study in usa film schools

[sandeepg]

hi am frm Hyderabad, andhra Pradesh, india
i am studying b.tech 4th year{,final year} in jntu ...university
my career objective is to get into film industry...for that i what do master of fine arts degree in usa and mean while earn an amount of 50lakhs rupees = $125,000 to produce a film by my own after 4,or 5 years...... my mfa course will be completed with in 2 years. later can get any job based on that so that i can earn money in 3or 4 years in usa?? will visa be permitted even after my course.??.are there any job opportunities after my mfa course in usa so that i can earn money??Is visa permitted for mfa degree??
thanking you
sandeep g......waiting for reply.

[Blue]

Good luck

[Teague Kennedy]

Yep, that's a whole lot of people's dream. Not as easy as it sounds. I got an MFA in film with superb scores, and worked in factories for a year after. 125,000 is alot of money.

The film market is good in India. Mabye get a degree at a good USA film school to make you stand out in India, and get involved in film industry there?

(never lived in LA, though.... there I would have surely been a PA or secretary at prod company instead of factory worker : ) )

[C.H.Haskell]

I have a friend who moved here from India and because of his success with a a student short film that he won a student academy on, he gained attention and respect back in bollywood where they ended up producing his 1st feature after he graduated (shot in the US). I have not seen the feature yet but the trailer looks great.

I am not saying you need to win an academy on a short film but making some solid festival bound shorts is a good start for students or even grads IMO. Never know where theses shorts will lead you....best of luck.

[Siva Kollipara]

Sandeep,

It seems, you just bitten by the success of "Happy Days" by Sekhar Kammula.

- Sekhar came to US to study MS
- after two years doing MS,
- he worked for another 2 years in IT to earn money for his MFA.
- He studied MFA from Harvard University for two years, worked even as a light boy(Gaffer if you prefer)
- Then went back to India with NO Money in his bank,
- While working with Citigroup SW division in Hyderabad, with the help of friends money made "Dollar Dreams"
- "Dollar Dreams" was made with nearly $45000 budget in 1999 and released on his own only in ONE theatre and only for ONE show a day, by paying rent to Theatre owner from his own pocket.Because no distributors agreed to release.
- "Anand"(2003) was made with the help of NFDC(National Film Development Corporation) for $325,000 won awards no money.
- "Godavari"(2006), though was successful, due to inefficient budget planning no money was made, just the experience.
- "Happy days"(2007) is made again with Own and OPM, was the first success at both economics and boxoffice.

Do you know how long the journey was..?
Do your homework, if getting into Film Industry is so easy, people will not be lurking around these boards, they would be busy shooting in hollywood OR giving autographs.

Siva

[sandeepg]

hi
my dream is to get into film industry .
I'm from india
what i what to do is to study in film school in usa .and later instead of struggling in indian industry i want to earn a money of abt.$100,00 with in 4 years {$20,000 per year}...and make a film on my own production.

i want to work in area related to only industry so that i can earn money and even learn simultaneously.

what i want to know is can,t i earn and atleast $15,000-$10,000 per year in that area ?

will i get visa for that work there after my course?

[Ed Watkins]

Just to make sure I understand:

You want to work in the film industry, and you're from India.
You want to study at an American university and get an MFA.
You want to work while you are studying, and earn $10-15,000 a year.
You want to know if you can get a work Visa in the USA after you graduate.

I am a UK citizen gaining an MFA in the USA at the moment, so to answer your questions as best I can:

You can work while studying for an MFA on an F1 visa.
BUT:
For the first year you can only work on the university campus (unless you have a letter stating an absolute need to work off campus) during term time.

You can only work 20hrs a week during term time.

In the second/third year of your course you can use CPT (Curricular Practical Training, 365 days) to work off campus with any company related to your field of study.

After you graduate you can apply for 1 years OPT (optional practical training) which you can use to get a full time job in the industry.

To get a work Visa after you finish your OPT you will need a company to sponsor your green card application. It is recommended to use the OPT time to find an employer who will want to employ you once it has finished.

If you can't find company who wants to sponsor your green card after you graduate your chances of getting a visa for the film industry are small.

You can however apply for a chance to 'win' a Visa in the Green Card Lottery, held yearly, if your home country hasn't filled up it's immigration limit to the USA already.


In summary:
To earn $10-15,000 a year is possible but will be hard. You will have to work on campus for the first year doing low paid jobs that have little to do with the film industry.

