Dropout Paid to Make Stupid Shorts…

Film Students Pay to Make Stupid Shorts!

If you read the latest entry in the Newsletter, you’ve heard about Pete Atencio. Now I love showcasing his stuff, along with all the other people who skipped film school, because I want you to really wake up from this ridiculous dream of going to school, and start actually following your dream of making movies.

Okay, so this is a typical NYU student film. It’s called “A Pez Tale”. I have nothing against the kid who made this, but I want you to remember how much it cost and how long it took. It was done over an entire semester and cost well over $30,000 in tuition and production costs. Here it is:

Just so we aren’t picking only on NYU, here is a sample video from New York Film Academy.

You know like Robert Rodriguez says, everyone has 20 bad films in them. Go make them… but don’t spend thousands a year doing it!

Ask yourself? Did you see ANY of the thousands of dollars in tuition go INTO either of these student films? No. That money went into the pockets of the people that run the school. And the students were left with some… interesting.. projects.

Now, consider this video below. It’s pretty silly too, but it only cost about $100 to make as Pete already has his own equipment. He shot it in about 3 days and was paid by TBS to do so. (Fast forward to 2:57 to see when it turns into an Action Movie!)

Which of these three shorts looks like it was shot by a filmmaker that knew what he was doing, looked the best, and cost the least?

You decide.

If you want to make movies, just do it. You can learn so much just by doing it, refine your own style, your own stories, learn about lighting, shot composition, editing all on your own, and make cool stuff people actually want to see without paying an arm and a leg!

Go, be creative, and have fun!

Seth

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