FILMMAKING AS A PROFESSION:
WHERE TO STUDY?
Cinema is a world of dreams, illusions, and fantasies. That is why any girl dreams of becoming a movie star. However, everyone who connects their lives with cinema faces the problem of choosing a university.
A primitive lever drives a rotating disk and, with a chatter, translates a perforated film into one frame. Everything is so simple! So the cinema came to the world. And since then, as Auguste and Louis, better known as the Lumiere brothers, opened the door to humanity in the magical world of cinema, “cinema” firmly captured the hearts of millions of people.
Today, an “average” person over 50 years of his life looks at about 20 thousand different films, devoting 30 thousand hours to them, or about 3.5 years of his leisure. (Thanks to Thesis Geek you can have more time to watch even more.) In the struggle for the audience’s attention and wallet, modern directors have to be more and more inventive, creating their fantastic masterpieces using the latest technology of special effects from shooting on the background of the so-called green screen to CGI — images generated using three-dimensional computer graphics.
Only one thing remains unchanged in this strategy for gaining film stars – the talented play of the actors, as well as the professional work of the entire team, without which the film will never become a masterpiece. Therefore, the chance to become a real star falls, first of all, to those who go for studying. If you are an essay writer, you may find out that you can also learn how to write scenarios for films and TV programs. However, filmmaking is a profession that has its own tricks. To become an engineer, it is necessary to graduate from a technical university and to be a doctor – a medical. You need to study your future profession.
Best Art Universities to Choose in the U.S.
In the creation of almost all American blockbusters involved graduates of the School of Motion Picture Arts at the University of Southern California. That is, a real mainstream like “Avatar” is interested – do it here. You will study 3D effects, digital animation, and all that, without which a modern cinema world is no longer possible. Learning is expensive. A year will cost about $ 43,000. But a good specialist will quickly beat back the money spent.
Ideal for those who like auteur cinema, able to attract viewers and collect awards. Movies like Twin Squeak and Black Swan. That is, you want to learn how to invent unusual stories, you at the American Film Institute. It is also not cheap. The first year is $ 40,000. The second-year is about $ 50,000.
New York film Academy, University of California (Los Angeles), California Institute of Arts, are the three film schools that are approximately at the same level. They are among the ten best film schools in the world. The main advantage of two California universities is the proximity of Hollywood. Agree, creating educational shorts at the Dream Factory is tempting. Whichever of the three film schools you choose, get ready to put out about $ 40,000 in one year of study.
Turning to the East
China is gradually occupying a leading position not only in the field of economics and sports but also in the field of culture and education. Graduates of the Beijing Film Academy are increasingly invited to Hollywood, and not all since they are cheap labor, but because Hollywood is looking for a new movie language.
By the way, the Beijing Film Academy has many joint programs with American universities, including the University of Southern California. The main plus is the cost of training. A year will cost you, depending on your qualifications, from $ 6,500 to $ 9,000 per year. The main minus – training is conducted only in Chinese.
Tisch Asia is a branch of the New York Film School located in Singapore. This educational institution is one of the three best film schools in America. Suitable for those. Who are interested in computer graphics and special effects. Learning is expensive – around $ 45,000 a year.
Choosing a University in Europe
In Europe, studying is sometimes cheaper. But the area will significantly narrow down to the author and low-budget cinema. The most famous forge of motion pictures in Europe is FAMU – the Faculty of Film and Television of the Prague Academy of Fine Arts. Specialists in the field of cinematography, television, electronic media systems, and traditional media are trained here.
The cost is not very different from American universities – about € 20,000 per year (if we take into account the difference in the exchange rate, it is not much less than in the USA). The training is conducted in Czech, but it is easier to learn than Chinese.
In France, future filmmakers bring up La Femis. The main difference from traditional schools is that the student tries himself in every profession: director, screenwriter, sound engineer, artist. And the cost is pleasantly surprising – about $ 13,000 per year.
And finally, if there is no desire to learn French or Czech, you can enter the British film school. National Film and Television School is engaged in all major specialties: directing, dubbing, acting, cinematography, sound engineering scriptwriting, etc. The cost is about ₤ 20,000 per year. But the university offers a huge number of scholarship programs. Well, the main plus – living and studying in London is always nice.
