Vancouver Film School - Need a Professional Opinion

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  • Vancouver Film School - Need a Professional Opinion

    This friday I was accepted to Vancouver Film School's Writing for Film and Interactive Media program. The news is both exciting and terrifying.

    What's so scary aboot Canada? Absolutely nothing. Canada is harmless... or so I've been told by Canadians.

    I'm terrified that I may invest $12,000 US Dollars into a misdirected technical school education. I could just as easily quit my job and spend a year devoted entirely to writing and the independent study of literature and film.

    As a young, reformed IT professional, I lack an academic knowledge of story and film. I think VFS would introduce me to such material. However, saving the 12k for grad school tuition strikes me as the more scholarly pursuit.

    How does the entertainment industry view Vancouver Film School? What might a student expect to attain both academically and professionally by attending?

  • #2
    I don't think it really matters how the entertainment industry views VFS. You said yourself that you need the education. That should be enough incentive. The education you'll get there, or in any film program, will be better than what you read in a book. But for the record, to my knowledge, I think VFS is fairly well received. Put it this way--nobody will think less of you for going there. Unless it's Kevin Smith.

    Ele...

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    • #3
      Canadian Film School

      I graduated from Ryerson University in Toronto, with a BFA in Film. Though I haven't been to VFS, I'd recommend you save the money, take the time off work, and just write. The only one-year course that I'd consider taking would be the USC or UCLA, which cost much less ($4000 I think) plus, you're actually in LA where things are happening.

      A year isn't a very long time... If you're disciplined, you should be able to get much more work done on your own than you will at school, since you won't have other classes to worry about.

      As far as academic knowledge of story and film goes, I guarantee that you'll learn more by reading 10 books on screenwriting than you will in a year of school. In the three screenwriting classes I took at Ryerson, I'd say that 80% of the time was spent reading other student's scripts out loud, which is kind of pointless. Yes, I know that reading scripts out loud can be helpful to a writer, but most people were bringing in total junk that they had written the night before, so it was a huge waste of time. There were also a lot of arbitrary scene writing assignments, with no consideration made towards doing a longer project. I found the writing classes to be incredibly frustrating, and they actually made me want to write less.

      Save your money, especially if you're going to go and do an MFA. I'd be happy to give you a list of books that I read in film school (and after graduation) on screenwriting / dramatic structure that have helped me learn much more than I ever did in a class.

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      • #4
        No one in Hollywood has heard of Vancouver Film School, I'm willing to bet.

        If you want to plunk down money to attend film school, the best bang for the buck (learning, exposure, contacts, etc.) is UCLA professional program, especially for in-staters.

        Schools that has levels of respect in the industry are:

        USC, UCLA, AFI, NYU - Top four probably

        Next tier would include FSU, UT Austin, Columbia and a few others.

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        • #5
          if money is no object

          If money is no object, I definitely agree with Hamboogul. Apply to the programs he mentions in LA and NYC (there are a few other good ones in both LA and NYC). Any other place is more or less on the fringe and not worth paying for.

          It's May right now, so I don't know if you can get accepted in time to start someplace in the fall. But even if you can't, it's still no big deal. Just study some books on screenwriting and on film like you said you would. Paul Argentini has a good book called Elements of Style for Screenwriters. That's a good start, and I'm sure others here can recommend books to you.

          Here's the site of a woman who mentors screenwriters and other writers.

          saysmom.com/maia/

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          • #6
            Hello, and congratulations!

            How does the entertainment industry view Vancouver Film School? What might a student expect to attain both academically and professionally by attending?
            I think these are good questions to be asking. Very sensible. Hopefully, the school would be able to provide you with some kind of answers: what percentage of graduates are working in the field, et cetera. See if they will connect you with a recent graduate or two for a phone call. If youâ€TMre very tempted but also very nervous, perhaps you can go for a visit. Call USC; see if you can make a comparison.

            Good luck.

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            • #7
              I live in Vancouver and know that VFS is respected locally. They have a new head of the writing program with a number of credits -- none of which I have ever heard of. I took one re-write class in the part-time program and was underwhelmed; most of the time was spent getting feedback from fellow writers, who ranged from near-pro to rank amateurs. Also, a lot of the students seemed both to @#%$-foot around about giving (needed) criticism and to be thin-skinned about their own work. The teacher was very nice, but I didn't learn anything I hadn't already read in a half-dozen writing books. In other words, not the greatest learning environment. However, maybe the full-time program is better.

              I question the cost/benefit merit of ANY full-time screenwriting program, actually. With the possible (and limited) exception of the "name brands" (UCLA/USC/NYU), people in the biz don't seem to care much about credentials -- thay care about what's on the page.

              I think a person can get as much education by reading a stack of books/scripts, joining a writer's group, getting online feedback on TS/Zoe/etc., and maybe taking some part-time classes (e.g., UCLA Extension, online or live).

              But Vancouver is a lovely city and there are worse places to spend a year and $12,000... One idea would be to switch to the production side and make your own short, as well as work on scripts during the year.

              LauriD

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              • #8
                About students in the San Francisco State Graduate Film program:

                www.sfbg.com/38/34/x_script_doctor.html

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