Film School Confidential: The Insider's Guide to Film Schools

I plan to go to film school to get a Master's in screenwriting. After reading this book, I almost changed my mind. The book is a blunt dose of reality and gives you straight talk on what you get for your money. It also tells you how much money you'll need to beg, borrow, or steal in order to pay for film school. I appreciated the honesty once I got past the shock of it all. The book helped me narrow down the schools that I feel would be a best fit for me-some were a surprise. For example, did you know that at FSU, they will pay for your film to be made? Did you know that Chapman University in pleasant Orange, California, has practically brand new facilities? If you want to make animal or insect documentaries (don't laugh, they pay!) then Montana is the right school. For me personally, I know that New York, while being a great city, is not going to work for me due to expense and the hyper-competitive nature of the schools. You'll find what you need to know. The book is primarily for film makers, not writers, but there is an attempt to give a good review of the writing programs. Do not apply to film school until you read this book and the sooner the better.

This updated edition gives you a very good insight of some of the biggest names of film schools. It also gives you an idea what you should look for when you get out of a film school. As film making is only centered in NYC and LA, graduates will have hard time finding work if the schools do not have good internship and connections. Even though this book only covers grad schools, general information should apply to undegrades as well. Unfortunately, the book did not cover more quality films schools such as SVA, RIT or Emmerson. Nontheless, this is the only book on this subject. It is a must for students and parents. Bottom line: If you would want a career in films, stay away from schools that emphasize on experimental films such as Ohio University, UW Milwaukee or some of remotely located state universities regardless how they are ranked by US News & World Report or Entertainment Weekly. The other tip is to look for their famous alumni. If most of them end up doing underground experimental films in the film festivals only, you probably will be one of these starving artists upon graduation. In general, this book teaches a lot beyond rating film schools. It gives you a perspective of how tough this business is and how you can prepare for it. My son is planning to apply to a film school next year. I went through the web sites of almost 100 film schools in the nation and reach the same conclusion of the author of this book. But not anyone can go to NYU & USc. With that being said there is still good hope going other solid schools as long as you don't end up doing experimental films which are mostly incomprehensible. But once again, if you enjoy taching or being a starving artist without thinking about earning a decent living, then it is perfectly fine going to schools like UW Milwaukee. In addition, if you want to be a film critic, you probably can go anywhere. Roger Ebert was majored in literature at Urbana-Champagne. This book is for students who want to take a shot at careers such as directors, producers, editors, etc.,

If you consider going to film school, this book can save you a lot of head-aches. It helped me a lot in narrowing down my cirle, and it damn sure gave me new perspectives on how to look, and what to look for, and how to approach my search for the right place. The best thing is that it doesn't only give you sheer facts and dry data -- it will also include personal info that schools will never tell you, because A) they don't want you to know; B) it is not related to education, therefore they don't think it is important (I know now, as a senior in college, how important every detail can be -- trust me, that's all there is to it: details). The book also will try to open your eyes to the fact that film school is not for everyone and you might not even need it (because it's a huge investment). It is a nice resource for film-related "stuff" (competitions, awards) as well, and it will introduce you to what is AFTER you completed school. But most importantly, it will be able to hook you up with the right school, if you ever really gave a thought to what and how you imagine in your film-career (and if you haven't, it might very well open your eyes. Just don't be like: "I don't care", 'cause that will not get you far anyway).The authors also have a friendly style of writing and addressing matters, so you will feel like talking to film students instead of a machine spitting out preprogrammed info and facts, that the SCHOOLS as institutions would want you to know about.I wish there was a newer edition, though. But their web-site is updated, so you can look there... and after reading this, you can pretty much go into the extra effort, and make a couple of calls to find out about things for yourself. Trust me! If you have ten dollars only, and want to save yourself more for film school or making movies -- this is the book to put you on the right track. Thanks guys. You helped me out a lot!PS: Don't listen to the whiners. You can find flaws in anything. NEVERTHELESS, IT IS A BOOK FOR POST-GRADUATE STUDY (and it also explains in the book why, so even if you're an undergraduate -- get it! It will be a great help in planning your whole college carrer).

During my senior year of college, while I was applying to film school, this book proved quite helpful. Very little is written about graduate programs in the arts (at least that I've been able to find) compared to Law, Medical or MBA programs and, beyond the Internet, word of mouth and professors, it is good to have an additional source to consult (especially one written by two MFA film grads from NYU!) So far, I have found Film School Confidential to present a fair, accurate and honest portrait of what I have expereinced. The authors want to make sure a potential MFA candidate in film knows what he/she is signing up for. I did not find this book to be discouraging: just realistic.Schools are reviewed in depth. One thing I found to be of particular help was the discussion of how production staff roles were determined. In some schools, a student might never get a chance to direct, even if that student came to study directing; whereas in other programs, students rotate through postions and have the opportunity to learn to edit, write, direct, produce, etc,... I found that the literature a school would make available to its applicants did not cover this information. It was only when I specifically asked the question to the film department itself that I determined how they approached this VERY important aspect of a film student's education.For me, learning to ask that question alone was worth the price of the book. But, in fact, there really is a lot more - especially with regard to the mission and philosophy of each school (yes, they really are quite different.) If you are seriously considering getting your MFA in film, this book is an excellent resource.

There are a lot of things one needs to think about when thinking about going to Film School. This book just about covers every single one of them. Not just do they talk about the pros and cons of each of the schools listed, but they also explain to the reader what they should expect once leaving film school. This is a vital part and it may not be something a film school hopeful whould have at the top of their lists of deciding factors in a film school. But as Kelly and Edger explain, some schools prepare students for the movie industry better than others, and they are not always the ones you might think of. The only drawback I could find was that they don't list MA programs. The fact is there are many good MA programs out there in film. But they do explain why they don't and I tend to agree with them. None the less I would love to see them come out with a book that rates 25 MA film programs.