SHOULD YOU GO TO FILM SCHOOL? without all the dang caps

"hey hulk! Should i go to film school?"

Hulk gets that question about once a week. There is a simple reason for this:

1) the answer is really important.

2) there are so many complicated, differing viewpoints involved in how to get to that answer.

While most people can sense that film school obviously has some form of worth, the actual, quantifiable worth for you may seem somewhat nebulous. And while hulk thinks the value of film school itself can actually be defined in a pretty tangible way, the true difficulty in ascertaining whether or not you should go to film school is in accurately assessing the relative difficulty of the obstacles in your way from going. Meaning the only way to answer the question is to take your time and deconstruct the variables. And that's a tough process that requires a lot of careful thought and tangible experience in the industry.

So hulk wants to help.

Part 1 - obstacles

To start, let's try to get as definitive as possible: if you are (a) 17-18 years old. (b) expected to go to college. (c) looking at colleges that your parents will pay for. And (d) you absolutely know that you want to get into the film / tv business...

Then yes! Absolutely go to film school!

Hulk will explain the benefits of doing so in a bit, but it's definitely worth your time if you fit those ideal conditions. And even if your parents are uneasy about the choice as a career then talk them into it if this is what you want to do. Make it clear there is no other option. Strive away from the dialogue of "i want to make movies and be rich and famous!" and embrace the dialogue "i want to work in movies!" heck, if all that doesn't work just have them email hulk so that hulk can talk em off the edge of the cliff. Yes, there are ways to make a living, you just have to be willing to work hard and... Well... Be poor for the first few years of your life. But this shouldn't come as a surprise because that's pretty much the same as every other occupation on the planet right now (we just with even less security).

But if your situation is different from the ideal scenario listed above (which is, like, the vast majority of you) then let's talk realistic obstacles.

And sadly, the first overwhelming concern for you is...

A) money

Double-sadly, this concern goes beyond mere film school and into the problems of secondary education in general. Hulk thought the money stuff was a problem back in hulk's day, but the exponential rise in cost of college in the last decade alone has manged to put things a little further out of reach. It's legitimately terrible. The cost of college has gone from a situation where most parents and / or kids spend all their lives trying to save for it, and instead become a situation where you can never really save enough for it. That's right, the cost is becoming downright prohibitive. Hulk finds it disgusting, quite frankly. Especially because trying to overcome it becomes the punishment that keeps on punishing. Having to pay back school loans can become an albatross and deeply hamper your ability to build a career.

Triple-sadly, this college loans things is of particular concern in the film industry, where you absolutely, 100% won't be making a lot of money in your first 5-10 years. You just won't. Even if you're in a corporate studio structure you won't make a lot of money until later on. There's just a way these things accrue with time. You may be an assistant or administration for years before you starting making the kind of money where you can really pay off your loans. And most of you film students will want to go into production. And whether you are on set or in a production office that means you will be working gig to gig. That means you will also be doing no-pay projects to build yourself a group of contacts. Paying off loans in that kind environment is... Troublesome. Heck, you can't even count on being to pay them off if you are that ultra-rare person who becomes crazy successful when you're young. Seriously, if you somehow do the impossible and make a big hit studio film in your 20's (and the odds are so crazy stacked against you) you still really won't actually make "big" money from it. Instead, you will get paid the kind of big money you expect for the next project. But even then the actual amount of money will surprise you when you realize you have to live for a few years off that set amount. It's really not what you thing.

So no matter what, you are facing a reality: payment in this industry (or at least the kind that can pay off loans) does not come until you are older.

So how do you make all that work? How are you going to steadily pay off a mere fraction of those those loans back in a way that doesn't cripple your credit? How are you going to pay rent? How are you going to support yourself in the most basic way while following your dream? Well... It usually means taking work that is not ideal to building a career or not being all that close the thing you want to do. And that becomes really problematic for your development because the best connections / experiences / opportunities and will often come out of your doing work for free... It's a catch 22 if there ever was one.

And hulk would also like to suggest that this loan stuff will matter in more life-ways than you'd expect too. Do you ever want to have a family? Ever dreamed of owning a house? Please know that the things you're not so interested in at 18 suddenly start looking a lot more appealing a decade later. And forget about the sheer costs of living in areas centered around the film industry (los angeles, new york, etc). And because of these obstacles, so many of you will have to delay these "life things" you want and it will be a significant conflict in your life. So much so that some of you may choose to abandon "the dream" in the name of those other wonderful things.

