Comparing Film Schools: What to look for.
| The core curriculum: some film schools focus on application, and some focus more on the liberal arts aspects – actually filming vs. studying cinema and film history. All schools will do both, but make sure to ask for a full set of courses taught so that you can see what is the bulk of the training. And keep that in mind for yourself as well: which type of school do you want to attend? Class size: While its true that major motion pictures have hundreds of people working on them, chances are you don't want to be in that sort of environment while learning how to make films. Ask about class size, especially for classes where you are learning the techniques of filmmaking. You want to make sure that you actually get your hands on the equipment and practice in the classes that are meant to do so. |
Student projects: Find out how many projects each student is required to complete (not just "an option to complete") during the entire course. A great aspect about attending a film school is you have access to good equipment that you can use to start building your reel. Moreover, the more projects that are required, the more hands-on time you get to practice and refine your skills. How does the school feel?: If you're going to spend money on going to school to study film, you want to make sure the environment is one in which you're comfortable and want to spend a lot of time – as many hours a day as you can – perfecting your skills. So take a tour of the schools. Speak with the faculty and students to get an overall feeling for what it's like to be a student there. |
Featured Article: America's Forgotten Heroes: Humanity in Question for the Navajo People
My name is Ellen Downing and I am the director and producer of Don't Mine Me. I first learned about uranium mining on the Navajo reservation at Powershift 2009 in Washington D.C., when I was a senior in high school. My family and I moved to the reservation when I was 11; however, I'd only learned about this subject 7 years later. This issue is not something that people are very aware of both on and off the reservation. That is why I believe this documentary is so important to make... more
Featured Film Graduate: William Mueller
WKRN, Channel 2, Nashville's ABC affiliate: prime time and weekend news editor."Not a bad gig for a young man who admitted to me that he had a hard time getting through high school."
Read more about William's experience before, during and after NFI. Why he decided to attend a film school, and how it helped him land a job with ABC in Nashville.
Featured Partner: A Backpack Journalist
A Backpack Journalist (Backpack) provides teen youth the basics of writing, song-writing, photography, and verse (urban & cowboy poetry) in a hands-on classroom format. The new partnership with NFI will add film making to this curriculum. Building resiliency and finding one’s voice through creative expression is Backpack’s mission. Backpack has been serving successfully components of the military and at-risk youth for the past 3 three years and recognized for the programs’ effectiveness by the National Guard, US Army Reserves, Association of the United States Army and the Yellow Ribbon Program.
Testimonial: Tommy Wooldridge
“I remember back when I was in middle school and first started making stupid movies with my friends. I would sit in the movie theater and watch the credits roll thinking, ‘wouldn’t it be cool to see my name crawl up that screen?Through the Nashville Film Institute I was not only able to accomplish that dream by seeing my name in the credits of a feature film, but also to create even more dreams, more ambitions, and make them more attainable than ever before.”
The Nashville Film Institute is authorized for operation as a postsecondary educational institution by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. In order to view detailed job placement and graduation information on the programs offered by The Nashville Film Institute, please visit www.state.tn.us/thec and click on the Authorized Institutions Data button with a link to http://www.tn.gov/thec embedded in the name "Tennessee Higher Education Commission" . For information on transferability of credits, please visit our Transferability of Credits Disclosure page.