Should I go to film school?

When I got my Master’s from USC, the digital revolution hadn’t quite kicked in. But now that it has, I usually tell people not to bother with film school. DVGuru offers 10 reasons why–8 of them very good. I disagree with #8 (“You can’t teach art. Can you?”) and #10 (“You either have it or you don’t.”)

I believe that everybody has an intrinsic maximum potential in any field–artistic or otherwise–and that education is the way to maximize that potential. But I agree with DVGuru that, nowadays, the best way to educate yourself is to beg, borrow, or buy a DV camera and a computer, and start shooting and editing movies. And that goes for writers who just want to write–even if you ultimately want somebody else to direct your work, you ought to direct a few of your own short scripts, just for the learning experience.