How To Get a Film School Education for Free - Part One - The Top 7 Free Online Resources for Learning Filmmaking
Film school, or no film school? That is the question. It's the question for many of us who have dreamed of making movies since we were kids, but haven't known where to start. It's a question for those of us who have been to film school and haven't found it particularly helpful. It's a question for those considering film school who don't really have the money for it and don't know if they'll be able to make a living from it afterwards, anyway.
Well, I've got good news for you. In the 21st century, you can get a film school education for practically free.
Because: The Internet.
I went to film school for a little while. I have often asked myself if it was really a useful experience or not. The truth is that, though I think film school gave me the initial push into the film world that I needed, ultimately I have learned far more just by reading articles, books, and blogs and by watching tutorials, interviews, and movies on my own.
So I decided to share with you some of the most useful wisdom I have found. And here's the good news: most of it's free.
The 7 Top Free Online Resources for Learning Filmmaking
1 So You Wanna Work in the Movies
This online article is practically a book, and it's a good place to start if--well, you wanna work in the movies. It basically goes through all the roles in the film industry, in alphabetical order, and explains what it's like and what it takes to work in each one. I would suggest reading this from top to bottom.
2 Future Learn: Free Online Courses
This website is totally amazing. All you have to do is create an account and you can take free courses from professionals in all kinds of fields. They have several courses on filmmaking, all of which are worth taking. This involves light reading and watching videos, and sometimes suggested exercises. The pace is reasonable, so you can do them in half the time suggested if you want to.
This website is a gigantic and ever-growing treasure trove of articles, videos, podcasts, and discussions for filmmakers by filmmakers. It's pretty great. I've learned so much on here. Follow their page on Facebook and you'll get links to interesting articles directly in your newsfeed. If you take the time to read a few articles every day or week, you'll start building up a bank of valuable knowledge.
Yes, Wikipedia. It's basically the best streamlined and cross-referenced database for film information on the Internet. I consider it even better than IMDb. You can learn so much over time just by reading the Production section on Wikipedia for each movie you watch. (By the way, you can skip the Plot section because you already know the plot since you just watched the movie--and if you haven't watched the movie don't read it either, because it will have spoilers.)
CineSummit is awesome. It's an online event held once or twice a year by filmmaker Aviv Vana. He interviews some of the hottest names in the world of cinema and makes the videos available for FREE for a couple of days. You also have the option to buy the entire summit to help keep the event in business and to watch the videos as often as you want. It is so worth attending. Sign up on the page to stay informed about the next dates.
This online film school was created and is run by full-time filmmaker Parker Walbeck. The course itself is not free, but there is a free webinar you can sign up for directly on the website. It is super helpful and interesting for people wanting to get a start in filmmaking as a business. I would highly recommend checking it out and seeing if the paid portion is something you'd want to invest in.
7 Small Is Beautiful: Making Movies As If Filmmakers Mattered
This is a sort of manifesto on independent filmmaking. I found it really meaningful once when I was feeling so small and powerless in a world that seemed ruled by the big and rich. If you ever feel like you'll never make it as a filmmaker because breaking into Hollywood is just too hard but it seems like the only way, give this a read and take it to heart. I hope it will comfort and encourage you like it did me.
Another great post. You can learn so much for free online now. The internet literally provides us with free education. Have you looked at MOOCs (massive open online courses) as well? I've done a couple of them, although not to do with film so I don't know what's available.
Thanks, @choogirl! I have not checked out MOOC, I'll have to give it a look. :) By the way, do you know how to make a numbered list on here? All the items on my list turned out to be number 1. :/
No sorry. I generally use headings and manually type the numbers in and they seem ok. I am far from an expert in markdown.
I like that you call it a top 7 but they're all number 1. It's all about equality these days ;)
I didn't go to film school, I studied film in University. I often regretted not having gone to film school, because I hardly made films when I was (still) studying film. It took me a lot of effort to actually start making films and I didn't have any connections in the industry. I later regretted going to University for seven years.
Now I stopped regretting things but looking at the positives.
I would probably argue the same (more or less):
You don't need to 'study' film to become a filmmaker, at least not necessarily in University or in film school. Practical, hands on experience is very much needed though. And, no matter how much books you read about filmmaking or how many movies you analyze or filmmaking tutorials you watch, the best way to become a better filmmaker is by starting to actually make movies.
Keep up the good work! I got your back ;)
That is so true! I totally agree with you that the best way to actually learn filmmaking is by making films. However I gotta say that even in film school, there was way too much emphasis on getting the process and the paperwork right that, though I did get to participate in student projects, I really still felt totally unprepared to be a filmmaker. A lot of what I feel I missed learning in film school I've learned from books and online, and of course by jumping into filmmaking myself. :)
I see what you mean. I guess it's always about some kind of mix of all these ingredients. Let's just say that I got this tendency to study stuff for too long a time before I jump in. I'm working hard to get better in jumping in a little earlier ;)
Yeah, I find it easier to study than to actually "do" as well. :) By the way, can I see any of your work? I'd love to!
By the way, I made this a numbered list according to the rules of Markdown, but they all turned out to be number 1. So if anyone knows how to fix that, please let me know.
If you just type in :
etc.
in your 'Post' area, I guess it works fine.
I tried this but they all turned out to be 1 lol. I think because of all the pictures and paragraphs in between it couldn't recognize that it was still a list, maybe.
who knows? :)
Great set of filmmaking resources here - https://filmlifestyle.com
Thanks for reading! Your link didn't work though...
That's strange. It should now - never had any problems before.
Ah, looks like it's working now. :) Thanks!