Getting a job in the industry in the following years is hard, and low paid, you will also need fluent English.

Getting a Visa for working in the film industry when you finish, will be very difficult unless a company sponsors you, or you are an expert in a specific field that is lacking in the USA.

I hope that helps.

[Jeff Kilgroe]

sandeep,

I wish you luck. What you are trying to accomplish is difficult, even for those of us in the USA. It is possible, but a lot of hard work and you will need to have some good luck along the way too.

Many of us on these forums are not in the film industry, our lives have taken us down other paths. You will find there are many ways you can gain the knowledge and experience and funding to produce your film.

[Bruce Allen]

Great advice, Ed and Jeff. Ed, good luck with your MFA!

I went through what you're talking about. I'm South African. I came to USC to do my film production MFA, did a mix of CPT and OPT (you can do some work during holidays as "pre-completion" OPT although that gets taken off your 1 year allotment that you get on degree completion), then got a job offer which led to an H-1B. I happily dropped out for that.

Sandeep, you are aware that tuition & living expenses will likely be > $10-$15 per year, right? I.E. you will be making a loss. Also, try to avoid a situation where all of your classmates (and every wannabe filmmaker in town):
a) think they are starving indies
b) simultaneously have TONS more money than you
So the whole USC / LA thing kinda sucks that way. Locations etc here are very expensive because you are competing with a bunch of people who can totally outgun you financially (even the ones who say they're starving).

When I was starting out I couldn't even afford a car, which was pretty funny in hindsight. Things happen like the school will give you the most anemic lighting kit imaginable but pack it into this incredibly heavy box, and you end up carrying/dragging the damn thing back to whatever hovel you're staying in...

What made it all worthwhile though were the nice people - classmates were generous, wonderful and friendly.

Still, be prepared for a pretty hellish start. My first week at USC was spent fighting with the international admissions department - they didn't want to allow me into classes because they thought I had to take TOEFL (test for English as a foreign language). They didn't believe me when I told them that English was the medium of instruction in South Africa. I showed them my SAT and GRE test scores, which were both 99.9% or whatever top percentile. No dice. In the end after much protest they said they'd "make an exception" for me... the whole thing still makes me so angry. American arrogance and ignorance at its worst.

BTW, what's wrong with India? You guys have a great industry there! I watch Bollywood films all the time. Why don't you study film there? I know a bunch of South African actors who chose to go there instead of America or the UK because it's easier to get your foot in the door there. Sounds like a very vibrant and creative place.

Also, be aware that it is VERY DIFFICULT to get a work visa for production jobs. H-1Bs etc revolve around permanent employment - they charge a fee each time you change employer and they kinda get itchy to kick you out of the country if you haven't been working for 30 days or so. Since being an indie director is often externally indistinguishable from being unemployed for large stretches of time, you'd better figure this out. As for me, I got a day-job in post production. But I had already been doing paid broadcast work in South Africa, had a reel etc. That's another reason why you should start getting connected to the industry in India. You can't just expect to learn enough to get a job and work visa offer as a result of completing your MFA. You need to go way beyond that. Reading reduser is good, hope you're doing a lot more too!

Don't mean to be discouraging, just want to help and make sure you don't waste money / time / have inaccurate expectations!

Jeff is right, there are many ways to get to do what you want to do. Sometimes the direct assault on Hollywood isn't the most prudent.

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

[Jeff Kilgroe]

It takes time, often it takes a lot longer than you can imagine. Hard work, dedication, knowing the right people... All those things help. The direct path is not always the easiest path either and jumping right into film school may not be the smartest thing to do financially.

What Ed said about working while going to school can actually differ from one school to another. You can also run into restrictions with your student visa and what you're allowed to do while you're here.

Working while you go to school is entirely possible, you may just have to sign an agreement (part of the admissions paperwork) with the school that you will not work in a related field (film, other media arts) while attending classes. But they can not tell you not to work at something else. You can earn money, pay your rent, etc.. by working in un-related jobs, food industry, office / IT type tasks, construction, etc..

[Noah Kadner]

Mods- this guy posted this several times across the boards. Might want to cut and combine. And perhaps mail a clue his way while you're at it...

