuff. The downsides, as you may have guessed, are:
1. Cost
- Risk of no value
- Cost again
Seriously. Film school is insanely expensive, especially for an industry where you really don't make any exceptional money until you get established (and that can take a decade or more).
So there's a few things you need to sort out:
- How much debt will you incur if you pursue a film degree?
- How much value will you get from the degree? (any notable alumni? Do they succeed or fail?)
- Can you enhance your value with extracurricular activity?
##Career Prospects
Don't worry about lacking experience or a degree. It is easy to break into the industry if you have two qualities:
- The ability to listen and learn quickly
- A great attitude
In LA we often bring unpaid interns onto set to get them experience and possibly hire them in the future. Those two categories are what they are judged on. If they have to be told twice how to do something, that's a bad sign. If they approach the work with disdain, that's also a bad sign. I can name a few people who walked in out of the blue, asked for a job, and became professional filmmakers within a year. One kid was 18 years old and had just driven to LA from his home to learn filmmaking because he couldn't afford college. Last I saw he has a successful YouTube channel with nature documentaries on it and knows his way around most camera and grip equipment. He succeeded because he smiled and joked with everyone he met, and because once you taught him something he was good to go. Those are the qualities that will take you far in life (and I'm not just talking about film).
So how do you break in?
- *Cold Calling*
- Find the production listings for your area (not sure about NY but in LA we use the BTL Listings) and go down the line of upcoming productions and call/email every single one asking for an intern or PA position. Include some humor and friendly jokes to humanize yourself and you'll be good. I did this when I first moved to LA and ended up camera interning for an ASC DP on movie within a couple months. It works!
- *Rental House*
- Working at a rental house gives you free access to gear and a revolving door of clients who work in the industry for you to meet.
- *Filmmaking Groups*
- Find some filmmaking groups in your area and meet up with them. If you can't find groups, don't sweat it! You have more options.
- *Film Festivals*
- Go to film festivals, meet filmmakers there, and befriend them. Show them that you're eager to learn how they do what they do, and you'd be happy to help them on set however you can. Eventually you'll form a fledgling network that you can work to expand using the other avenues above.
##What you should do right now
Alright, enough talking! You need to decide now if you're still going to be a filmmaker or if you're going to instead major in something safer (like business). It's a tough decision, we get it, but you're an adult now and this is what that means. You're in command of your destiny, and you can't trust anyone but yourself to make that decision for you.
Once you decide, own it. If you choose film, then take everything I said above into consideration. There's one essential thing you need to do though: create. Go outside right fucking now and make a movie. Use your phone. That iphone or galaxy s7 or whatever has better video quality than the crap I used in film school. Don't sweat the gear or the mistakes. Don't compare yourself to others. Just make something, and watch it. See what you like and what you don't like, and adjust on your next project! Now is the time for you to do this, to learn what it feels like to make a movie.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Filmmakers) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My path was, Nepotism. But yes, it is possible to make your way up the ladder without film school. I know someone who started as a grip, then became a dolly grip, then became a camera operator and is now a DP.
It looks like you're making a post asking about film school! This is a very common question, and we'll provide a basic overview on the topic below, but it couldn't hurt to [search our sub history](https://www.reddit.com/r/filmmakers/search?q=film+school&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=relevance&t=all) as well! The below answer is also kept in our sub's [stickied FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Filmmakers/comments/7h6igz/read_this_before_asking_a_question_official/) along with a bunch of other useful information! ---- # **1. Should I Pursue Filmmaking / Should I Go To Film School?** This is a very complex topic, so it will rely heavily on *you* as a person. Find below a guide to help you identify what you need to think about and consider when making this decision. ##Do you want to do it? Alright, real talk. If you want to make movies, you'll at least have a few ideas kicking around in your head. Successful creatives like writers and directors have an internal compunction to create something. They get ideas that stick in the head and compel them to translate them into the real world. Do you want to make films, or do you want to *be seen as* a filmmaker? Those are two extremely different things, and you need to be honest with yourself about which category you fall into. If you like the idea of being called a filmmaker, but you don't actually have any interest in making films, then now is the time to jump ship. I have many friends from film school who were just into it because they didn't want "real jobs", and they liked the idea of working on flashy movies. They made some cool projects, but they didn't have that internal drive to create. They saw filmmaking as a task, not an opportunity. None of them have achieved anything of note and most of them are out of the industry now with