Film School: The Book

So, I just read "FILM SCHOOL: The True Story of a Midwestern Family Man Who Went to the World's Most Famous Film School, Fell Flat on His Face, Had a Stroke, and Sold a Television Series to CBS." By Steve Boman the concept developer for Three Rivers (which I have admittedly never seen, but now plan to).

I read it while soaking in a warm bath, trying heat my frozen toes from the world's coldest house sitting gig ever. Actors may have to foot their bills waitressing, we film-makers have to get equally creative at times. It's a sweet deal, really. Two weeks of private time in a nice condo with an (occasionally over-friendly) dog and a stock-pile of snack-food. The problem is, it's snowing in Febuary and it's about as cold in here as it is out there. Seriously, it's so damn cold. Also the internet is a cord-hookup dealeo, so I'm restricted to the single most frigid corner of the apartment in order to work. I'm rarely seen wearing anything but shorts, particularly under blankets, but hard times call for desperate measures. I'm even wearing socks and those that know me will recognize what an event that is.

So nightly before bed I've been taking a long bath to prevent frostbite in my toes, which burn like fire when I submerge them in the room tempurature bathwater. I'm pretty sure that's a bad sign.

I've been enjoying "Film School" while I heat up though. It's entertaining and a quick narrative about the true struggles of a 40-something Dad trying to make it through life at USC with fellow students no older than half his age.

This may be an exaggeration of how it actually happened.

All in all it's extremely fun, and well worth the read for anyone who's pursuing a dream that's perhaps a little bit zany given their life situation. What Steve does is crazy, unheard of, and a little bit terrifying for those of us who understand the implications. He basically puts all of his eggs in one basket, risking his families financial status on a crazy dream, but hey! It worked! That's the general tone of the book. It manages to push the work, stress, chaos and insanity of spending well beyond one's life savings for a school deal that, more often or not, doesn't go anywhere. But occasional, it does, and when it does, the success can be short-lived but pretty damn sweet.

In a film perspective it's not terribly meaty. It's got a bit about the things he learned and the aspects of filmmaking with which he struggled but not much about the actual mechanics thereof. I'd suggest it highly to anyone on the verge of going to film school, considering filmschool or particularly if they were looking at USC, arguably one of the best film schools in the world, as it gives a very nice layout of what's expected and what to expect, as well as a good number of the do's and don'ts (many of which Steve breaks from film 1).

The overall message is useful for anyone interested in film, or anyone considering doing something crazy. It's a lot of work, and it takes a lot of, even insane levels of passion and dedication to get through it. But there's a chance that it might work out, and that's pretty cool.

No I Don't Go To Film School

But I like to imagine that I do something similar.
Film school doesn't have highly structured curricular like med school, or a law degree might. In truth film schools vary greatly from university to university, ranging from experimental, independant, television, mainstream, writing, cinematography and technical filmmaking. What you get out of film school depends greatly on where you go, what you sign up for and what you put into it.
Of course, nothing can replace some of the equipment experience and technical expertise that film school often affords you but with some guts, a few extra dollars and a real obsession for the craft, you might be able to at least get a bit of a head start without the 100,000 dollar pricetag.

I'm a bit of a film buff myself, but I've only recently reached the level of 'obsessive'. I may not be able to rattle of the names of directors without a second thought, but I know my way around a camera and I can watch a movie and analyze the purpose, effect and cinametic elements without too much pause. The truth is I've always been a fan of film and television and I think it was inevitable that I persue a career in film to some degree; but I've only just come to realize it.

As a kid I was extremely shy, reserved and painfully phobic of the world around me. The one thing I was always able to do, despite my social inadequacy was perform. I often staged shows on the classically sloped stage that was my driveway, crewing it with kids from around the neighborhood. I admired film, art and television. I dreamed of being an actor, or a painter or a musician. I've always been able to imagine myself in that sort of world, creating and inspiring people to create. I think it was the immortality of it all that drew me in as a child. Most of my fears grew from the terrible knowledge that we all would die, one day or another, but I was also mortified by the concept of living forever. The only thing that I could find comfort in was the sort of Gilgamesh-like worship of the names that had come before me. To look at something and say "These poeple have been here, and they did that". What an ability. To a five or six year old kid, there is no greater magic.

I don't look for immortality anymore. But I still love film. I probably always will. Yet I hadn't really considered it as anything more than a passing interest for most of my life. Although my parents were particularly good at allowing us kids to follow our personal interests, I never felt like film was really something my parents would be super enthusiastic to hear as a career plan. Let's be honest, everybody thinks they're gonna hit it big in the industry and very few people actually do. There's not a lot of safety in the arts, in terms of job security, particularly given the current economy. Compared to my two older brothers too, it pales slightly. My oldest brother, the brainiac, works for the justice department. My athletic brother is training to be an EMT. I'm pretty smart myself, an I.B. graduate and I'm spending all my free time and money on making YouTube videos. Let's be honest, it's not terribly prestigious. It's a hell of a lot of fun though, and it's actually been an incredable experience and a great learning tool. I run an immersive A.R.G. and it's very time consuming, and extremely fun. Getting to work every side of the show; acting, prop building, costuming, directing, filming and editting, has taught me a vast amout in a short time.
It's also the future of entertainment. Let's be honest, we don't really utalize the internet to it's fullest. We use it as a T.v. or a giant chatroom, or a very convienant mall. But we never combine any of those aspects. This is where I find the most satisfaction in what I do. It's the innovation, the trials, and the constant problem solving that comes with a small budget, small crew, major project like the one I work on. But that's all I can say about it, until it's finished, but one day I promise, I'll give you a full report.

In the meantime this blog will serve as my outpouring of learning as I work my through the Film School of my brain. Sometimes I'll be commenting on books, websites, or tools; sometimes I'll be talking about the art itself or even reviewing the films that I watch or study.
Virtual film brain.

Anyway, hopefully it's not too insane. But it probably will be.
Cheers.