Noah

[Babu Kantamneni]

Wonderful analysis Bruce and Ed.Jeff was very kind as well.
I was from India (here for 39 years). There are good film schools in India.For example Pune is run by Government with very minimal fees.There are several
private schools as well.It would be difficult to earn and learn if you dont have some financial back up.
20 years ago I helped an young dreaming Indian who went to NY to study and I have not heard from him after 2 semesters.Tried to locate him and could not.It is tough!
My 2c sandeep.
babu

[Siva Kollipara]

Whenever people think of Indian Films EVERYNOE only think of Bollywood, but there is little more than to it.

India has 25 states and 15 official Languages and more than 100 unofficial languages.
The national language is Hindi, but each state follows it's own language.
By Law all the communications happens in Local and English language, including board signs, Government Order.
Each state has it's own culture & traditions sometime they are entirely different from neighboring state.
Movies are mainly made in ONLY in 6 states, Bollywood makes Hindi movies, since Hindi is national language, majority of population can understand, but NOT all.
The remaining 6 states make movies in their own language, each state has it's own Stars(Star Heroes, Star Directors, Star Producers).
- As Glamor has no language, heroines move among the states. (Audio is typically done through ADR only)
- 10-20% of technicians move among the states.
- Bollywood is located in Mumbai(old name bombay), Maharashtra state produces 150 movies a year in Hindi(language)
- Hyderabad, Andra Pradesh produces 120 movies a year in Telugu(name of language)
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu produces 120 movies a year in Tamil(name of language)
- Trivandrum, Kerala produces 80 movies a year in Malayalam(name of language)
- Bangalore, Karnataka produces 70 movies a year in Kannada(name of language)
- Calcutta, West Bengal prodice ?? movies a year in Bengali(name of language)

So more movies are produced in Regional states together than Bollywood alone.
Typical budget in regional language is $0.75 to 2.5 million, where as in Bollywood, it may go from $2 to 8 million.
with 1 USD = 40 INR, the technical tools are expensive to buy in India, but labor is inexpensive.
Hence it is easier to make many items with human hands, than to buy "automated mass production units" from abroad.
80% of Indians income is less than $4000/annum.

But not all Indians are poor, with the stock boom, as of today Mukesh Ambani turned out ot be Richest person in the world pushing Bill Gates to Third Position.

Sandeep,

It is easy to get an F1-Visa (as you are doing Engineering, you can do MS / MBA in USA)
It is easy to get an H1-Visa (as you are doing Technical education)
The best things you make in Film School are contacts

Getting in Film Industry is really tough (either in India or in Hollywood)
It is difficulty survive with income earned from India (1USD=40INR)

What you are choosing is the toughest of tough path when you are other options available.

1)Trying to study in USA with money brought from India(with part time job, you can merely survive or pay fees) (it is different story for MS/MBA students)
2)Spending time in Film School (the relations you would build, are of no use once you go back to India).
3)Getting degree from Film School, which has no value in other field (MBA/MS can be used in several fields)
4)After getting MFA in USA, you may not be able to work, because H1 by itself means Highly Technically qualified. Not issued to normal non-technical jobs.
5)By the time you return to India, you will have vast Film knowledge, with huuuuuge debt,No contacts and Degree useless for other industries.


No one is here to discourage you, but we can't see a person ruining his life with lack of information.

[Bruce Allen]

Very interesting Visaak and totally agree with your advice too. You raise excellent points...

Just a side question - for the non-Bollywood fare, is distribution centralized? Eg will you get a regional (non-Bollywood) film that is then picked up by a major Bollywood distributor and sold to the outside world as a "Bollywood" film? Just curious, that's all.

Anyway, you guys will have to recommend us some movies next ;)

Sandeep, I think you should send Visakk lots of nice PMS, haha. You'll learn about filmmaking from him than USC - heck you could buy him a nice gift (like a car or a frikkin' Red) and it'd probably be cheaper too ;)

BTW, what kind of films do you want to make? For example, I came to LA partly because I thought that a lot of the scripts I wrote would work equally well in America as they did in South Africa. Fat chance! Rhythms of speech, conversation, attitudes are all subtly different. It took me 3-4 years of living here before I could really write something set in LA that had some truth to it...

