Hola to everybody,
I am thinking about doing a course - From Story to Screen - (8 weeks duration) with the Metropolitan film school in London. It is about £4000 So i would be grateful if anyone who has done the course could let me know whether it is worth the money or not...
Hola Nigel,
16 years ago, when my dad asked me what i wanted to study and i told him i wanted to go to film school..he took his gun (this one was loaded)... and asked- come again?
I dont know how things were in the USA 16 years ago but in Spain(I am Spanish) you had to do what your parents had planned for you...doctor...lawyer...or engineer..I dont like blood...hate lawyers....so I became an Electrical Power Engineer. After many years finally i have decided to do something about my passion for film making. I am 35 and I dont think I have the time to spend 3 years in film school. I need a cram course to teach me the basics. Therefore, an 8 week course sounds ideal. I just wanted to make sure the investment is worth it.
What is it that you want to do?? Do you want to write?? Do you want to be a Cinematographer?? Do you want to be a producer??
I think that if you are looking for a crash-course then go out and make a short with the highest production values you can with talented and skilled people. No need to pay someone to get what you can get through doing it.
Hahaha amigo, i think you are right! As my brother always said when we got a computer game: F*** the manual! We will learn playing...
Thanks for you reply, i will follow your piece of advise...
It might sound mad but my aim is to produce and direct what I have written.
i took a similar course at the new york film academy. the equipment and faculty you get access to is worth the money imo (even though i don't know about the one you mention in particular). the course itself isn't very interesting, but make friends with the staff, especially in the quipment room and your teacher in the class you're the most interested in (directing in my case), and other students who like you have a serious approach, preferrably in another field, and make films. lots of them. if you expect to become a filmmaker by just sitting through class though, think again (maybe 80% of the students at the academy made this mistake).
There are many, many free sites on the internet and dozens of books on screenwriting available. I would suggest you sign up on a few sites and buy a few books. You would be wasting your time signing up for film school except ofr one factor. I'm going to tell you like it is: make films. Anything else is a waste of your time. However, the problem is meeting people serious like you are. That is most of the battle and the one factor. That's where film school comes in as a worthwhile thing. Where else are you going to meet people with a little bit of abilitly and talent who will show up when you ask them to? Good luck!
Here's what I'd do if I were you, based on a wasted decade (translation: I know exactly what the fuck I'm talking about):
1) Keep my day job. You listened to your dad. Now take what he said and use it for your own purposes and YOU win. Keep your job. Use the nmoney for your pruposes to escape.
2) Read everything you can about filmmaking and mostly screenwriting. This is the blueprint of film. A decent, smart screenplay negates any problems with a low budget film. This is proven time and again in example after example. It's your secret weapon that puts you on an even footing with any big budget Hollywood film. It really does.
3) Write a half dozen feature screenplays when not working. Write and rewrite them and rewrite them again until you start winning screenwriting competitions. Join screenwriting sites for feedback. I joined Francis Coppola's Zoetrope. I still own a spot in the top 10 all time greatest reviewers there. In many people's opinions, I am the best of the best who ever stepped foot on the site. I certainly own more international screenwriting victories than anybody else and make my living only from screenwriting today. I wrote 16 features before being a "success".
4) Just move forward and start making films. Make one after another. No matter what. Shorts, features -- you were smart in following your dad's advice. In my house it was go to university or get out and ended up a high school teacher at way too young an age in my mid 20's and hated every minute of it -- I relate 100% -- a Porsche 911 does not compensate). If I were smarter (wiser is abetter word, can't score much high of an IQ) I'd have made films while teaching. You have that opportunity. If you have any talet it will show with a few self-financed shorts.
5) Related to point 5 -- and based on what Coppola told me (and is also related in Hearts of Darkness): just move ahead like the film is being made. People respond to that. They want to be believers. Just move ahead, 100% confident, and it will get made. Then, once it is and edited, move ahead with the next one. Simple. True. Delusional.
There it is. If you have any talent, you will succeed folling these five points based on your situation.
There are many, many free sites on the internet and dozens of books on screenwriting available. I would suggest you sign up on a few sites and buy a few books. You would be wasting your time signing up for film school except for one factor. I'm going to tell you like it is: make films. Anything else is a waste of your time. However, the problem is meeting people serious like you are. That is most of the battle and the one factor. That's where film school comes in as a worthwhile thing. Where else are you going to meet people with a little bit of abilitly and talent who will show up when you ask them to? Good luck!