Also please know that doing so can be an awesome, humane and smart choice. Living a rich, full-life will probably make you 1000 times happier than anything in film (we'll get to the why later), so don't be made to feel bad if that ends up become what you want. But hulk knows there are others of you who simply can't do that... The stars in your eyes will shine too bright. The compulsion will just rage in your gut. And you'll do damn near your best to just make it work. Just understand exactly what kind of financial obstacles you will have to face and how impossibly hard you will have to work to overcome them in order to achieve that which you want to achieve.

And that being said... While hulk hates to go here, it is impossible to have this conversation about money without commenting on... Well, those individuals who do have or come from money.

So... There are a lot of complaints about nepotism in hollywood, but hulk assures you that class itself is the far, far bigger obstacle. That's because those who have help from their parents after college are at such an extreme advantage over those who do not. And the problem has become so ingrained into the system at large, that it has become rather hard to quantify. Part of the problem is that this industry is so full of people who don't understand what coming from poor or working class environments is actually like and how it can severely affect your ability to make it. And since they are all congregated into the same sphere of influence with each other, they just can't see how many people crash up against the walls around them. They simply can't even see the problem. Hulk's brought up the problem time and time again, but it's always a non-starter. It's just so natural for people to see themselves as middle class, even if they're not. It's so natural for people to miss all the help they've gotten and advantages they had. And so they think hulk is making up this problem. But it is so very, very real.

Now, this is not deride the accomplishments or work ethic of  anyone who may have or have come from money. Not in the slightest! For it is actually impossible to make it on any level of this business without doing insane amounts of work. The problem is that class is an immense factor on the kinds of opportunities one gets, from an early age on through one's career. This once again goes back to the convenient hiccup that kids who can afford to take the extremely-low-paid or for-no-money jobs (which are the only ones available in the best places to work) are the ones who therefore excel at a faster rate. And therefore they keep excelling at a faster rate (malcolm gladwell talked about this dynamic quite aptly outliers). Heck, even hulk once had to leave an impossibly great situation because of the realistic need for money. But on the flip-side, years later once hulk got in a position to start making more money, hulk was amazed how much the affect of having money had on hulk's career.

And the exact same is true with kids who have the complete freedom of time and money to work on their own creative projects, which can similarly lead to breakthrough opportunities. Whereas if you work a full-time job you have to relegate time for you own projects into off hours, they are at a distinct disadvantage versus those who have the time to work on the highest quality products and make connections. Please understand that the following statement is purely an anecdotal estimation based on years of being in this business, but hulk surmises that those who have help from their parents generally have a career that accelerates about 3-4 years faster than those who do not and a much better chance at getting a "break." so if you are on the side of disadvantage, know what you're going up against a system that is going to punish you for it. But you can't lash out. You can't rue the day. You simply have to transcend it. And if you do have some advantages with money, that's fine too. Work hard and prove yourself. Just be incredibly thankful at the good fortune. That's all one can ever ask.

But if we're in this conversation, let's not ignore the effects of nepotism either. Once again, this is not to speak ill of anyone who is the beneficiary of nepotism. You really do need to be able to seal the deal with talent (and do not let anyone ever tell you otherwise), but let us not ignore the insane difficulty of "getting in the room." people love to use the expression "it's not what you know, it's who you know." which is actually a vile half-truth. Hulk likes to use the following phrase instead:

"it's what you know, which affects how people regard you, which affects who you know, wherein the "what you know" affects that relationship, which then makes the who want to help you and get opportunities, which then puts you back into situations where success is totally dependent on what you know."

... It's much less catchy, but it is much more accurate. And does the important lesson resonate? The who you know doesn't "make" anyone alone, but it is still a critical part of the career process. And yet we still treat this dynamic with a binary regard: we have obvious benefactors of nepotism saying it has nothing to do with it and on the other side there are the town criers indicating that those benefactors only get their success due to said nepotism. Both are wrong. Ultimately, hulk just wants anyone out there to realize that this difference of accessibility is a pertinent reality, but not the end all be all. And perhaps some plain, old awareness of this troubling dynamic would do the other a world of good.

Hulk realizes that this may have seemed like a long, rambling rant to begin a damn essay about film school, but it's actually an important first step in your decision-making and strategy. Understanding money's placement in education and the industry at large is critical to your self-actualization. And knowing where you stand, what you want, what your opportunities are, and how to get it is all part of the process.