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

[Jonathan L. Bowen]

haha, it's always interesting to see people's dreams before coming to the market and then realizing afterwards that it's a brutal place. I had no illusions when I came down here, I had solid financial backing so I knew I wouldn't be working at Starbucks or the local tavern while hoping to do film, and I started in film school. I expected probably I would have to work for a few years as a grip or something before maybe "things would happen," and that was about the extent of my plan. But in film school I met a guy who also had money, we quit film school and formed a production company together, and either we make it this way (and through equipment rentals) or we'll keep the company running and make our money on a non-film-related business. But there was no shot either of us were going to have the patience to be grips or gaffers for 10 years, hoping one day maybe we'd get a shot. It's a dream, an illusion, nobody makes it big doing that. If they did, we'd hear stories about how this guy was a great grip and pretty soon he was directing Mission: Impossible. Doesn't happen. Everyone makes it by taking huge risks, with borrowed money, their own money, friends' equipment and talents, whatever the case may be. The market is brutal but I believe it's fair.

If you want to make $125,000 per year, you're better off becoming a doctor or a lawyer. At least you know that if you graduate with great grades, you will be hired and you will soon be making a lot of money. Maybe you could become an investment banker in NYC, that always seems to be a solid path. Film is a great way to make millions of dollars or go absolutely broke trying and lose everything. I'm not worried for myself, I have the reserve funds to sustain a prolonged period of trial and error, and I'm not quitting or going anywhere, but for many people the reality sets in quickly that making quality work costs money, and if you don't have the money you end up working low wage positions with companies or on sets. In short, I think the film industry is a terrible market to enter without money. I would strongly advise against it. Short of having lots of money, you need incredible talent paired with great luck (i.e. the right people seeing your work). I don't know anyone who hasn't spent a lot of money to get into the industry one way or another, whether that's massive student loans or the way we are going, buying up equipment, starting a company (lawyers fees, office furniture, etc.), etc. It costs money to make money.

[Jonathan L. Bowen]

Film school is a scam in my opinion. I know it's a very unpopular opinion and many people would crucify me for saying that, but I don't believe in film school. I don't think many great directors believe in it, either. If it were reasonable financially and taught you everything you need to know, I would support that system. But the fact is you can work on all kinds of sets and in many positions for free or maybe even get paid a bit (at least they'll pay for your meals and sometimes gas) and you will learn at a far more rapid rate. If someone e-mailed me today and said, "I really want to gain experience, can I come and help in any capacity possible on your next shoot?" of course I would say yes. Even paying for their food is no real expense to the production and an extra pair of hands is always appreciated. Yet in film school you sit around and listen to people who often didn't even make it in the industry telling you "how it is" and "the brutal reality" and basically killing your ego. For what? You should already know it's a tough market, that doesn't mean you want to be told every day, "You will all have to work for free for years after you get out of film school or if you get paid work it will be very low wages." Great, don't need film school then! You have to be mildly retarded to spend $35,000 per year to go to school with no reasonable expectation of finding a high paying job when you graduate. If you did the same thing for engineering you'd be guaranteed $50,000+ a year. In an industry with no guarantees, learn the old-fashioned way -- apprentice-ships and on-set experience with real production companies. Nobody learns good habits from student film shoots because students make student films, and student films are almost always total and utter crap. Even the good ones aren't professional most of the time. Yeah, 1 in 20 shorts looks great. The others are useless wastes of money and time.

But don't listen to me. Spend all of that money on your "education" (film isn't rocket science, let's be honest) and then graduate not only unable to find consistent, paying work, but with student loans to pay off. Brilliant idea! Or you could take the money and put it into buying a Subway restaurant and then make movies off the income you made from the business. Nobody thinks that way, though, they all just make the same mistakes repeatedly. God bless 'em, though, I love hiring film school graduates for $100/day to grip on a 12-hour shoot, it's wonderful.

Anyway does anyone seriously hire people because they graduated or went to film school? I don't. When I'm reviewing a director's reel I don't care if he went to high school, college, film school, anything, if it's a great reel it's a great reel. If I'm hiring a cinematographer I want to see impressive lighting, nice shot selection, some original material I don't see in every other reel, etc. If he went to film school to learn all of that, good for him. If he didn't, I don't care either. And if I'm hiring grips and I see the guy has gripped on 20 sets before, that's more impressive to me than a guy who has gripped on 5 sets but he made a thesis film at USC. Who cares about that? I want to see real life experience. I don't think I'm alone, either. Ask your film school teachers if anyone cares where they went to school -- all mine always said, "Nobody has ever asked; they just ask for a reel and a resume." It's a tough industry, no use getting off to the wrong start wasting money on film school.

