To Be Or Not To Be – In A Film School!

There comes a time when new filmmakers wonder whether or not they should have enrolled into a film school. And believe me, everyone goes through this phase. You could be an expert at what you do, but it would have still occurred to you.

“Where could I have been had I enrolled/not enrolled into a film school?” I’ll be very honest till last year, this thought hit me very strongly, at least once every 2-3 months (which is a lot!). I have invested 4 years of my life into a film school, practicing theory with little to no commercial/on set experience and trying my hands on dozens of student projects.

The learning has been undeniable, but I sometimes wonder if 4 years was a little too much, if I had taken too long to finally step into the field… but again, now that I work as a lecturer (Film and TV) at a prestigious university I understand we all have different learning paces and not every kid can be the same. And with this understanding I can teach better, so every time that I interact with my students, I fully understand how important it was for me to go through the process and for them to go through it too.

When it comes to a film or art school in Pakistan, it’s never the school that will teach you how to film, it will always be you and how far you are willing to go. It will be your onset experiences, nothing beats the thrill and learning of the sets. There are multiple tutorials out there available for the newer generation of film makers and we at Golden Camera have decided to give you one of our top picks every week! Because to truly become a film maker/ photographer you constantly need to come up with ideas and concepts that are out of the box, alongside some great equipment (we are now going to do both for you!)

So it doesn’t really matter if you went to a film school or not but here are the Pros and Cons of going to one just so you know what you’re missing out on.

Pros –

1. Networking! (Your network is worth your net worth, you will make your life long crew here and know their talents and capabilities as you grow over the years with them.)
2. Formal education (A degree to testify for your talents will come in handy in situations such as the current pandemic hit, just in case you need to settle down for an office job, also this will count for years of education.)
3. Teachers (You will learn in person from some of the most accomplished and not so accomplished professionals in the field. You will have the opportunity to learn from their mistakes, failures, successes and even get hired by them as teachers tend to see great potentials in their students.)
4. Competition (The competition in a FilmSchool classroom is so immense, but it prepares you for what lies ahead in the field. This is truly one of the greatest advantages of being in a film school!)

Cons –

1. It’s expensive (You can invest the same money getting some great gear from a trusted site)
2. You will miss out on a lot of practical learning while you opt for classroom learning. (but you can always strike a balance, some of the students already have jobs… but they are not film jobs for film sets do not leave you with enough time to be able to pursue formal education)
3. Even though film is a creative medium and what you will create will have to come straight out of your heart but most of the time preference will be given to those with a relevant degree unless your work beats all odds! Set your heart to it, and go get them tiger.
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