Septiembre 18, 2008

Herzog on Film School

For some months now I've been toying with, debating with myself about, the idea of going back to grad school and studying film. Each time I go back to the idea, I do research and think about it and conclude that, no, I don't need/want to go back to school, for many and various reasons.

I came across one more really great and reassuring reason not to go, in a book I've been reading about Werner Herzog, one of my favorite directors, whom I respect a lot. In this book, "Herzog on Herzog," he says "I personally do not believe in the kind of film schools you find all over the world today... It has always seemed to me that almost everything you learn at school you forget in a couple of years. But the things you set out to learn yourself in order to quench a thirst, these are the things you never forget... academia is the death of cinema. It is the very opposite of passion."

Posted by steev at Septiembre 18, 2008 04:56 PM
Comments
Hi Steev, I don't mean to sell you on MFA programs by any means, but being in a film department (as a doctoral student) I would say that the greatest value would be in developing a professional network, which seems to be overlooked in a lot of the stuff out there about film school. I would also say that the production faculty at UT-Austin would be very supportive of your work. While a lot of students pursue indie narrative film, the production faculty tend to emphasize activist and political documentaries. Posted by: McChris at Septiembre 18, 2008 08:59 PM