Film school - Definition and Overview

A Film school is an educational institution dedicated to teaching aspects of moviemaking, including, but not limited to, film production, theory, and writing for the screen. Most schools generally incorporate hands on technical training as part of their curriculum, such as learning how to use cameras and light meters. Usually both undergraduate and graduate studies are offered, although some may only have graduate programs. Many schools are privately owned and not tied to universities or colleges.

Various debates have raged over the years on the importance of film school in allowing one to enter the film industry. Of course, examples can be offered from both sides, as directors George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola graduated from prestigious film schools, whereas Quentin Tarantino had no formal film training. The rapid rise of independent filmmaking and digital video have changed this debate somewhat, as anyone with a few thousand dollars can shoot their own film (and some have done so quite successfully) with little formal knowledge of the industry. Still, others argue that the importance of film school lies in its ability to allow students to network and connect with those who may eventually offer them careers.

Film schools in the United States

Some prominent film schools in the United States (taken from the American Society of Cinematographers [1] (http://www.theasc.com/resource/schools/schools.htm)) include:

• American Film Institute (AFI)
• California Institute of the Arts
• Columbia University - School of the Arts
• North Carolina School of the Arts
• Northwestern University
• New York University (NYU) - Tisch School of the Arts
• San Francisco State University
• UCLA - School of Theater, Film and Television
• USC - School of Cinema-Television
• University of Texas at Austin - Department of Radio, Television and Film
• Vassar College
• Yale University