-
I’m just so mad!!!
-
Just to summarize, you are the most competitive market in the world, which also happens to be a place where the demand has decreased the most in the last few years and likely one where the rent is also in the record $$$.
I know what I would do… even 500 miles north should help, I’ll buy you a beer.
Vince Becquiot
Kaptis Studios
San Francisco – Bay Area -
Lots of people bashing film school on here, but allow me to defend it. You can’t go to Columbia and then walk over to LA with a degree and some cable TV footage and say “work please!”. You will get nada. What has been said before is true in the sense that, the market is flooded with yuppies who have macs and final cut installed. and on top of that, the market is flooded with Film school students. If you choose to go to film school in this society you have to realize that you aren’t paying 60,000 for a degree, you are paying for two things. Training in your field and connections. If all your connections are on the east coast in Columbia than it sounds like you aren’t going to have much luck on the west coast. The Columbia name is great for most any job and will most likely get you jobs. just not in film. sorry. It’s bad that no one there told you, or that you weren’t able to network. Just my opinion.
-
everyone has their hard time! just hang in there ! the good time will come. There is always other states full of oppurtunities
-
I don’t think anyone enters school thinking they’ll leave with connections. Man I hope not.
I think most understand first hand experience is best gotten first hand too.
Film schools are where rebels go when dad is stern in making them go to college.
…and is willing to pay for it.
Films are made by those who wanted to make films instead.
-
I would also defend film school. I spent way more than 60k (maybe twice that) on 7 years of film/broadcast schooling in total. But I also took the approach of “get as many internships as possible” during that time. I knew I wasn’t getting paid, but my resume and reel were building and experience is worth gold. On the plus side, you do meet people and find connections, and can learn a lot from your professors (I’ve had the privilege of learning from and working with Oscar & Emmy winners, a top iMax producer, and many other skilled professionals). Sure I could have just simply pursued a trade without schooling and saved my money. I probably would have become very strong at one particular niche of the field (which is fine), whereas school offered me a well-rounded assortment of skills. In the end, finding jobs was easier for me because I acquired a handful of marketable skills. If one is convinced that they’re only an editor, they may be missing out on other important jobs to be filled in the industry and opportunities to expand their knowledge and marketability.
-
$60k/4 years = $15k/year/12months = $1,250 month.
-
I agree. And the most important “skill” is aesthetics. Hamlet said it best, “Aye truly, the power of beauty will sooner transform honesty from what it is to a bawd, than the force of honesty can translate beauty into its likeness.”
I graduated from Academy of Art University, San Francisco in 2005. I had three internships, and a killer reel, and entre into a very competitive market.
Now, I live in Tahoe, where someone bought me $60k in production equipment and bought me $1.2M in distribution equipment. Because my reel is so kickass, a Pulitizer prize nominated playwright gave me the rights to one of his stories. I’m currently finishing the audio.
At AAU, SF, it was very plain from the get-go: You need a reel. You need internships. You need a career.
-
You spent six figures on a broadcast education?
oi vay
-
Well college ain’t cheap these days – 4 years film/broadcast for a bachelors, 3 years film/electronic media for an MFA certificate, which allows me to teach at the university level. The way I look at it, if the video biz gets tough down the road, I have a second career option – and I enjoy teaching. It’s a pricey avenue to go down, but I’m already making twice as much as I would have expected just a few years out of school… education is an investment, not wasted money.
-
ya I know the drill I did internships I have a good reel. Actually one of my teachers the last quarter i went to school told me to pick a new career. I’m happy for the Taho guy who got all these lucky breaks. I’ve meet a dozen editors that I could edit circles around but they new the right people. I did over a dozen internships and I they did help me (at that time) but when I started getting more stuff on my reel and started getting paid to edit I stopped cause I didn’t need a student quality feature on my reel. It just sucks I’ve had the worst luck these last 5 months. All my connections at school are looking out for numero uno and who can blame them. 4 of my editing teachers say they have nothing for me and 1 teacher even flat out denied me an interview at his post house because I was currently taking a class with him. I’m a nice social professional guy who happens to know allot about computers and editing. thanks to all you responded to this post I just needed to “scream” in a way to vent my anger. Below is my website if any of you have suggestions please email me.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up