I obtained the BFA in Film Production from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. As someone who has also attended USC’s Film School as well as having taken classes at UCLA’s Film Program, I thought I could offer some good perspective of what I thought of each and start with the one I spent the most time at: NYU.
The Location
Parents of budding film makers cringe at their child’s choice of career for a number of reasons. First, they are concerned that the child will end up flipping burgers in a fast food joint for the rest of their lives. After all, for every Quentin Tarantino there are twenty five Andy Shaffers who are just not going to make it. Most parents encourage their children’s dreams as much as possible, but after they start investigating the cost of Film College, they may start thinking it would be cheaper just to fund the filmmaking directly without bothering with the film courses at all. It is just not the cost of the filmmaking itself that has to be investigated and invested in; there are additional costs as well.
Film College is expensive and there are several options to consider. There is film education that is the major course of study in the overall, general college experience. While this is a well rounded education, it is not only expensive but can be very trying for the student, especially if they are not one for conventional school and classes. In addition to the cost of the tuition though, there will be the costs of books and other learning materials to consider. If the school is not local there is the cost of travel to and from as well as the cost of living at the school, including meals and lodging.
For those looking to create exciting visual works, film schools can provide the basic education, training and specialized skills needed for filmmaking and video production. Film students learn how to produce radio and television news, studio programs, documentaries, sporting events, music videos, and especially feature films. The training will include classroom lectures and hands-on coaching to develop an understanding of the various media production processes.
Film schools offer a broad array of classes and specialties for students looking into occupations in the media and film production industry. They can prepare students for careers in animation, broadcasting, television production, and filmmaking with educational courses in media arts.