Thus, the lesson is simple: don't ignore physical costs in your decision. Film school has tangible worth hulk will get into in a bit, but do you best to minimize the economic hardships if they involve you. Do well in school. Go for scholarships. And in the end a film degree is not a hyper-necessary thing like some other industries. And hey, if you already took out loans already don't commit seppuku!!! It's totally fine and your film education will totally have great benefits for you. Just understand that you are going to need to find the time to work outside of your regular work life to pay them back. Be at peace with it. And keep working your ass off.

Because in truth, the obstacle of money never goes away. It permeates everything in this industry, from what projects get made, to who works on them, to how much support they get, to where they get released. Money dictates everything. And while it makes hulk so damn sad that it has to be that way in college too, just be aware of what you are getting into.

B) your age

Age matters in film school / film industry because you need time to work up through the ranks no matter how old you are (unless your job is, like, using your money to fund things. In that case you can be 8 years old). And the years you can afford to work for nothing is oddly precious time. It's harder to do that when you're older. So know that your age simply matters. Luckily for you, while there are certain businesses in this world where you need a degree to enter that field, film is not really one of them.

Think of it like this: all you really need to get a certain job in film is to be able to prove is that you can absolutely do the job you say you can do. It's all about tangible ability, so much of your later career is based on other people's recommendations and vouching, by saying "yes, they can do this thing and are good at working with others." that so much should be obvious. But think about this: since most of you will be starting off with a menial job like p.A. Or intern or something, the thing you need to show is that you're a good person to be around. Concerning interviews in general take hulk's following piece of advice: be sane. Don't be a comedian. Don't be over-eager. You want to be even-keeled. Be agreeable. Thoughtful. Respectful. Be a person who, yes is fun to be around hulk guess, but more importantly be a person who will help get things done.  Do not be a problem. Be responsible. Be adult. Be sane. Really, hulk swears the following mantra "display your sanity" will do you more wonders then anything else in a job interview.

So getting back to the point: if you studied something else in college and are a great deal older then it's probably beneficial to dive right into the film industry and skip the film school thing. Because time doing the menial things is critical to process. Because it takes a decade to build up good will and displaying your ability. And because here is the only real way that studying something else will matter in terms of your interview for entry level jobs...

Interviewer: "oh, you studied biology in college?"

You: "yeah, i was actually blah, blah, blah. It was great experience."

Interviewer: "so how'd you become interested in film?"

And if you have a valid, adult, and interesting answer as to why you are getting away from old career / major and why you think you can make the transition then... That's it. You did it. Career switched! And to be honest, the great thing about film is that when you think of the medium at large then it is a lens for seeing the world (cue: literalism), not a world in and of itself. And if you're smart about it, you can turn having a different kind of background into the kind of thing where you can convince someone you're bringing something else to the table.

Now. Some of you may say "if an older person doesn't need film school? Then why do i?" it's a great question, and hulk swears hulk is going to get to the tangible benefits in a second, but first hulk would like to suggest your flippant desire not to go to film school might have to do with something else. And it brings up perhaps one of the most important obstacles of all...

C) your sense of studiousness

Hulk should probably be honest here... Your going to film school should be dependent on whether or not you really want to.

School is not for everyone. It's not something we like to admit, but it's true. We often confuse the fact that schools obviously have enormous benefit to society with the fact that there is a "must" quality to them, as if they will absolutely fix your problems. The truth is that school can fix your problems, but you have to engage it half-way... And some of you won't.

Now, does hulk think you are missing out?

Yup.

Does hulk think that your flippant attitude toward school and what you could possibly learn is nothing more than juvenile flippancy?

Yes.

Does hulk think that you and pretty much everyone on the planet should have taken on a more enlightened stance to school and embraced it with open arms?

Of course.

But that doesn't mean hulk is going to convince you to spend a butt-load of money to try and fit your square peg into a round hole. Your time might best be spent in other ways. And that's okay. Own your desire. Own what you want to do. Go forth and conquer. But hulk also wants to suggest that you might just be young and those feelings are all a part of being young is being dissatisfied and angry. Every adult hulk meets says they wished they tried harder in school. Every adult says they didn't realize how cushy and amazing the student lifestyle is in compared to real work. So right now, hulk is going to suggest that it may be hard to see the value, but you might not want to miss out.

So hulk is simply going to suggest is that it might actually be in your best interest to try and be more like the round peg.

