LA Film School: Good, but not Worth $42,000 a Year

LA Film SchoolLA Film School is a film school in Los Angeles that is actually owned by the same people who run Full Sail film school in Florida. As such, it has some redeeming elements. But the $42,000 a year price tag still makes it a ridiculous waste of money.

On the plus side, LA Film School provides students with a rigorous, real world learning experience. In fact many students drop out after only a few months because the program is so brutal. This is a good thing, as it filters out those who have what it takes to actually deal with the demands of film production.

Another plus is the equipment. Given how shitty the equipment is at NYU and New York Film Academy, at least the folks at LA Film School actually invest the millions they make each year back into the school. Students typically have unlimited access to a number of quality digital cameras, HD cameras, some 16mm cameras, and even a couple of 35mm rigs. Also, they have some RED cameras, which is more than you say about some of these other film schools.

LA Film School is Better Than Some Film Schools, But Still Too Much Money & Too Few Connections

The school’s editing equipment is good, and they have some decent sound stages as well. Professors work in the industry, and many guest speakers are famous actors and directors you’ve heard of.

But overall, LA Film School still charges way too much money to pay to learn the basics of filmmaking. Each student is “required” to have a $3,000 MacBook with Final Cut for editing, which is better than the idiocy at a place like NYU where students have to fight over AVID access. But the $3,000 comes out of student loans, which means you could just as easily have gone to your local Mac Store and bought your own and its the same difference.

Furthermore, in the world of internships and shitty entry level jobs at studios, LA Film School is still trying to make inroads against local favorite USC. When directors and producers look for prime talent to get their dry cleaning or bring them coffee, they still do tend do look either for USC grads or people with actual production experience. A degree from LA Film School isn’t worth as much as a few notches on your belt from a real film set.

On the plus side, the folks at LA Film School have made inroads with Legendary Pictures. Thomas Tull likes LA Film School grads.

But at the end of the day, LA Film School grads are still like any other film school grads: left with huge amount of debt, no idea how to make a feature, and few job prospects.

To find out the smarter, cheaper, and better alternative to LA Film School check out Film School Secrets.

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