There’s an old saying that goes, “…Great film makers are BORN…they’re TAUGHT!” There’s probably a lot of truth to that phrase whether it actually is an old saying or not. The truth is, you can be born with the sparkle of creativity in your eye and you can have an inkling of what you’d like some great film epic to look like. But unless you go about choosing the right film production school all your unbridled enthusiasm will be for naught.

Why Go to School?

Granted these days anyone with a laptop and a digital movie camera can proclaim themselves a “film maker.” Just grab a few friends and find some anonymous back street location and you’re all set. But film making is a little more complex than that. Maybe you can shoot the next big indie blockbuster for $1.75, but then what? Where do you learn film marketing, how about film finance?

If you take the time to go about choosing the right film production school, you can be assured that you’ll learn all that and more. In a structured environment you’ll learn staging, pacing, editing and the ins and outs of the movie camera. And you’ll do it again and again and again until you get it right. And those are just some of the reasons you need to go to a good film production school.

Good Schools and Not-So-Good Schools

In a perfect world we’ll all study film at UCLA and go on to become successful film makers. The odds of going to UCLA are many. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other good film production schools that are closer to home and closer to what we can afford. When choosing the right film production school make sure it is certified by the Board of Education above all. Make sure the school offers access to a variety of financial grants, aide and scholarships and make darn sure the film production school you choose offers you an in-depth curriculum. If you are going to pay a lot of money to create something you can do better at home, then maybe you ought to stay at home!

How Long is Too Long?

As you begin choosing the right film production school, consider how long you actually want to attend school. Weigh that against your personal economic reality of financing your education. There are film production schools that offer courses ranging from a few days to a few weeks or months to a few years. How long you attend school depends on how much you need to learn versus how much you can afford versus how much the film production school can teach you.