Independent Film Making if You Can't Afford Film School

I began my journey into the world of independent film the day I graduated high school. I'd been brewing for a long time and researching different universities and cinema programs across the country. Unfortunately, I didn't realize at that time how insanely expensive film schools are! $50,000 or more in tuition, housing, books and other expenses cut me right out of the game. I felt like a friend had died, like my dream had been cruelly stripped from me. Sure, there's "financial aid" but the majority of that ends up being student loans and no way did I want to live the rest of my life in debt like so many people I'd met.

So I began researching the alternatives. I already knew alternatives existed, but if you're like me you always want the BEST option and you're not interested in cutting corners. All the film schools made it sound like without their degrees you'd never make it in independent film, much less Hollywood. I decided I'd read up on different directors and find out the real story on 'how to become a director'.

On this site I'm going to tell you every single bit that I've learned about becoming a movie director WITHOUT attending film schools. My research and experience has led me to form some very strong opinions. Maybe not everyone will agree with what I have to say, but I feel it's my DUTY to try and make the road to a film career as clear as possible for those who may be misinformed.

Let's get started!

When I first began researching a career in directing, my first assumption was that you obviously would need a degree in film. That makes sense, right? After all many great directors from Francis Ford Coppola to George Lucas all attended universities and cut their teeth in film school. I thought I, too, would need that degree to get taken seriously in the world of movie making. After countless e-mails, phone calls and a whole LOT of reading, here's what I've learned about the Pros and Cons of Film Schools:

Experience - Your standard four year university requires you to take general education courses for the first two years of your schooling. After that you'll be able to start learning things that actually relate directly to film. You'll choose a specialty such as directing, cinematography, script writing or set design. That's all well and good but that's also four years you could spend, you know, actually MAKING movies. Will you get to make movies in film school? Sure, you'll be able to shoot a few short films with your peers - many of whom are competing to be the director on the project, too. That can get hairy with everyone wanting to direct the project as I've learned from film school graduates.
One advantage film school graduates can have is the ability to network with alumni from their university. You might get some access to internships, also. Unfortunately you'll also be paying through the nose for all these 'opportunities' and when you get out you might find (as I did) that many in the film industry (particularly the independent film scene) get a good laugh at the idea of a film school graduate getting to direct a project. You see, the film industry respects experience and to many film industry veterans all they'll see is that instead of MAKING films for the last four years, you've been sitting in school and only turned out a handful of small projects. It may sound rude, but that's precisely what I've been told both via phone/e-mail and in person.
If you've got the money and family support, film schools may be a great option for you but I'll ask you this: if you DO have those resources at hand why not simply produce your own film? You can read the very same books covered in any university on your own (for free at the library, even!) and if you're not sure what books you'd be missing simply visit that university's website and most of them show a complete list of curriculum for their classes, including the books they'd be covering!
In the end, I see no strong benefit to film school other than being able to say you got a degree from (insert name of school) in order to impress people.

Networking - Film schools boast that they can hook you up with various famous or semi-famous names in the film industry. You'll see plenty of name dropping at even the tiniest film schools. They want to associate their institution with successful people and that's natural. Even education, in the end, is a business and businesses need to make profits and in order to do that a school needs paying students. I'm sure they've all got some people worth meeting, but guess what? You can do you own networking, too! If you've got questions there are lots of places online to look up experts. Maybe you can't ring up Dreamworks and ask Spielberg a questions, but there are other smaller companies who generally have someone on hand who'll answer the phone or e-mail and if they don't know the answer they can pass it on to someone who does or even refer you to another expert in the field of the question you're asking. You can check your local art theaters or simply search Google for +YourState +"film festival" and you're sure to return SOME film festival in your area where you can go meet face to face with filmmakers and independent film fans. If all else fails there are ONLINE film festivals that generally have forums available to you, as well. Use your imagination and start connecting without paying tuition!

Expert Guidance - A great many film schools will point out that they have Professor So-And-So, an expert in some field of cinema. That's wonderful and I'm sure he or she has a wealth of information they could share with you. However, with Amazon available to everyone and carrying just about any title you can think of, how is Professor So-And-So's knowledge going to compete? If you can't afford to buy a library of books, then visit that old standby: your local public library. Do they not have the book you absolutely NEED? Ask the librarian to order it in for you! I lived for years in a tiny town and I can tell you librarians are by nature helpful to people passionate about reading and research. If any person's capable of finding a book you simply MUST read it's your local librarian! :)

Obviously, film schools benefits are there, but I can't find enough solid reasons that a properly motivated person could possibly need their services when there are a myriad free solutions available. In the end, the choice is yours but think it over carefully because there's no sense going broke and winding up in debt while you work fast food trying to pay for an education that still didn't get you a job!

By now you may be wondering whether I wrote all this to debunk film schools. I didn't, but I felt you needed to see where I'm coming from before I gave you the advice I've gotten time and time again from film industry professionals. It's the same advice I'm taking myself, too. I've had setback after setback. I've sold everything I owned... TWICE. I've lived in a car for a couple months. I've struggled and I continue to struggle because I refuse to give up. I always say, "If you fail enough times you'll eventually fail at failing and thereby succeed!" That's been my motto and I apply it not only to filmmaking, but painting, my fiction writing, my business ventures and life in general. One day I'll get where I want to be and so will you. No matter where you are you're always a mere two feet away from your goal! Don't believe me? Take a look down at your own.. two feet.

