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Home » Blog » Movie Training: The Dangers of Paying For Expensive Filmmaking Courses in College

Movie Training: The Dangers of Paying For Expensive Filmmaking Courses in College

Article by Tom Burnham

Forget the stories in the magazines and papers about the skyscraping budgets of the blockbuster movies, is that really realistic? Even the smallest film can have extraordinary costs associated with its creation, costs that might start long before the first still shot is framed up. For many filmmakers, before they shout action for the first time, there is film education with film courses, filmmaking tips and other ways for them to learn filmmaking. But, what is the real cost of film making, for the student, for the parents of a young student or the family of an older student?

Film college, usually the first step to making a first film of any length, is expensive, not only for the film courses themselves but for the often heart breaking, emotional toll it can have. But there are other, less internal costs that are involved with film making, including the cost of location, equipment, actors and the other accoutrement that is needed for the shoot. (There are other even less interesting costs such as fees for permits and licensing to consider as well.)

For even a small film university, the cost can be fairly high, and typically requires a full college education, with the whole gamut of required courses that most students do not agree has anything to do with their eventual career choice. For other students, there might be options such as film courses that are independent of other college education, but that is not always possible in all locations and for all students. And while this will certainly cost less than a full education, it is still expensive. When a student only takes a few film courses instead of pursuing a full college education though, they cannot take advantage of some scholarships, grants and other educational assistance in any way.

Movie training itself can be expensive, but it is also expensive to make a film as well. The more ambitious the movie is going to be, the more expensive it will be. Even a very short film can cost a great deal of time, money and effort for the student. Even when others volunteer their time and energy to help out in the project, there are costs that cannot be avoided.

No matter how much of a “natural” the prospective film maker might seem to his friends and family, they benefit from some formal film study courses which can cover not only the basics, (which they might have down already) but may also cover other topics like location legalities and other mundane details that the filmmaker might not know of think of immediately. While it is expensive to take film courses in even a small, local film school, there are other options including a low cost alternative. No Budget Film Making is just the answer that you might be looking for, allowing you to learn what you need to know without paying the earth, moon and stars to get your filmmaking education.

Filmmaking Courses is a site providing reviews and information on film making courses in order to give readers an informed choice for their education in this industry.










Lance Weiler talks to Filmmaker Magazine about his new interactive project, “Pandemic.” Shot & edited by Jamie Stuart.

Question by Dangerous: Should we be that concerned about artificial intelligence?
Didn’t humanity create A.I.? So how could it ever take over humanity? It’s just a matrix, it’s not real… why do filmmakers like James Cameron make epics about the misuse of artificial intelligence and their wrath? Are people really that worried about technology taking over humans or is that just sensationalized movie making? Is there any real technologist that actually believes machines will take over humanity, or is it just an issue pushed to generate ticket and magazine sales?

Best answer:

Answer by StaticPollution
well, i think its a little of both, i mean.. it was probably a real idea before it was a movie idea.. but there are still those who believe in it… i know people who acually believe that A.I. will take over the world, but most people dont believe this, only the people who dont really understand.. A.I. is just a series of terminals that switch on and off depending on the data input.. this creates the illusion of intelligence. people who build these machines decide what type of data the machine will recognize, so unless someone puts a “kill all humans” program into the computer, it will never hurt anyone. A.I. computers can make decisions, but we are the ones who tell the computer what it can deicde. therefore it will never make a decision that we didnt approve of while bulding it… but it sure does make for an interesting movie plot

Add your own answer in the comments!

Jamie Stuart interviews documentary filmmaker Dmitry Trakovsky on his film Meeting Andrei Tarkovsky, which looks at the late auteur through his collaborators and friends.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

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Filed Under: Filmmaker News Tagged With: College, Courses, Dangers, Expensive, Filmmaking, Movie, Paying, Training

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