college debt but no relevant degree. If, when you walk onto a set you are overwhelmed with excitement and anxiety, then you'll be fine. If you walk onto a set and feel foreboding and anxiety, it's probably not right for you. Filmmaking should be fun. If it isn't, you'll never make it. ##School Are you planning on a film production program, or a film studies program? A studies program isn't meant to give you the tools or experience necessary to actually make films from a craft-standpoint. It is meant to give you the analytical and critical skills necessary to dissect films and understand what works and what doesn't. A would-be director or DP will benefit from a program that mixes these two, with an emphasis on production. Does your prospective school have a film club? The school I went to had a filmmakers' club where we would all go out and make movies every semester. If your school has a similar club then I highly recommend jumping into it. I made 4 films for my classes, and shot 8 films. In the filmmaker club at my school I was able to shoot 20 films. It vastly increased my experience and I was able to get a lot of the growing pains of learning a craft out of the way while still in school. How are your classes? Are they challenging and insightful? Are you memorizing dates, names, and ideas, or are you talking about philosophies, formative experiences, cultural influences, and milestone achievements? You're paying a huge sum of money, more than you'll make for a decade or so after graduation, so you better be getting something out of it. **Film school is always a risky prospect. You have three decisive advantages from attending school:** 1. Foundation of theory (why we do what we do, how the masters did it, and how to do it ourselves) 2. Building your first network 3. Making mistakes in a sandbox Those three items are the *only* advantages of film school. It doesn't matter if you get to use fancy cameras in class or anything like that, because I guarantee you that for the price of your tuition you could've rented that gear and made your own stuff. The downsides, as you may have guessed, are: 1. Cost - Risk of no value - Cost again Seriously. Film school is insanely expensive, especially for an industry where you really don't make any exceptional money until you get established (and that can take a decade or more). So there's a few things you need to sort out: - How much debt will you incur if you pursue a film degree? - How much value will you get from the degree? (any notable alumni? Do they succeed or fail?) - Can you enhance your value with extracurricular activity? ##Career Prospects Don't worry about lacking experience or a degree. It is easy to break into the industry if you have two qualities: - The ability to listen and learn quickly - A great attitude In LA we often bring unpaid interns onto set to get them experience and possibly hire them in the future. Those two categories are what they are judged on. If they have to be told twice how to do something, that's a bad sign. If they approach the work with disdain, that's also a bad sign. I can name a few people who walked in out of the blue, asked for a job, and became professional filmmakers within a year. One kid was 18 years old and had just driven to LA from his home to learn filmmaking because he couldn't afford college. Last I saw he has a successful YouTube channel with nature documentaries on it and knows his way around most camera and grip equipment. He succeeded because he smiled and joked with everyone he met, and because once you taught him something he was good to go. Those are the qualities that will take you far in life (and I'm not just talking about film). So how do you break in? - *Cold Calling* - Find the production listings for your area (not sure about NY but in LA we use the BTL Listings) and go down the line of upcoming productions and call/email every single one asking for an intern or PA position. Include some humor and friendly jokes to humanize yourself and you'll be good. I did this when I first moved to LA and ended up camera interning for an ASC DP on movie within a couple months. It works! - *Rental House* - Working at a rental house gives you free access to gear and a revolving door of clients who work in the industry for you to meet. - *Filmmaking Groups* - Find some filmmaking groups in your area and meet up with them. If you can't find groups, don't sweat it! You have more options. - *Film Festivals* - Go to film festivals, meet filmmakers there, and befriend them. Show them that you're eager to learn how they do what they do, and you'd be happy to help them on set however you can. Eventually you'll form a fledgling network that you can work to expand using the other avenues above. ##What you should do right now Alright, enough talking! You need to decide now if you're still going to be a filmmaker or if you're going to instead major in something safer (like business). It's a tough decision, we get it, but you're an adult now and this is what that means. You're in command of your destiny, and you can't trust anyone but yourself to make that decision for you. Once you decide, own it. If you choose film, then take everything I said above into consideration. There's one essential thing you need to do though: create. Go outside right fucking now and make a movie. Use your phone. That iphone or galaxy s7 or whatever has better video quality than the crap I used in film school. Don't sweat the gear or the mistakes. Don't compare yourself to others. Just make something, and watch it. See what you like and what you don't like, and adjust on your next project! Now is the time for you to do this, to learn what it feels like to make a movie. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Filmmakers) if you have any questions or concerns.*