The cinema is a world of dreams for a lot of readers of this blog, who dream of one day integrating this environment as a director, writer, producer or technician. Another world is often conducive to dreams : The United States, Hollywood, New York… This is what make people dream more of a wannabe filmmaker who grew up with the american cinema of Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Quentin Tarantino and other Steven Spielberg. It is therefore legitimate to broach the subject of film studies in the United States. Is this a good plan, a must-do, a scam ? Decryption.
The United States, with France, is the country in the world that has the most formations in the cinema. It is possible to study in great schools such as UCLA (University Of California Los Angeles) and NYU (New York University Tisch School Of the Arts). But this is very expensive, tens of thousands of dollars just for the tuition. What are the benefits of studying cinema in New York city or Los Angeles ?
As so often, France is famous for the theoretical knowledge. And if the private cinema schools allow courses that are more concrete, there is nothing better than the US for those who want to learn the basics of a serious and pragmatic. The financial and material resources are much more important than in France. Similarly, the courses offer significantly different approaches. For example, for all that is Writing the scenarios, it is important to first master the rules, such as the three actions, before considering whether to get rid of. And the United States is clearly the reference for the writing of scenarios according to the rule of three acts.
Then, a very important element is to know or you want to work in the cinema. In student in the United States, you will be able to become bilingual, which is a definite plus, but you can also with full of pipes on the functioning of the community, the good contacts… to work in Hollywood. On the other hand, if your ambition is to work in the French cinema, the interest of a experience in the United States is lesser. It is better to be on Paris, try to present short films in festivals, meet people, create a network… and therefore to study in France.
After that, it is possible to do studies in France and in the United States, two-time. For example, Cédric Klapisch is passed through the Femis and by theUniversity of New York. It is a very attractive solution to enjoy both teaching methods, and to enrich the two cultures… and to build a network on both sides of the atlantic.
Check out the top 10 best Schools and Universities of Cinema in the United States.