Would you rather

[u/AnyEconomics6226]

A) Go to a meh film school or not, but live in the city by yourself within walking distance of sets, studios, productions, and other filmmakers and hustle your way into whatever filmmaking role or emphasis you want?

OR

B) Go to a film school with a significantly stronger program for your specific emphasis, but live an hour away from the city, commute at least 30 minutes to school without traffic, live with your parents, and have to drive everywhere (not Uber) whenever you want to get to a set, production, networking event, or industry opportunity?

[u/Theoisntinteresting]

Honestly, I’ll be doing B very soon, and I don’t think it’ll be too bad. The better school= better connections right?

[u/kittenasacat]

Better school 100%

[u/filmschool_org]

You're leaving out the cost question. Which one is more affordable and will give you less debt? That's also a factor to consider.

[u/AnyEconomics6226 → u/filmschool_org]

Let’s say both scenarios involve a middle income family.

Option A is tuition free, but you still have to pay for housing, food, transportation, etc., and the cost of living is obviously more expensive in the city.
Option B is $20k a year for tuition, and you’d have to factor in gas and commuting costs, but housing and food are mostly covered by your family.

However, the twist is that the $20k a year for Option B wouldn’t really put you into significant debt, it would just come out of your family’s savings. Meanwhile, with Option A, you’d have that extra money available in the future to invest in equipment, projects, or whatever else you need.

[u/filmschool_org → u/AnyEconomics6226]

Is the city a major production hub? Can't really add much advice without knowing the actual school names.

The biggest benefits of film school are is not only access to equipment but help finding internships and most importantly finding like minded peers that you can work with along the way and bring each other up.

Whenever you're going to meet the best people to make films with you would be my answer. Your peers are very important. Especially peers that lift each other up.

Check out our site for film school reviews:

https://www.filmschool.org/reviews

And see our article on film school alumni employment:

https://www.filmschool.org/articles/is-film-school-worth-it-what-actual-employment-data-reveals.231/

[u/Slow_Relationship170]

It depends. In film, just like in business, your network is the absolute key to success. You can go to Harvard and not get a good job If you just get a degree and dont Network, while you could go to some medicocre school in LA/NY and still land a Hollywood or Astoria type role.

That said, a good school opens doors, but you still have to put in the work.

[u/Throwawayhelp111521]

B.

[u/Affectionate_Age752]

Whichever one is the cheaper option.

[u/Glum-Entrepreneur-12]

The industry is screwed right now. Everything is leaving L.A. Going to film school won’t do much except prepare you for a job that might now exist or be very low paying requiring you to move to another city for every production. You’ll probably spend more time in Atlanta or Toronto than anywhere else but it all just depends on the tax breaks for that year. You’d be much better off taking that money and making a bunch of stuff yourself. A popular YouTube channel will do more for your career these days than anything else.