[Nils J. Nesse]

Anyway, you guys will have to recommend us some movies next ;)


I've never been to India, but let me recommend Kabul Express (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0770214/), that was both thematically interesting and a bunch of fun.

[Siva Kollipara]

It's little different in India , I will try to summarise it in short in a different way.

Distribution (This info is prior to 2006, things are changing little due to digital and mall culture)
- Theatres are owned by Individuals, usually theatres are not located in the same complex(Before mall culture)
- Distribution companies are owned by individuals, so we call them distributors.
- Films are produced by Individuals(Yes, individuals with money, NOT studios).
- When a film is being made, (apart from Percentages/margins/profits sharing arrangements)
1)if it is a Star movie, distributors bid for their district(s)(as county in US) and theatre owners bid for their theatre.

2)if it is low profile movie, Producer requests distributor to release in that district and distributors request theatre owners to show movie. (some times producer pays to distributor or he pays to theatre owners).

When individuals are doing business, you know how stuff works,:ranting2: NO rules, NO procedures, all works through relations.
So each state is a different bastion and each bastion is controlled by 4 to 5 Stars.:weight_lift:
-In my state, One person is Star Hero, and Star's Brother is a Star Hero, his nephew is a Star Hero and his son also a star Hero. The Star no:2 became star Hero because, once upon time his father was a star Hero and now his Son is a rising Star Hero and goes on.:sorcerer:
-In my neighboring state, One Star and all his FOUR sons are the only Star Heroes in the whole state film industry, that's all, no one else.:greedy:
-They manage to control industry, because of people illeteracy.
-more than 80% of Indians are illeterates, so they worship Stars as Demi Gods.(I am not joking, there are real temples build for stars).
(as per Govt Statistics literacy rate is more, IMO Literate means not the ability to read, but to understand. For Example when I say 80% they can read the number as EIGHT, number as ZERO, they read the symbol as percentage, but they don't understand what is 80% of 1 billion population).
-"The exception is West Bengal, where people think Filmmaking is ART not Business, that's where Satyajit Ray is from."
- 12 years back during my graduation, when I asked "how to enter into films" to famous Story Writer, he said "you are already

late". Because I was doing my graduation, I was ineligible.What does it mean..?
- 75% of the Directors/Producers/Stars are uneducated(i.e elementary/high school dropouts), but they studied business through

experience.
- If you are an educated fellow how can you make films that are at the stardards of the remaining population?

American kind of Film stories doen't work in India.Though action movies are leased, people watch because of grand stunts,we

cannot afford to destroy big buildings or planes.
- Movie making in India is simple using some formulae.
a)Hero is an Orphan (either Hero doesn't know where they are OR Dead OR killed by the Villain)
(In > 70% of movies released in the last decade Hero has no parents).
(70% of movies played by any single star hero in his entire career has No parents)
(Somehow we accoumsted to the culture that if you have parents, usualy you are not a Hero)
b)Hero encounters with Heroine
c)Hero comes to know that Heroine is daughter of Villain
d)Hero realizes that he is orphan because of Villain
e)Hero kills Villain (in last 2 decades, as far as I know, Hero was dead only in 3 movies)
f)Since one cannot watch movie for 2.5 hours, insert a trickster
NOw the writers responsibility is to Capture latest hollywood flicks and fill the variables in the formulae, using Copy-Paste method, didn't you get it..? Come on...Here it goes

a)How/Why did Hero became Orphan..?in Other words, how did Villain killed his Parents(was it car accident?-copy from from "Collateral",was it train accident?- copy from "Terminator", was it using gun?-copy from the Matrix)
b)How/where did Hero falls in love with Heroine (In college..?-Copy from Legally Blonde, In Office, copy from "what women
want", in restaurant..?? -????)
c)Hero's sister was teased/molested by Villain gang, (sister is only living person for him),so he met the Villain at his house, do you know whom did he see there..?
d)Hero's uncle, who last his leg, now tells the Truth about the Villain and the flashback
e)Dear Producer, I need few more HOllywood DVDs, ran out of climax ideas..
f)Come on go and search internet for semi adult jokes(pun).
(Oh My God I am already half done with my script)
Few people tried to make some common sense movies, but did not appeal to audience and those were their first/second and am sure their last movie.

