The YouTuber's Guide to Film School

Film school can seem like a long shot; not everyone can make it as a Hollywood film director. But with the explosion of online media opportunities, film students aren't just dreamers anymore, and the skills learned in filmmaking school are now in high demand.

Directors like Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee were for a long time the paragons of film school accomplishment, men who had achieved the highest levels of cinematic achievement thanks to an aesthetic developed at film schools. But today, film school's embrace of uncompromised "artsiness" is now passing. Today, film school has become a field broad enough to lead you into several new careers upon graduation. How is this possible?

The reason is that we live in a more visual age, and the fundamentals of filmmaking, editing and sound mixing are now a necessity for many careers.

Filmmaking Careers

Advertising, web development, computer animation, and public relations are just a few professions in which a good sense of visual messaging is extremely appreciated. A good film school teaches just that. Now, this doesn't mean that film school doesn't still teach artistry. Even though film degrees can prepare you for more conventional careers, in most film schools, art appreciation is still important.

Film School Prepares You for Media Jobs

Courses taught in film school usually involve camera work, editing, and scriptwriting. Most film jobs are keenly interested in how to tell a story, whether for a movie, computer game or a diaper commercial.

Conventional jobs or long-shot Hollywood stardom aren't the only outlet for film school graduates. With the rise of digital production and distribution, more and more websites and companies are looking for original content. You might freelance with a variety of media companies or build your own, distributing your work digitally instead of on the silver screen.

Filmmaking on the Web

YouTube was just the beginning, and now every media outlet is desperate for the next new online video hit. If you can create short, catchy video content, you could become the next Internet sensation (at least for a few minutes). So while filmmaking school may have once seemed the paragon of art for art's sake, with the online age, it's a degree program filled with real possibility.

About the Author
Alex Russel is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn, New York. Since graduating from Syracuse University he has worked at many different media companies in fields as diverse as film, TV, advertising, and journalism. He holds a dual bachelor's degree in English and History.