People are so adverse to doing that for some reason. It's like they turn it into some issue of conformity. It's not quite like they're saying "sure, go to school only if you want to be taught by the man!" or some other radical nonsense, but it might as well be good as. They advocate the idea that real learning happens in real life and thus can't be taught in a classroom. That real learning happens in your gut and from what happens in your life. They maintain that academics are severed from the notion of experience. They maintain that bookish-ness and abstract thought are enemies of reality... It should be first stated that these inclinations are understandable. Life is difficult. The most important joys and sorrows happen not in cerebral abstraction, but in the pangs of emotional things that are seemingly too large for mere words.  Our experiences gives us the humility to become better people and forge stronger relationships. So yes, they are right in that small sense....

But they are only half right. For "life lessons" without a sense of context or abstraction can be equally horrific. It leads to the kind of emotional thinking that gives rise to populism. The absence of context, whether it is historical, emotional, and social is akin to blindfolding the person holding a sword. And hulk argues that stories are best tools for learning the familiarity of presence. To giving us a model for cause and effect. To digest the emotions that often feel too big for our brains and articulate them in a way that makes us feel better. That's what academics really are. They help us move humanity forward and innovate our better realities. They provide solutions for a new world. And to reject academics and the context it can provide is to reject the best that our minds can do. It is to reject our best possible selves, wherein we take the hard-fought battles of our experience and humanity and find their purpose and meaning. Experience and scholarship make up two equal halfs of our human aptitude. They cannot be divorced. Or in the very least, hulk swears to you... Academics will always, always, always have worth to you.

And that's because academics are about possibilities. They are about stretching your imagination and understanding past what you can already do. And not just once, but forever on. For learning isn't just about what feels true for a moment, but the way they ingrain you with the desire to evolve that truth for ever on. There is no better way to grow. There is no better thing to bring into your enterprise than that fervor for evolution. It is the constant desire to tackle "what's next."

Hulk often talks about having the philosophy of the "eternal student" and how life suddenly becomes so much more rewarding when you embrace not only what you can learn from others, but all the ways in which you could be wrong. There's so much to gain when you actually just sit there and quietly listen. And hulk swears to you once again, every single, solitary thing that hulk learned in film school has gone on to matter. Really. It was all part of a substantial foundation of learning that caused hulk to evolve and become something so much more. Heck, two of the most important jobs hulk got in hulk's life was because hulk was well-read (we're talking actual books and such). And still to this day, that foundation of approaching this industry as "the eternal student" provides so much understanding. So much purpose. And so much happiness.

And with that, hulk hopes to convince you of...

Part 2 -the tangible value of film school

In case it is not already clear, film school was a wonderful experience for hulk. Sure, there are a lot of people who go into it with 1) way too-high expectations. 2) a massive ego where they think the world will be handed to them on a silver platter. 3) the belief that academics is something handed to them, not something they have to reach out and grab. And 4) generally just a lot pretentious behavior. But most of that is all just symptomatic of being young. Those habits get beaten out of you by survival instinct in real life (unless you keep rewarded unjustly), but the earlier you get away from those habits the better because film school has so wonderful great things about it.

For instance, one of the best things about film school is that it absolutely forces you to encounter things that are beyond that which you inherently like. We're talking movies you've never seen and probably haven't even heard of. You don't have to search for it, you are directly and purposefully exposed to the entire history and range of cinema. And the best introductory teachers will make you dive right in, too. They don't just give you the basics of camera movements or something so plainly obvious, they give you all of semiotics and the basis of understanding itself. You go in expecting a hollywood diegesis and are instead thrown into the depths of avant garde, french new wave, and german expressionism. The understanding of which can absolutely help fuel that hollywood diegesis in far better ways, believe it or not. Through your understanding of film history, you will blast apart your myopia. For everyone comes into film school knowing spielberg, coppola, scorsese, tarantino, nolan, anderson, and cameron....

But you come out knowing tarkovsky, kurosawa, bergman, fellini, kieslowski, antonioni, bertolucci, truffaut, godard, bunuel, melville, melies, cocteau, chaplin, keaton, ozu, hawks, walsh, griffith, murnau, lubitsch, eisenstein, pabst, pressburger, preminger, lang, lean, wells, wilder, weissman, cukor, capra, ford, polanski, lumet, ashby,  akerman, angelopoulos, sturges, sirk, solanas, bresson, wajda, mizoguchi, vertov, brakhage, roselini, roeg, renoir, ray(x2), jansco, visconti, de sica, de palma, downey sr., meyer, mann, may, malick, clouzot, leone, tati, powell, varda, vigo, chabrol, rohmer, resnais, fuller, peckinpah, naruse, breillat, van sant, kiarostami, haneke, herzog, warhol, mekas, anger, jodorowsky, noe, korine, campion, cassavettes, lynch, and leigh.

