Film School Secrets: A Powerful Alternative to Film Schools

“Film School Secrets” is in the business of empowering aspiring filmmakers to start making movies & getting on pro film sets as soon as possible without expensive film schools.

To date we’ve had hundreds of students from all over the world, from Australia and Korea to the UK, the Netherlands, Norway, and all over the US.

What we teach isn’t complicated. In fact it’s deceptively simple. Our advice has one thing that most film schools lack: it’s practical & can be applied immediately to you & your life.

If you are an aspiring filmmaker and are wondering how to get your “big break” or start working in the film business, think about this. Did you ever wonder how it is that most famous filmmakers (like Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, David Fincher, and more), and even the directors and producers of most popular television shows from “The Office” to “Seinfeld” to “American Idol” never went to film schools?

More than 90% of the working professionals in the film industry have no formal film school education. And in the last 10 years, the cost of getting high quality video images through HD cameras has gotten cheaper and more available to everyone in the world. Youtube has launched more careers than all the film schools career placement programs combined. And the internet has leveled the playing field when it comes to distributing your movie projects.

But at the same time, the cost of film school tuition has gotten higher and higher. When I graduated NYU in 1999, the tuition was around $29,000 a year. Now it’s nearing $44,000 a year.  And I’m one of the few people to call a spade a spade, and here it is: there is absolutely no reason any aspiring filmmaker should pay that much money for film school. Or even attend at all.

Why Film Schools Don’t Make Sense Anymore

Stephen Ujaki, Dean of Film & TV at Loyola Marymount was quoted in a July 2011 NY Times article as saying: “‘The “majority of students majoring in film and television will not be having careers in those professions.”

The first reason is simple math: most film schools including NYU, USC, and NYFA charge $40,000 a year to use equipment that could be purchased for less than $3000. I’m talking about cameras, lights, editing software, computers, and sound equipment. Many students graduate with enormous debt and no financial means to start their own productions. Others invest a small fortune on a short film and have no means left to shoot a real movie: a feature.

At Film School Secrets we show our students simple, easy to afford ways to connect with pro filmmakers no matter where you live in the world.

film schoolsFSS Student Justin Montgomery on Pro Set In Kingswood, TX 

The second reason is connections. Everyone thinks film schools provide impossible to get industry hookups that warrant the extreme price tag, but this is a complete myth. Look at a recent list of film school alumni and you will see very few working directors in the business.

Additionally, the explosion of new film schools and increased applications in the last 10 years has produced a flooded marketplace of graduates without enough jobs to support them. Those who do find work are typically in entry level positions they could have gotten without school: fetching coffee or picking up dry cleaning in an assistant capacity.

The third reason is information. Back in the 1960s when Martin Scorcese went to NYU’s graduate program, it was probably a great idea. 50 years ago, where else could you go to learn how to load a film camera or light a scene, or write a script, or even access that equipment other than at a film school?

But now it’s 2012. And amateur filmmakers on Youtube are outshining film school grads without paying for costly tuition.

Real Answers You Won’t Get at Film Schools

Some people say that film school is a luxury, but it’s just the opposite. Even if you come from a wealthy family, film school can be a tremendous waste of time and money because the projects you work on and the theories you learn rarely apply to working in the real world of the film business.

If you want to learn a smarter, faster, and less expensive way to realistically begin a career in the film industry and begin making your own movies, then I invite you to learn more about Film School Secrets and check out some of our studen’s testimonials.

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