Here's what I'd do if I were you, based on a wasted decade (translation: I know exactly what the fuck I'm talking about):
1) Keep my day job. You listened to your dad. Now take what he said and use it for your own purposes and YOU win. Keep your job. Use the money for your pruposes to escape.
2) Read everything you can about filmmaking and mostly screenwriting. This is the blueprint of film. A decent, smart screenplay negates any problems with a low budget film. This is proven time and again in example after example. It's your secret weapon that puts you on an even footing with any big budget Hollywood film. It really does.
3) Write a half dozen feature screenplays when not working. Write and rewrite them and rewrite them again until you start winning screenwriting competitions. Join screenwriting sites for feedback. I joined Francis Coppola's Zoetrope. I still own a spot in the top 10 all time greatest reviewers there. In many people's opinions, I am the best of the best who ever stepped foot on the site. I certainly own more international screenwriting victories than anybody else and make my living only from screenwriting today. I wrote 16 features before being a "success".
4) Just move forward and start making films. Make one after another. No matter what. Shorts, features -- you were smart in following your dad's advice. In my house it was go to university or get out and I ended up a high school teacher at way too young an age in my mid 20's and hated every minute of it -- I relate 100% -- a Porsche 911 does not compensate). If I were smarter (wiser is a better word, can't score much high of an IQ) I'd have made films while teaching. You have that opportunity. If you have any talent it will show with a few self-financed shorts.
5) Related to point 5 -- and based on what Coppola told me (and is also related in Hearts of Darkness): just move ahead like the film is being made. People respond to that. They want to be believers. Just move ahead, 100% confident, and it will get made. Then, once it is and edited, move ahead with the next one. Simple. True. Delusional. Film is all about fallacies.
There it is. If you have any talent, you will succeed following these five points based on your situation.
There are many, many free sites on the internet and dozens of books on screenwriting available. I would suggest you sign up on a few sites and buy a few books. You would be wasting your time signing up for film school except for one factor. I'm going to tell you like it is: make films. Anything else is a waste of your time. However, the problem is meeting people serious like you are. That is most of the battle and the one factor. That's where film school comes in as a worthwhile thing. Where else are you going to meet people with a little bit of abilitly and talent who will show up when you ask them to? Good luck!
Here's what I'd do if I were you, based on a wasted decade (translation: I know exactly what the fuck I'm talking about):
1) Keep my day job. You listened to your dad. Now take what he said and use it for your own purposes and YOU win. Keep your job. Use the money for your purposes to escape.
2) Read everything you can about filmmaking and mostly screenwriting. This is the blueprint of film. A decent, smart screenplay negates any problems with a low budget film. This is proven time and again in example after example. It's your secret weapon that puts you on an even footing with any big budget Hollywood film. It really does.
3) Write a half dozen feature screenplays when not working. Write and rewrite them and rewrite them again until you start winning screenwriting competitions. Join screenwriting sites for feedback. I joined Francis Coppola's Zoetrope. I still own a spot in the top 10 all time greatest reviewers there. In many people's opinions, I am the best of the best who ever stepped foot on the site. I certainly own more international screenwriting victories than anybody else and make my living only from screenwriting today. I wrote 16 features before being a "success".
4) Just move forward and start making films. Make one after another. No matter what. Shorts, features -- you were smart in following your dad's advice. In my house it was go to university or get out and I ended up a high school teacher at way too young an age in my mid 20's and hated every minute of it -- I relate 100% -- a Porsche 911 does not compensate). If I were smarter (wiser is a better word, can't score much high of an IQ) I'd have made films while teaching. You have that opportunity. If you have any talent it will show with a few self-financed shorts.
5) Related to point 5 -- and based on what Coppola told me (and is also related in Hearts of Darkness): just move ahead like the film is being made. People respond to that. They want to be believers. Just move ahead, 100% confident, and it will get made. Then, once it is and edited, move ahead with the next one. Simple. True. Delusional. Film is all about fallacies.
There it is. If you have any talent, you will succeed following these five points based on your situation.
That was me. Those three posts. I've been out dringking woith Russel Crowe as I;m working on Ciderella Man and I posted too many corections. I hope Andreas will fix this posting if possible and credit only wone to Santo.