Producers still able to make movies using this formulae,because
i)people do not have access to other types of entertainment, like in US/Europe
ii)Producers are making money
iii)Let critics say 101 things about the state of the films, why should we change if the formulae is not giving any loss?

When a film is successful in one regional language, producer from other language
a)either buy the movie rights and erase audio track 1 & 2 (ie dialogue) and fill with new language(called dubbing)
b)Buy the movie right and erase visual&Audio track 1 & 2 and fill with new cast and languge(Confused..? they call it as remake, one can not find much difference except for the Hero Face and dialogue transalation).(remember I am not referring about subtitles, real speaking words)

That's how Non-Bollywood movies comes into Bollywood and get distributed to the rest of the world as BOLLYWOOD movie.
Ofcourse, because of broadscope of Bollywood market, they are people who make variety movies, this is what you hear, most of the time.

Is it end of the hope ..? and no entry into Film Industry bastion ..?
NOPE.. Refer to the above six point formulae, out of 6 points 5 points starts with HERO. when 40% of the budget goes to Hero as remuneration, better make sure that 55 years old hero looks DAAAMN smart(like 23 age,at max 25) and like a Superman brother.
There is a dearth of need for good cinematographers and Stunt/Visual effects technicians.This is the only channel, they need a special material called "brain"

What kind of Films I want to make..? my core focus area is Cinematography, as Jeff suggested, instead of dreaming at home, I have taken the other route, finished my masters degree in India, working in IT for >10 years, came to US on H1-Visa, understood the cross culture by working for giants like Conseco, IBM and CapGemini. currently working for NY city Govt, in their IT division and studying my focus area part time and participating in Indie films and small commercials.Learning the art/tools step by step.

Do I still participate in making such 6 point formulae movies..? Yes, I would, I cannot keep critisizing about films sitting in US. I want to involve in the process then only I can find where it can be improved.
I firmly believe that Change cannot happen over night, cannot be changed from out side.There is a new generation of filmmakers experimenting(refer previous post) with different genres. While being in the field, I want to help those filmmakers with my(whatever) knowledge, expertise and contacts. If I can atleast save their Film cost with my RED, my ambition is fulfilled.

Just my 2 Cents(is it 4 cents?), I wanted to answer many of the questions that Sandeep going to ask in the next posts

Sorry to bother with such big post

Thanks,
Siva

[skuch]

Based on personal experience, you are far more likely to end up $125,000 in debt after completing an MFA in film in the States than $125,000 in the black.

An MFA in film does not guarantee anything as far as employment in the film industry - most graduates have to start at the bottom and work their way up just like people with no degree. Occasionally someone makes such a great student film that they become a director right out of school, but that's the exception rather than the rule. You should know too that in order to make a great student film you generally have to have lots of your own money in addition to what you spend on tuition, living, etc.

I had several film school friends from other countries, and they all had great difficulty staying in the US after their educational visas expired - some of them had to go back to their home countries after unsuccessfully trying to get green cards.

[Siva Kollipara]

Bruce,
If I have to suggest only one movie from Bollywood, it would be Lagaan, this was nominated for Oscar in Best Foreign Film Category.
If you want me to speak in Syd field words.
It is the movie about Hope, like in Shawshank Redemption
It is the movie about behaviour & Character like in Thelma & Louise
It is the movie about Time Frame, like in China Town, it takes you to india in 18th century.
It is movie about Change & Transformation like in Dances with Wolves.

Of course it is long 3.25 hours movie, but you will not notice the time.
More than that it is TRUE original movie made in India.

[Siva Kollipara]

Let me show you the contrast in Indian films

Watch this video for 20 seconds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q12y3x9pS94.
Now watch this clip fully from recent blockbuster.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJP6bK9eiqs
Yes, both clips have the same person, haven't we done a good job. with our cinematography and stunts/vfx..?
This movie made $50 million business worldwide.Now he charges $10 Million.
Refer to my arlier post, you can make 10 - medium and 5-high budget movies with that remuneration.

On the other side.visit www.vanajathefilm.com
This movie won 20 international awards and nominated in 83 festivals worldwide.
Producer still did not get distributors to release in India.

[Samuel Doyle]

sandeep,

think about other countries also,

Wellington NZ for example:
- Avatar, in production here in Welly
- Lovely Bones, back in NZ post christmas
- Dambusters, in production next year
- Tintin - whenever PJ finishes Lovely Bones

lots going on here...

