Film school owns your films

I remember back in kindergarden in school when I would draw or paint a picture or create some craft object, I would be able to bring it back home and show my parents. Then I could post it on my wall or give it to someone special. I put my work into creating it so I got to keep it.

Once I got into film school, things changed. Things that I had put my work into would be owned by the school. Films would be required to have "The University of Southern California" printed onto the credits. I would not even be able to post the film on to youtube unless it got "cleared" by USC.

And yet I had paid $200,000 to attend USC.

And yet I had produced, shot and edited everything.

And yet USC had not given me even 1 cent to produce my film.

USC will own all the films you create in class. Don't waste $200,000 on film school cause you won't even own your own film. All you will get from film school is a piece of paper.

"Faith" in film school will get you no where

The act of attending film school is putting faith in a system and the idea that the system will make you a filmmaker. If it's not faith, call it something else. But the fact that film students are spending $200k+ and 4 years+ on film schools means that they believe in something. And usually that belief is that film school will enable them to direct films.

That mentality of an external system or force(i.e. a film school or money) may be correct when viewing an industry(law, medicine or even the industry of filmmaking). Doctors and lawyers need to pass exams and need to get licenses... However, when it comes to filmmaking(the art of filmmaking as opposed to the industry of filmmaking) this does not necessarily apply.

Filmmaking requires passion and creativity among many things. Passion and creativity are not things that can be bought(at least not with money) and there is no set formula for them. They cannot be taught in class.

Go pick up that camera and be a filmmaker. Strive to make great films and then actually do it.