Question about a film school in LA.

[Peter Strietmann]

Hi Folks,

My son has expressed interest in going to a film school in Los Angeles by the name of "Relativity School". Does any one know anything about this school? Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Peter

 

[Tolin]

I tend to call them "Pay & Play Programs"; The broad programs with the key selling point being that the students are immersed in an industry environment.
I can't imagine applying for a job and saying you have a "BFA in Film and Digital Content". If he knows what he wants to do (eg. Cinematography) then I'm sure you can talk to him about how these programs are mostly targeted towards people with no previous experience with the industry and who only really know that they want to work "in film". If he isn't sure of what he wants to be doing then the school will probably be a great introduction for him, but I do not see him graduating and moving on to working in the industry based on what he's taught.

If he knows what he wants to do then a specialized program is a lot more beneficial. I would dare to argue that when applying for a cinematography job (or any other job in the industry), a broad degree in "Film and Digital Content" isn't worth much of anything, whereas a degree that actually specifies the job title shows not only that the person knows what he/she wants to do but that they have been trained specifically in that field. Even if this 'degree' is one of those silly one year NYFA "Cinematography" diplomas (also Pay & Play afaik).

That's my two cents anyway.

 

[Marcus Friedlander]

Film school should be about more than learning the basics of filmmaking. If you want, filmmakeriq.com or nofilmschool.com can teach you the basics. The real value I found in film school was the fact that it was a four year university as well. So I spent just as much time learning about how the world works as I spent learning how filmmaking works and IF YOU WANT TO BE A SUCCESSFUL FILMMAKER YOU NEED BOTH! The overall knowledge that I gained of the world, combined with the knowledge I gained while working on set, is what I see as a total film education.

 

[Dr. Sassi]

First I went to your website, so I do not tell you what you already know and perhaps much better know anyway. )

I'm all for a solid education, I'm not really into this web-based-only thing: I have watched for my job around 6,000 tutorials in the past decade, half of it -- is a waste of time. Seriously. But a good mix of self-education, structured material and on set experience is my favorite.



My idea would be, to google the school-'s name in resumés and see how the alumni do -- now. How is the industry accepting this offer.



If I would be your son, I think an internship with you has more value than any school can have. (I learned one job over three years from my father and I know how much friction that can cause ;o)

Anyway, I can't help it, I have to post it, because it is a positive story and certainly very close to most people's story I have met in the past three decades doing film-work/festivals:

http://community.musicbed.com/artic...ent=CommunityPost&utm_campaign=CaleGlendening

My best wishes for your son!

 

[Peter Strietmann]

Thank everyone for the thoughtful replies. I've had my son on a bunch of sets so he knows his way around production pretty well. So that Relativity Film School does not seem like the best match. I feel it is all the other stuff you learn about growing up and becoming self motivated is far more important. And then you have people like Cale Glendening who take the bull by the horns and thrive on their impassioned love of film making. The search continues...