<p>Buy yourself a starter kit of film equipment </p>
<ul>
<li> Camera</li>
<li> 35mm lens</li>
<li> Steady tripod </li>
<li> Sliding dolly</li>
<li> 3/4 piece light kit</li>
<li> 2 china balls with large bulb and socket </li>
<li> Shotgun microphone with XLR cable </li>
<li> Boom pole for shotgun microphone</li>
<li> Digital audio recorder (for recording sound)</li>
<li> Basic audio mixer</li>
<li> Extension cords</li>
<li> Bounce board </li>
<li> Reflector board</li>
<li> Editing software </li>
</ul>
<p>This set of equipment will cost you between $3,000 and $5,000. Does that sound like a lot? Yes. But it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than film school; what I’ve just listed here costs about 1/6 of 1 YEAR worth of film school. And the best part? You don’t have to share the equipment, and you don’t have to return it after 4 years. It’s yours forever… or, until it breaks </p>
<p>If you’re really committed, start with a camera and tripod, and move on to the other materials later. If this is truly your thing, you’ll be motivated enough to work and learn on your own. Real filmmakers and writers don’t need teachers kicking their butts and nudging them along. They do things themselves, no matter what. You’ll learn 1,000x more about filmmaking by doing it yourself rather than blowing huge amounts of money on college. Trust me. Any screenwriting course is absolute bull - read “writing for emotional impact”, “dialogue secrets”, and “scriptshadow’s 500 tips” (to name a few of my favorites) and watch movies. Read screenplays and really analyze them. That’s a world class screenwriting education right there (once again, please trust me on that) </p>
<p>You don’t need film school to be a filmmaker or screenwriter. Period. Anyone who says otherwise is clueless. When you enter the industry, no one gives a damn about your education. They care about the quality of your scripts and how good your reel is. If a producer or studio executive is comparing two screenplays or two reels, one good and written/or shot by a college grad and the other amazing and written/or shot by a high school dropout, the dropout will always win. The. Dropout. Will. Always. Win. Always. Quality is king. You have to be passionate, motivated, dedicated, and hard working. You have to dedicate yourself to soaking up as much about the industry as possible, through business books. College doesn’t teach creativity, and it doesn’t teach you that either </p>
<p>I’m just trying to give you a different perspective before you make a decision that’ll affect you financially for the next thirty years of your life. Good luck! </p>