Hi.
I live in Canada and am in 9th grade. All I can see myself doing for a career is making movies; movies mean the world to me. I've made a few plans of how to become a filmmaker, but I'd love to hear if anyone has any advice or information.

I'm planning to go somewhere in Canada (Ryerson, UBC, etc.) and study undergraduate film. What are the best schools in Canada, and are they even worth it?
After that I'd move to LA or New York and try to work hard to make my dreams come true.

BUT my ultimate super fantastic awesome crazy dream is to go to NYU or USC. I would love that 100000x a university here in Canada but cost is a very big problem.

SO I GUESS what I'm asking is, what would you do if you were in my shoes? Work super hard in school to get good grades and scholarships, then apply for financial aid and take out student loans while making as many movies as I can and watching movies and getting experience? Are NYU and USC that much better than a Canadian university?

Thanks for any advice!

I don't know. Hope someone out there who knows more can advise you. I think I'd work hard and do as well as you can in school, volunteer working on films, and develop some interest you have, not necessarily in film. That's what my daughter did and she got into USC. There are several good schools out there in addition NYU and USC. You are getting a very early start on this, which is great! Good luck.

I'm trying to get into NYU or UCLA for film and I'm also from Canada. I think the U.S would be better for film because the film industry in the U.S is much more well known around the world. Canada will evenually catch up but not for now. It seems like the U.S supports the film industry more than Canada. Seems like Canada supports people more on careers that help benefit the country ex: the medicine field(doctors and the medical field) and less of the arts. I guess Canada thinks that the arts doesn't benefit them as much as the other career out there. This is my opinion, people will think otherwise. Also, look at how many Canadians moved from Canada to either L.A or NYC to further there career! If Canada supported the film industry more, our talent wouldn't have to be brought over to the U.S.

Thanks both of you!

uchiha_sasuke, I definitely agree with you about film in Canada. It feels like every single career in the world is supported, except the movie industry. I would definitely want to move to New York or Los Angeles after university too, so studying there would be awesome. Money is probably the biggest issue though. Good luck on getting into NYU or UCLA by the way!

I understand where you're coming from as I was in your shoes when I was in 9th grade, but the truth is, no matter how much you love film, you're so far away from going to college right now that it really won't help to consider schools. What I'm saying is, in four years, you'll change, your priorities will change, your interests will change, your financial situation will change and schools will change as well. It's important to know *what* you want to do, but for now, it's not important to start choosing schools now for a lot of reasons (listed above), but mostly because it will limit the schools you'll consider later on and possibly leave you blind to the downfalls of each.

Coming from someone who's been there, done that, and screwed up countless times along the way, the best things you can do are the simplest ones.
Keep your grades up. Seems so obvious, yet it is so important.
Participate in extra-curricular activities, not necessarily just in film.
Start a film club if your school doesn't already have one.
Take film classes; if your school doesn't have film classes, take broadcasting/graphic design/photography classes; if your school doesn't have that, take art classes.
Learn to *write*. Take every chance you can get to improve your writing.
Make movies with your friends. Average ones, great ones, repulsively horrible ones, it doesn't matter. Keep at it. When you're starting out, the quality doesn't matter so much as the quantity. Experience is what you're getting, and if you have a good short or two, you've got yourself a portfolio.

If you follow these suggestions, you'll have a strong academic profile, as well as a great portfolio and essay.

And just something to think about, it's easy to talk about loans now, but coming out of school $200k in debt is not exactly most people's idea of fun. Money can't be everything in your decision, but it can't be ignored either.

Read my post on this thread if you feel like reading more about schools and the college application/preparation process: http://forums.studentfilms.com...86066451/m/426104822

Here's are in depth reviews of film degree programs in BC. There's also private institution reviews there as well.

UBC
http://www.artschoolreviews.ca...e-scene-for-40-years

SFU
http://www.artschoolreviews.ca...dependent-filmmakers