Posted by:
Tevai
(
)
Date: July 08, 2019 05:36PM
Here is how to get to the point where a given person can become an indie ("independent") film producer [which may include: writer, director, actor, etc.]:
My own formal film/film production classes were mainly extension (evening and weekends) classes from American Film Institute (located in the Hollywood area), but it appears that they may not be doing so many of these currently.
The best place to go now, for this same level of professional instruction, is probably UCLA Extension
https://www.uclaextension.edu/entertainment/film-tv/coursesI just skimmed their list of classes available, and they have some really good classes in indie film production, such as:
MGMT x403.34: Entertainment Financing: From First $ to Distribution of Profits
MGMT X403.33: Independent Film Financing
FILM TVX439: Inside the World of Film Acquisitions: How to Sell Your Project to Hollywood, which is detailed as: "Learn the art of selling your project to studios, production and sales companies, indie distributors and the like through understanding how buyers, known as acquisition execs, evaluate the "worth" of your projects."
As with anything having to do with "Hollywood," knowledge and talent are important, but connections are ESSENTIAL. (This is the fundamental reason why so many committed industry wannabes, especially those from outside the "Hollywood" orbit, get service jobs at particular restaurants: Many a career has been launched because of a person-to-person relationship which developed over time between a once-upon-a-time server and a recognized industry insider.)
This is why in-person classes are so important: The industry knowledge of the "hows" is good, and may turn out to be important in the future, but the value of the class is most often in the connections which are forged--between students and students, and between students and instructors--in this particular educational milieu.
One of the best things students learn, over time, in these classes is if they, as individuals, really belong in "Hollywood"--and if they are willing to do what is necessary to do in order to create a career in the industry. Many (perhaps most) people learn that they, as individuals, are NOT willing to put in the time, and do the work (some of which can be extremely unpleasant and distressful), in order to create an industry career.
Although "distance learning" of various kinds has some potential to be of educational (and, to a much lesser extent, of practical) value, it cannot compensate for the lack of human connections which evolve out of shared experiences in a classroom, both with fellow students who are going to be the next generation of industry "insiders," and with the various instructors (all of whom are industry professionals, usually with decades of credited accomplishments and industry awards).
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/2019 05:37PM by Tevai.