Customer Reviews

Film School Confidential

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I'm not sure if this is a copyright friendly website, but you can preview the full text of this book here: lather.com/fsc. Good luck!

This is the first of the literature I read while thinking about a career in film. This book is brutally honest about the highly competitive film industry and I'm glad because I don't want false ego-lifting encouragement. The bulk of this book thoroughly explains the major film school in the US including the cost, curriculum, reputation, available equipment, professor/student relations. What I found to be most useful are the little tips and tricks you can use to gain an edge on pursuing a career in film. Buy this book if your thinking about pursuing film and you want unbiased advice.

If you consider going to film school, this book can save you a lot of head-aches. It helped me a lot in narrowing down my cirle, and it damn sure gave me new perspectives on how to look, and what to look for, and how to approach my search for the right place. The best thing is that it doesn't only give you sheer facts and dry data -- it will also include personal info that schools will never tell you, because A) they don't want you to know; B) it is not related to education, therefore they don't think it is important (I know now, as a senior in college, how important every detail can be -- trust me, that's all there is to it: details). The book also will try to open your eyes to the fact that film school is not for everyone and you might not even need it (because it's a huge investment). It is a nice resource for film-related "stuff" (competitions, awards) as well, and it will introduce you to what is AFTER you completed school. But most importantly, it will be able to hook you up with the right school, if you ever really gave a thought to what and how you imagine in your film-career (and if you haven't, it might very well open your eyes. Just don't be like: "I don't care", 'cause that will not get you far anyway).
The authors also have a friendly style of writing and addressing matters, so you will feel like talking to film students instead of a machine spitting out preprogrammed info and facts, that the SCHOOLS as institutions would want you to know about.
I wish there was a newer edition, though. But their web-site is updated, so you can look there... and after reading this, you can pretty much go into the extra effort, and make a couple of calls to find out about things for yourself. Trust me! If you have ten dollars only, and want to save yourself more for film school or making movies -- this is the book to put you on the right track. Thanks guys. You helped me out a lot!

PS: Don't listen to the whiners. You can find flaws in anything. NEVERTHELESS, IT IS A BOOK FOR POST-GRADUATE STUDY (and it also explains in the book why, so even if you're an undergraduate -- get it! It will be a great help in planning your whole college carrer).

In this book you'll find some very useful informations about 26 american film schools: equipment quality, equipment accessibility, costs, program. If you love cinema and are willing to go to a film school but you are tottaly lost and have no idea of where to go and what to expect, you should buy this at once. This book can help you finding reality about film schools. There is even some essays in the end of the book about what to do after film school.
Still I expected more, It could be more information about the possibilities of the course, the possible careers, some different professions or even conditions of the cinema market. So, as I said before, this book is useful cause it gives you the information to decide where to go and why, but nothing more.

During my senior year of college, while I was applying to film school, this book proved quite helpful. Very little is written about graduate programs in the arts (at least that I've been able to find) compared to Law, Medical or MBA programs and, beyond the Internet, word of mouth and professors, it is good to have an additional source to consult (especially one written by two MFA film grads from NYU!)

So far, I have found Film School Confidential to present a fair, accurate and honest portrait of what I have expereinced. The authors want to make sure a potential MFA candidate in film knows what he/she is signing up for. I did not find this book to be discouraging: just realistic.

Schools are reviewed in depth. One thing I found to be of particular help was the discussion of how production staff roles were determined. In some schools, a student might never get a chance to direct, even if that student came to study directing; whereas in other programs, students rotate through postions and have the opportunity to learn to edit, write, direct, produce, etc,... I found that the literature a school would make available to its applicants did not cover this information. It was only when I specifically asked the question to the film department itself that I determined how they approached this VERY important aspect of a film student's education.

For me, learning to ask that question alone was worth the price of the book. But, in fact, there really is a lot more - especially with regard to the mission and philosophy of each school (yes, they really are quite different.) If you are seriously considering getting your MFA in film, this book is an excellent resource.

Film schools have millions of eager students ready to enter the world of film and make it as film directors. "Lots of wanna-bes talk about it. Few go for it. Fewer still get in. And one in a million makes it." it says on the back cover. My friend advised me to get this book. He said "You'd think the people that wrote that book were pretty vindictive at the time." Now, this is the first of many film school books I'm gonna be reading but I think it's pretty good. FSC bogs it down to over twenty schools that are considered the best in the country. It does a fair review of each school by bringing up what is bad about school and what is good. It gives the brass tax on a school and lets you know what is going on. On top of that, FSC offers you advice about filmmaking and what you should and shouldn't do. I wanted to major in film when I got to college but decided to wait on the basis of job security. I'm planning on going to graduate school for film. The book classifies each school by what kind of film program it offers.

I think that this book was supposed to be an insighful reference for people, who are thinking about film studies on all levels. It is quite insightful, but as a reference book it lacks n easy-to-use format. Also, it does not list some of the good schools, that I found out about from another sources (movie magazines and internet). Overall, it is not worth spending $11-14 on... $4-5? May be, but no more than that.

In "Film School Confidential," Karin Kelly and Tom Edgar offer a decent exploration of 26 of the most highly-regarded graduate school film programs in the country. All of the basic information is here -- admission deadlines, enrollment, program requirements -- and yet, the book carries a few serious flaws. First, Kelly and Edgar restrict their focus to graduate programs, but ignore undergrad programs in film. Also, the authors focus solely on film production and directing programs, yet ignore the many other aspects of film taught at these universities, especially screenwriting. (Some of the reviews even fail to mention that the schools provide other options within the film major, leading the less cautious, non-production oriented reader to dismiss those schools as an option.) Edgar and Kelly's laid-back, ultra-personal writing style and narratives about their individual film experiences may appeal to some, yet I find the style much too informal and the tone ultimately discouraging. But it may be a matter of taste. Those who seek a more formal and comprehensive guide to film schools should take a look at Ernest Pintoff's "The Complete Guide to American Film Schools."

When I first read the reviews, just as all of you are doing right now, I was hesitant on buying this book. It turned out to be a great guide to the top film schools, and provided the necessary info for anyone aspiring to go to film school. The only problem I would state is the fact that it only focused on the graduate school, rather than giving it some insight into the undergrad programs.

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