And boy oh boy do those people matter. Not just for your own exposure, but because this is the language of the world you are entering into. You want to have a dream conversation with one of your heroes? With spielberg? Or paul thomas anderson? Or soderbergh? If you want to talk to them about film you can't just go and talk about their films now can you? No. You have to talk about the films and filmmakers that inspired them. Hulk swears to you, that's how you actually connect with people. That's how you find a sharing joy and passion. And hulk will tell you right now, your heroes know their shit. They are well-versed in the influences of everyone down through the ages. That means being well-versed in the history of film; from the lumieres to even the most current iterations of film movements. It means understanding just what makes a film like a separation so much more important than "just being a movie."

Film theory classes have such immeasurable value because they real help teach you the idea and purpose of film. Hulk can't tell you how many crass meetings hulk has been in where people get caught up in the commercialism of this art, which is totally understandable, but not when goes so far as to make them forget the purpose of that commercialism. Not when they forget the product we're actually selling and why it works. Not when they can't understand why people crowd together in a dark theater and watch these things. It's not just entertainment. There's always an instinctual reason we pick one form of entertainment over another and it has to do exactly with that purpose. People come to movies instead of every other indulgent option for a reason. Movies tap into something within us in a very specific way. And the best film classes are the ones that help you key into that purpose as a storyteller. It's so much more than mere "functionality." and hulk swears to you, often the classes that sound boring end up being the ones that are the most illuminating. You may want to re-study your heroes and then you'll suddenly find yourself knee-deep in joys of the avant garde.

And the great thing about film school is you'll be learning from teachers who have been digging into the text and meaning of movies for decades. Hulk mean, do you realize how intelligent and perceptive you have to be to get a collegiate job teaching film? Exceptionally so. Thus, hulk urges you to revere and cherish your teachers. And look, hulk knows that you will always encounter the occasional quack who might seem from another planet with their approach. And in that moment all the money you are spending may seem like a huge concern all of sudden. But guess what? That quack has value. There is always something you can learn from someone like that (as long as they're not spouting conspiracy theories or being sexist. And yes, if you're a female, you will have to deal with this at some point. It's a male-centric world and hulk wishes you so much luck and support in that endeavor). But the one thing hulk does not condone is so many students being downright spiteful of their teachers.

Why do so many people hate teachers, anyway?

It's a persistent conflict hulk will never in a million years understand. Sure, on an emotional level there's some natural animosity at being made to do boring stuff you don't want to do. Or perhaps it's that they represent authority. Or maybe, it's the whole notion of thinking of them as someone you have to "perform for." or hey, it's probably something more nuanced than any of this. The problem is that hulk sees all these mature, able-minded adults carry that resentment toward teachers into their later lives. As parents, they go beyond the mere habit of defending their kids and represent them as perfect angels, even when they know full-well their kids are being little shits in the situation. It doesn't matter, though. They will do anything to undermine the teacher. That's how palpable the animosity is. That's how much teachers are considered "the other." and what these pieces of sentiment fail to realize is that a teacher is your partner in raising your kid. Equally important, your teacher is a partner in helping to guide you. When you put all your teachers together they automatically spend more time talking to you then your parents. And when you work together? You'd be shocked how much the sky opens up.

It's a collaboration, built fully on mutual respect. Isn't that an exceptional realization? The teacher / student relationship is so critical to your development even when it does not seem so.  And if this relationship is ultimately dependent on what you put into it, then it is so worth your time to invest in it. With all your teachers. No matter how difficult, hulk swears to you. They always have a valuable insight to glean.

The one concern you might have about film school though is "type of school," which is important because we all have different learning styles. So one of the good things about films schools is that they really do favor the spectrum of academic engagement. Do you feel like you learn more for direct hands-on experience with good oversight, but lots of room to work it out on your own? There's great schools for that. Do you feel that you lean better with excellent, careful instruction and a lot of theory and conscious forethought? There's great schools for that too. Most of you will want to go into production, but if you want to just focus on film studies then there's tons perfect schools for you (and try to stay in + work for them forever, because there's, like, no film studies job market). And no matter where you fall on that spectrum, the real advantage of film school over real life jobs is that it gives you soooooooo much more room to fail and make human errors (which you totally will make by the way) and learn from them in as constructive, un-punishing way as possible. And that might be invaluable.

