Degree Programs
The
primary advantage of a degree program is that the training is wonderfully
broad in scope and fully integrated. You learn aesthetics, technology, and
application. Courses are offered in crafts, production, history, and
criticism, usually at progressive levels of difficulty.
Degree programs are hard to beat. In the
best schools you are taught by experienced professionals, use state of the art
equipment, and have an army of students to work with. You can become a
consummate filmmaker or a craft specialist. You can also make important
contacts.
Degree programs, however, are not for
everyone. The drawbacks are that they require time and money. An undergraduate
degree takes four years to complete, at a cost of $40,000 - $100,000,
depending on the school.
Certificate Programs
Some
universities and institutes offer an abridged version of the degree program.
These are called certificate programs and are the next best thing to a degree.
Certificate programs usually take 1 - 2 two years to complete, with a
proportionate cut in cost.
Certificate programs can be quite good. In
choosing one, determine its scope in relation to your needs. Also,
make sure that you will be learning state-of-the-art technology and
application, since things are changing rapidly in the industry.
Intensive Workshops
Intensive "total immersion" workshops
are full time programs that run 3 - 6 weeks. They can be geared to
general production or a specific craft. The cost is approximately
$3,000 - 6,000, plus supplies. Intensive courses are great when you want
total immersion in a particular area.
It is important to know the scope of the
course and whether it meets your needs. Check if the course uses film or
video cameras. Many film based courses do not teach "sync" sound, which is how professional movies are made. Instead, you shoot with silent cameras and add a few tracks of sound later.
Stand Alone Filmmaking Courses
Stand-alone courses are intended to hone
your skills in a specific area of filmmaking. They can cost anywhere
from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.
University courses typically run 15 weeks, with classes meeting once or twice
each week. Private courses are usually concentrated into several
consecutive days of training, often over a weekend.
The beauty of stand-alone courses is that
you can mix and match them to suit your needs. They are offered in
general production, crafts, and specific equipment. Courses that focus on
specific pieces of equipment may be authorized by the
manufacturer.
Online Filmmaking Courses
Web learning, also known as distance
learning, is the latest twist in film
education. This is the
contemporary version of correspondence courses, but with the added benefits
of the internet. It is a great alternative if you want
to learn filmmaking in your own home, at your own pace,
and at a reasonable cost.
This approach is possible by virtue of inexpensive digital equipment,
which allows you to immediately apply what
you learn. No need for long hands-on courses to learn complex film cameras
and editing systems. Today, the equipment of choice is a digital
camcorder and a basic computer for editing, equipment that just about anyone can operate.
Text based courses (relying on the written word along with audio/visual aids),
continue to be at the core of
effective distance learning.
They pack a great deal of information into each lesson, and
they are loaded with hyperlinks for instant elaboration. Most importantly, you
can print the lessons for future study and research. www.FilmSchoolOnline.com is based on
this model.
