Beyond the Degree

Professional Guild Programs: Many of Hollywood’s guilds and unions offer educational events of various stripes, most of which are open to non-members. The Writers Guild Foundation puts on frequent panel discussion events in Los Angeles, while the Producers Guild of America conducts an annual eight-week “Power of Diversity Master Workshop” for producers with projects they want to hothouse. Of particular note is the American Society of Cinematographers’ five-day Master Class, held a couple of times a year in Hollywood. At $2,999, it’s for serious takers only, but the chance to study camera, lighting and workflow techniques under some of the society’s widely admired members might be worth it to some aspiring DPs of intermediate to advanced skill.

Film Centers: Investigate what your local film center has to offer. L.A.’s Echo Park Film Center, for example, runs classes with an emphasis on youth filmmaking as well as social justice through cinema. Meanwhile, Brooklyn’s Mono No Aware provides a funky array of film-related craft workshops, priced anywhere from $900 to under $100. During these short (one-to-four days) classes, up to 10 participants learn Super-8, 16mm or 35mm basics; DIY film processing with coffee and beer; direct animation; black and white reversal processing; laser printing on film… you name it. Outside of L.A. and New York, Portland’s Northwest Film Center has comprehensive programs, too.

Community Colleges: A number of community colleges have film programs that rival those of four-year universities—at lower rates. Piedmont Community College in North Carolina has a two-year Film & Video Production Technology program that offers Associate of Applied Science degrees, certificates and diplomas (requirements range from 70 semester hours to just 15); the lab-style courses cover production and post basics, from sound to art direction. Facilities include lighting, sound and editing studios. On the West Coast, Colorado Film School is a branch of the Community College of Aurora, and offers 48-credit certificate programs and 75-credit transferable AAS degrees. CFS has majors in screenwriting, cinematography, post-production and various combinations of acting, directing and producing. Most classes are capped at 16 students, and Colorado residents pay around $4,500 per year (non-residents pay around $15,000).

Film Diploma Programs: Many appreciate the focus and intensity of a diploma-centric institution, and Canada is home to two top examples. Toronto Film School offers 18-month diplomas in Film Production, Writing for Film and TV, and Acting for Film, TV and the Theatre (the former two are also available in 24-month online editions); those programs will cost you around $30,000 in tuition. On the other hand, Vancouver Film School, which now owns eight campuses around the world, specializes in one-year programs in Film Production, Acting for Film + Television, Makeup Design for Film + Television and a range of animation and FX options. – Kelly Leow MM

This article appears in MovieMaker‘s Summer 2017 issue. Illustrations by Josephine Kyhn.

Top photograph by Peter Simon.

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