Well... No more invaluable then the following, which pretty much everyone agrees is the single best value of film school...

It allows you to create a network.

This isn't just about the alumni thing, which is admittedly rather helpful (hulk's honestly gotten so much out of sharing a school or geographic region). But really, its about the people you will meet in your time of attendance. It is about the people you will become friends with. The people with whom you will share your passion of film and media. The people you come to love and maybe even make a life with. Together, you will all help each other learn. You will help each other make films. It is a communal art after all and if you learn how to have a functional collaboration during that schooling period, then it will last you a life-time. For being able to have purposeful, kind communication is without a doubt, the single most useful skill in this business. And from there, you will go on a journey together. You will grow up together. You will help each other throughout time. Even if you end up drifting apart, those formal experiences will be vital. Heck, if you drift apart there are still plenty of ways can always come back to that place of helping one another in a second. And as you grow up you will all take your different paths of success. You will all gain more power and influence and the ability to help one another in substantial ways. The industry is a series of interlocking pieces, all critical to making things happen. And like a fine wine, the immense value of your network can really can get better with age... And also like a fine wine it can spoil if you mistreat it. The sentiments of "bridge burning" have never applied so rigidly. It's a cliche, but this is an insanely small industry. If you are rude, self-serving, and fuck people over? It will absolutely cost you at some point. If you are kind, loyal, and help without a single thought of reward? You will be repaid with those same things ten times over.

A funny thing happened just this last march at sxsw, when hulk and two other people randomly ran into each other in the bathroom. We all went to film school together and yet there we were all these years later, all doing awesome stuff at the festival. We caught up and talked candidly about it and it just felt like such a celebratory moment of three people who once had absolutely no idea what they were doing... And then we peed awkwardly!

Part 3 - instructions for "the two paths"

Hulk has hopefully established that film school and education at large has a worthwhile, tangible value, but as hulk discussed in part one, there are also serious obstacles in the way... Obstacles which can actively prevent you from realizing your dream...

And the truth is hulk can't decide for you.

Everyone's situation is different. Hulk can only outline the paths and difficulties and answer as many specific questions as you have. It's a gray area. And it will always be a gray area. But once you make that choice to go to film school or not to go, there is even more advice hulk can give.

So let's get practical!

The first piece of advice: don't enter into this lightly. Having a career in film and television is about five times harder than you think it is and you probably think it's hard already. The chances of making a real living at it are infinitesimally small. And the chances of making money to pay back loans are equally small. There are absolutely no guarantees at any level. None. It is a massive risk. So if you just think it seems like a cool, fun career to have? If you don't have an outstanding work ethic? If you like to complain about how difficult things are? If you like to complain in general? Then find something else. Because you will be miserable if you try this career.

And if all that difficulty doesn't deter you? If you don't care at all and you simply have to do this? Then okay. Ambition will serve you well. Just remember how hard it is.

The second piece of advice: it is ultimately about moving to los angeles. It's not that you can't "make it" in new york or something. It's just that it's way more expensive and there are way less jobs. So... You know... That's a huge obstacle. Why not make it easier? If you get mega-success you could always live there too. Now, you may also want try to make it some other city with a regional film business and that's fine too. But again, it's about certain ceilings and limitations. It's about the lack of steady work and opportunity. Los angeles may be chock-full of vast competition, but there is never a lack of opportunity. And that is critical to your development.

Now let's look at your two options and hulk will lay out hulk's best advice for how you should approach them.

The film-school route:

-go to the best film school you get into. That means get your grades up. As a student, college isn't the route to your profession. It is your profession.

-if you want hulk's advice go to one that's a bit bigger so the network is bigger too. Ideally one near a city.

-don't absorb insurmountable debt in trying to do either.

-cherish the great professors. Build relationships with them. Be dependable. Help them for free.

-respect all your other professors. Their word doesn't have to be law, but there's a reason they are there. Learn what you can from them. Evolve. Subvert what you "already know." embrace everything.

-study hard. Actually read the damn textbooks. It's very easy not to, but you will be rewarded if you do.

-don't worry about the dicks who seem to get by not doing anything. They don't matter. And every arena on the planet has these dicks. Believe it or not, they have nothing to do with you or your success. Nothing to do with it.

-study every possible subject within the craft. Filmmaking is about your ability to understand every part of the process and translate it into meaningful story. Every. Single. Part.

