The debate over whether or not one should go to film school to become a filmmaker has become less fiery over the last several years. The internet and an active creative community ensures that most of the important information you'll need in order to learn at least the basics of the craft is readily available to almost anyone who wants it. However, for those who have decided to forgo the four-year film degree in favor of semi-autodidacticism, you'll want to know about some resources for getting your learn on. Ryan Connolly provides some excellent ideas in this video from Film Riot.
I'm a film school graduate and my bank account and I can definitely attest to the fact that film school is not necessary. The huge student loan debt, the holes in education, and the insane time commitment are big reasons why any filmmaker would want to think long and hard before they turn in any college applications. But perhaps an even bigger reason than those is the wide availability of free and low-cost online resources.
Part of the challenge of teaching yourself everything you need to know about filmmaking is 1.) knowing what to learn and 2.) knowing where to find the information.
Read screenplays
My screenwriting courses in college were so incredibly helpful for me as a writer, but there is more than one way to learn how to do it. You can read screenplays to learn about structure, pacing, dialogue, and character development. Doing this will also teach you about genre, tropes, style, and tone. However, which screenplays should you read? There are lists upon lists of "best screenplays ever" out there, which always seem to include Chinatown, The Godfather, and Casablanca (I personally love reading scripts by Charlie Kaufman, Woody Allen, and Quentin Tarantino), but you can also benefit from reading some not-so-good scripts to learn perhaps what not to do.
Take an online cinematography course
There are so many great resources out there for those who want to learn how to compose and light a shot. Connolly recommends Shane Hurlbut's Inner Circle, an online course that is pretty reasonably priced. There is also Aviv Vana's CineSummit, a yearly cinematography event that is 100% online and 100% free. There are also MasterClass, which has courses from screenwriters Aaron Sorkin, Shonda Rhimes, and David Mamet, film composer Hans Zimmer, actors Kevin Spacey and Dustin Hoffman, and even director Werner Herzog.
Check out YouTube channels
If you don't have the time or money to take a full online course, YouTube hosts a ton of great channels that provide loads of great information on cinematography, directing, film theory, film history, and more. It's seriously one of the most helpful and influential resources for filmmakers today. There's not enough time in a day to list all of the great channels out there, but here are a few to get you started:
- Cinematography: Cinematography Database, wolfcrow, DSLR Video Shooter, Aputure, and Peter McKinnon
- Editing: Video Copilot, This Guy Edits, Justin Odisho, and Casey Faris
- Video Essays: Fandor, The Royal Ocean Film Society, Nerdwriter, Now You See It, Channel Criswell, and Every Frame a Painting
Also, my all time favorite YouTube channel for learning filmmaking is Darious Britt's D4Darious. Hands down the most straightforward, meaty, and entertaining film education you'll get on just about every topic in cinema. Subscribe to his channel NOW.
Darious Britt
No, you don't have to go to film school to be a filmmaker, but you do need to get educated. And don't just learn how to make a film, learn the history of cinema, about film movements around the world, about the Hays Code, about the Star System, about how global politics have affected filmmaking throughout the years, about lost films, about bad films, about how to protect and care for celluloid, about which cameras are popular right now and why, about smartphone filmmaking, about the kinetoscope, about ILM and George Méliès, because filmmaking isn't just about why you want to take it, it's also about where it has been.
Source: Film Riot