So you've got the idea and you're ready to face the challenges that every independent filmmaker's bound to face on his or her path to directing. Great, but where do you start if you've got next to no money? Let's lay out the best tools and tips I can offer you that'll equip you to start making movies SOONER not later:

Read - I cannot say it enough: read, read, read and then READ MORE! I know they can get boring and you may find a great many books with outdated information. Read them any way. Quit looking for useless information and set your mind to seek out and gather useful information. Read books, magazines, profiles of directors you like and interviews. If you work full time, take a book with you and read during breaks. When you run out of books and magazines to read or if you simply cannot afford them, then turn to online sources. I'll list a couple below that can give you solid information on filmmaking and the world of directing movies.

Take Notes - This is imperative. It does no good to read constantly if you're not taking notes. You can use your computer or create a blog or simply designate a notebook to your studies. Remember, you're skipping film school and educating YOURSELF. You need to remember what you learn so that you can APPLY it to your films. Don't be lazy and say you'll just remember it. Why do you think I'm writing all these tips and publishing them on the web? Because that's one of the best ways to actually cement the information in your mind! :)

Watch Movies - I know this probably sounds utterly ridiculous but too many times I've met people who know all sorts of high-minded techniques and tips but have failed at understanding film. If you watch enough movies you'll pick up a great deal of useful information all while you enjoy yourself. Even the worst low-budget movies can give you tips. Since I began reviewing movies for HappyHorror.com a couple years ago I've watched many movies and lots of them weren't great. But, you know what? Each movie taught me a little something more and thanks to the fact that I keep notes I've built something of a small archive of ideas for my own films! Netflix can save you big bucks on movie rentals and help you stay committed. Make a commitment to watch movies in as many genres as you can stand: watch the good, the bad and the downright ugly. Keeping your ideas fresh requires lots of movie viewing!

Go Digital - I don't care what anyone says about the 'warmth and charm' of real film. These days there's no excuse to wait around until you can afford film before you start shooting movies. Get yourself a digital camera. Amazon's got a huge array to offer and if you need to save a few bucks you can also try E-bay. However, with E-bay you'll want to be careful because bad deals do go down there from time to time. There's also craigslist if you'd prefer to test the camera out in person first (and I recommend that!). Be careful on craigslist because as with any other free service there are plenty of scams. Buy local and ONLY pay after you've thoroughly tested you purchase. You don't need the world's most advanced camera. You need a tool to learn with. Get whatever you can afford and start practicing. Tape your pets, your friends, try different lighting indoors and out and as always, keep some notes on what you learn by these experiences.
What about editing? You need big expensive software, right? Nope. Let me give you a little tip. If you're using Windows XP and you go down to your Start bar, go to All Programs and have a look. See that Windows Movie Maker? That's a FREE program that you've already got where you can edit you own video! Play around with it FIRST before you go purchasing other software packages. It's a great tool for learning how editing works and you'll gain tremendous insight into the process of editing video.

Networking - Yep, you can do this for free, too! Don't hide in the dark, start an online profile (or two or six) on MySpace, FaceBook and any other place you can find. Use blogger.com or WordPress.com to create your own blog. Get yourself out there and get people used to your name and what you're all about as a director. Meet people who share your interest because every friend and fan you can get will give you emotional momentum. Don't be afraid to announce your dreams and show off your projects. YouTube and other 'tube' sites will host your videos free and allow you to show the world what you're working on. No matter how low (or even NO) budget your projects are, you can at least get feedback from the general public as you go along. You might just wind up getting a lot of help and maybe even financing if you work hard enough!

I've bought and tried a whole bunch of things on my personal journey into the world of filmmaking. There are plenty of schemes and scams that don't help as well as a few that can offer a few widgets to make your tasks easier.

By FAR the best deal I've ever seen is offered at RockSinner.com - it's called the No Budget Filmmaking Kit. It's more than just a book, it's software for writing scripts and editing video along with a comprehensive guide on how to go from shooting fun little projects to a serious film director. It covers how to raise money for your projects and how to go about getting the cast and crew. It's a step by step guide that's a proven path to success for aspiring directors. You don't have to take my word for it, though, take a look for yourself at:

www.RockSinner.com

It's an investment that'll save you not just money, but years of trial and error, too!

Thank you for reading this page! In closing, I'd like to encourage you to pursue your dreams because there's no sense wasting your life doing things you don't enjoy. I realize it may not be easy, but it IS worth it.
I've tried to create a useful resource, but if I've missed anything feel free to comment below. I set out to provide as much information as possible so if you've benefited please let me know! If you'd like to help me out, Digg or StumbleUpon this page or show your friends and family.
Keeping just one person on the path to their dreams despite the obstacles and financial circumstances - that's why I've built this.
Thanks again for taking the time to read this!