The Problem

If you found this page, chances are you want to Direct real full length movies and you’ve been searching for some instruction on how to do that. You’ve probably checked out a few film programs and even heard about “good schools” like NYU and USC. But have you ever heard the real deal from someone who has actually worked in the business? The truth is this: nobody cares where you went to film school. 

Traditional Film Schools, from USC & NYU to New York Film Academy, are all built upon the same outdated, basic curriculum and methodology:

big building6

  • Students pay large fees to share used equipment that costs less than tuition.

  • Students shoot rudimentary short film exercises no more advanced than ones done in high school.

  • Students are taught to make short films and enter them into festivals and then somehow “hope” it will transition into a Feature Film Career without any specific guidance – which is contrary to the actual path to Directing in the Industry.

  • Students apply expecting “connections” to help them launch a career – when it reality those “connections” at best can help them get entry levels jobs. They are told to then climb the ladder” without being taught about the strict separation between “Above the Line” and “Below the Line” Positions on a set – in short you can’t work up from being a P.A. to being a Director. There isn’t one example of this happening that can be cited in the industry. 

    SourceL https://www.nyfa.edu/federal-financial-aid/ge/BFA%20Film.html

    SourceL https://www.nyfa.edu/federal-financial-aid/ge/BFA%20Film.html

  • But most of all, Students do not learn about Feature Filmmaking, Marketing, or Finance – in short nothing about building a Directing Career. 

Unfortunately, most film school applicants have no idea that less than 1% of graduates ever go on to even make a real, full length movie. And few will even end up working in the business. The NY Times explained it eloquently:

nytimesnofilmcareerforgraduatesquote

Fun Activity: Go to the AFI, NYU, or USC website and find a working director who graduated after 2000. You will find very few. Out of AFI’s list of 60+ mentionable Directors, only 2 graduated in the 21st century). You can see for yourself here.

Seriously, other than Scorsese, Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, and George Lucas (who graduated 40 years ago), most people can’t name one recent graduate to even direct a movie.

And filmmaker Kevin Smith, in his comedy “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back”, offered a humorous take on the plight of most film school grads

 Sadly, because students are trained to learn so little about the business of film – the best even a graduate of USC can hope for is a job getting coffee for a Director — who likely didn’t go to film school.

Our Mentoring Course is Different.