-if you're a female, don't let the suffocating maleness bully you into anything, especially taking a "female" role on set or in a production. Grab a camera. Lift shit. Take charge. Be brazen. Be kind. Be helpful. Be better then them. Transcend the reality they create for you.

-make friends. Make best friends. Make things with those friends. Never screw them over.

-utilize every possible resource. Does your school have a working studio? Book it. Use it. You have no idea how expensive these places will be later. Use those resources now before you have to spend half a year's salary on them.

-read books. No matter what you will be doing, you will be communicating in the english language. Not just writing and correspondence, but in the way you talk. If you are well-read, you will come off as smart. As hulk said, hulk got the two best jobs in this business because hulk was well-read, not because hulk had seen bergman's entire filmography or something. Remember that. Study other things. Have something to talk about. Have a passion other than movies. Cinema is your tool. Not your subject.

-the work you are doing now will not be made. Not a million years. So don't think of it like that. Don't think of it as anything that has to be perfect or get you attention. Look at it as training ground. As opportunities for understanding. This is your practice. It's about getting better. Nothing else.

-in your later years, find out if your school does internships. If so? Get one. If not? Get one anyway. Convince them to give you credit.

-try to get an internship in los angeles. Connections in los angeles are worth infinitely more than connections in regional film industries. If l.A. Internship not available, get one with tons of hands on experience and skills you can use.

-use said l.A. Internship to make connections. Treat this opportunity to get people coffee as if someone was handing you a piece of gold. These are menial tasks. It doesn't matter. It is only about your attitude and how much you help them. But also don't care if they can't remember your name. This is a defining experience for you, but there are 5 more of you every season to them. That's just the dynamic. It can't be helped. So what you can do is try your best to be the kind of person who can breaks through the dynamic. Try to get a job lined up out it, either there or somewhere else. If they like you, they will try to help you. If they don't help you, chances are it's because of you. That may sound mean. But hulk can't remember the last time a likeable intern was given even the attempt of help in the transition.

-go home. Graduate well. Then move to l.A. (along with everyone else in your network)

-start the career. Try to use every contact. Don't be shy. Don't be overbearing. Be polite. Realize the big thing you are asking of people. Treat it as such. You may find the odd truth that the contacts who are most helpful are not actually the ones who are good friends, but secondary friendly ones. Things that come with recommendations, friends of friends. It's all because they are the people who are not afraid to do business with you or have something go wrong. This is totally okay. Understand that.

-among those people who help, you will find the rare person who really and truly believes in you and your work. These people are the single most valuable resource on the planet. They are your unobtanium. Treat them as such. Show them the same respect back. Grow with them.

-even then, all this doesn't do the work for you. Do the work.

-then never stop working. Hulk is well into a career and hulk, no lie, works about 120 hours a week. This has been measured. That is on the very high end. During much of that time you will be unrewarded. This is okay. Eventually, you will be rewarded for it. Think of it simply as your preparation for when the opportunities come.

-get used to not sleeping much.

-fail. Get used to failure. The moment it doesn't bother you is the time you are finally comfortable putting yourself out there.

-again, it will never seem like this is working. It will seem awful. It will seem hard. But at one point you will be handed an opportunity.

-take it. You would be shocked how often hulk has seen smart people run away from a giant opportunity because of the "bigness" of a moment. Shocked. It is nothing more than puritanical, self-destructive behavior.

-these same people will complain about things not being fair. They will complain about non-smart people getting all these opportunities because of their out-of-control ambition. Never complain about these people. They have nothing to do with you.

-still, if you have out of control ambition, but not a lot of talent... Find a way to get to that realization. It's okay. Find a role that suits you. Your ambition can be an incredible tool for other people. Knowing who you are and what you can do is a great skill.

-again, take every opportunity. Hulk once turned down a crazy opportunity years ago because hulk rationalize that hulk wasn't ready and hulk knew the guy to be an asshole who had screwed people over. The hulk you know today you would have walked right in and owned the situation and hulk-self. And if those bad things turned out to be true? Fine. Who cares. It's nowhere near as disastrous as not trying.

-take the opportunity. Do everything you possibly can with it. They are gives. Do not squander. Do not run. Do not think this was deserved. Handle it with the utmost care.

-repeat.

-repeat.

-repeat.

The non-film school route:

-read the entire section above. Without the construct of "film school" try to recreate everything.

-don't do something that gets you mountains of debt. That is your main advantage over those going to film school. Don't erase it.