[Ben Feuer]

Sandeep -

The ONLY way US Film schools make sense (as a director) is to come out the other end with a marketable short film.

So you have two options -

1. Pick a different specialization - at this point there are three or four excellent producer's programs, chief among them being the Stark program at USC. And they love international applicants. Cinematography is another good possibility.

2. Add 20,000 to whatever you were budgeting in the first place to get your short film made properly.

[sandeepg]

oh! great ! i am lucky to find ths site.
and find u all.
Two kind of people can survive Film industry, either they are completely mad about films and and don't want to anything else, except to die on a studio floor. OR who have enough money to play with.-VISAKK
i have no stong financial background so to survive in film industry i am ready to b a first kind of person.
many suggesting to try indian industry ok! then whts my next step....which film school in india is better.
or if not what should b my first step.i wanted to b a directer/writer i write stories and watch movies with independent thoughts...i have my own thoughts i can think beyond. no doubt i shut film industry.
apart from suggesting me to write stories...improve urself suggest me a way where i can find sumthing to get contacts with industry people...in india.

visakk{siva}...wht r u pesently doing{d work u do}...tell me ur objective....where r u now in usa r india.let ur life experiance b helpful to me.
thank u all ....sandy.

[sandeepg]

penfer-
i didn't get exactly wht u want to sy...can u plz..b more clear.
what is amount required for that.{along with producing short film on own as u said}.

[Bruce Allen]

Bruce,
If I have to suggest only one movie from Bollywood, it would be Lagaan, this was nominated for Oscar in Best Foreign Film Category.

Yeah, saw Lagaan in theatres TWICE, frikkin rocked! Totally agree with your recommendation!

Liked Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Mohabbatein too...



apart from suggesting me to write stories...improve urself suggest me a way where i can find sumthing to get contacts with industry people...in india.

ABOVE ALL: Work with actors. Take acting classes, work as an assistant director on a play, etc. BTW, I recommend plays because:
a) you gain experience quickly
b) they are always broke, so always looking for assistant directors etc who want to work for free
c) on film sets there is so much equipment etc - low-end people tend to just be sent on errands. If you get yourself in as some kind of director's assistant in a play, you won't leave the rehearsal room much - that's a good thing.
d) theatre actors aren't in it for the glamor - they're in it to act. So they're probably decent. Once you've made friends with the actors you can use them in short films and they'll make you look like a good director ;)
e) you can blackmail them into doing a read-through of a script you've written in (very useful for fixing dialogue).

SECONDARY: Go to industry events. Meet people. Work on films - indies, commercials, music vids, etc. Hang out at rental houses. Make friends. Once you have favors and made friends and generally been nice to people, it becomes easier to make short films of your own.

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

[Gavin Greenwalt]

Film schools put you in contact with a lot of people and give you an opportunity to interact with working professionals. As far as education goes... no I would say they're mostly useless. I certainly wouldn't go to a school that concentrates on teaching the technical aspects. Technical can be learned on your own far quicker and cheaper. If you're going to get a degee in film you might as well get a college education while at it. Learn a skill that is profitable and fulfilling because you won't be directing out the gate.

[gbalaji]

Sandeep,

It seems, you just bitten by the success of "Happy Days" by Sekhar Kammula.

- Sekhar came to US to study MS
- after two years doing MS,
- he worked for another 2 years in IT to earn money for his MFA.
- He studied MFA from Harvard University for two years, worked even as a light boy(Gaffer if you prefer)
- Then went back to India with NO Money in his bank,
- While working with Citigroup SW division in Hyderabad, with the help of friends money made "Dollar Dreams"
- "Dollar Dreams" was made with nearly $45000 budget in 1999 and released on his own only in ONE theatre and only for ONE show a day, by paying rent to Theatre owner from his own pocket.Because no distributors agreed to release.
- "Anand"(2003) was made with the help of NFDC(National Film Development Corporation) for $325,000 won awards no money.
- "Godavari"(2006), though was successful, due to inefficient budget planning no money was made, just the experience.
- "Happy days"(2007) is made again with Own and OPM, was the first success at both economics and boxoffice.

Do you know how long the journey was..?
Do your homework, if getting into Film Industry is so easy, people will not be lurking around these boards, they would be busy shooting in hollywood OR giving autographs.

Siva

Well Said Siva