-move to los angeles immediately. The biggest problem is you will know absolutely no one. That is fine, it just makes things harder.

-no matter what you're doing don't stop watching movies. Seek out films that you don't want to watch. Quentin tarantino famously said "i didn't go to film school i went to films." people talk about that like it's the way to go, but the truth is that he watched more films than probably anyone on the planet. He sought out the education and did not go about that casually. Do you realize how much work he put into that? Hulk sees people take that ethos and then half-ass it all the time. If you think you have to put into the equal effort of a film education, you are wrong. You have to triple it. That's how many movies you have to watch and books you have to read. The affect of professors is that powerful.

-then the truth is the money comes into the equation here yet again because all the best jobs you can get are usually got through having internships and those do not pay a dime. (this is another benefit of the education thing)

-a lot of internships only give college credit and so you can't take one if you aren't in college (free labor rules). So just enroll in a community college or extension program at a good school. Just find a way in the door. Make it happen.

-that means you will have to work long hours on the side. This is okay.

-if you are lucky you will eventually get shit jobs in the industry in whatever field you are lucky to get into. This is just reality.

-the key is that, during all of this, you have to build your network without the support of film school or knowing anyone in the same situation.

-it does not simply happen. You have to work at it. This doesn't mean be phony and a schmoozer. God no. That is the great lie of "networking." you should be a good, honorable and nice person. But you have to seek out the places where things are happening.

-for example, watch films at the new beverly and cinefamily. Go to see q + a's by directors. Talk to people. Find people through twitter. Do these things together. Take classes at ucb/groundlings. Find spots where things are happening and be a part of the people who are experiencing them too. Make friends. Be loyal. Be kind. Don't want things out of people. Want to help them.

-and if you can? Don't make friends with people who talk a good game. Make friends with people who really like being productive and are full of action. Make things on the cheap. Mess around. Get better. The first things you will make will suck. This is okay. Your next thing will always suck less. And when you're ready and saved up enough money make your own thing that's for real (read: expensive). Go from there.

-note that the irony of film school is that no matter what you still end up doing the "non-film school route" in the end. It's just with film school behind you, you have so much more helpful ammo and a network to fall back on and help you through it. Plus all that academics / education stuff hulk talked about before which is invaluable.

-share your intellect. A lot of people assume that people working in film/tv are pseudo intellectuals. But nothing could be further than the truth. They are far smarter than you think (most of the problems have to due with systemic structure ie too many cooks in the kitchen or trying to justify their job and not because they're a placating idiot).

-work. Work harder than you ever thought possible. Work four times as hard as anyone. Make failure an impossibility.

-repeat.

-repeat.

-repeat.

- epilogue -

Having now read that, you may have realized that the validity of both paths reveals a pretty simple truth... It is not really about film school.

It's about what film school represents.

It's about having an attitude and aptitude for learning. It is about having the ability in your self to both be a part of and build a community. It is about delving into the history of this industry that is predicated so much on that which has come before. It is about the quest for understanding and the desire to uphold the values of perpetual education. Film school is never to be "rejected," for that represents the rejection of knowledge itself. And whether we do go to school literally or figuratively, embracing the ethos of film school is simply about embracing the value of art, hard work, and the expansion of mental possibilities. Academics may seem to be opposite end of the spectrum from our experience, but they are really the two sides of our "cinematic coin," both inescapably necessary to our being a complete artist, craftsman, or diligent worker in this industry.

Film school. No film school. These are the two paths. Both are valid. Both have obstacles. Both have enormous benefits. And both stretch outward to the same ineffable goal of accomplishing your dream.

But if you manage to accomplish exactly what both paths illustrate, you will come to an all-important discovery. You will realize a dream is not something that is accomplished.

It is the attaining of a constant state of work that you enjoy. That fulfills you. That makes you feel alive and vital. There is no top of the mountain. There couldn't be, for this industry provides so few moments of actually triumph. There is simply your happiness with the process. It is why hulk ended both paths on "repeat. Repeat. Repeat." there is no satisfactions in the rewards. They do not really exist. Your satisfaction rests n a job well done. It depends on your belief in the work itself. The belief that what you do in this industry matters. It is the belief that you are the "eternal student" of your own profession.

And the sooner you own that realization, the sooner real happiness creeps into your soul

With that... Be smart. Be dedicated. Be kind. Be good.

Repeat.

And know that hulk wishes you way more than luck,

<3 hulk