Does anybody know any 1 year programs that might better prepare me for action/sports films? I want to work on surf/snowsport/etc. type films. Is this just something you specialize in after going to school or something I can become familiar with during my initial education. Thank you very much.

There are no schools that will prepare you for that- you will just have to go out there and do it. A friend of mine has been filming snowboarders for the past 3 or so years- and he's not in college yet. My advice: go out there and do it yourself and then go to film school to brush up on your skills- then go back out there and do it some more.

watch out for trees

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Hill Dawson Kane,

I don't know of any programs specifically for action sports filmmaking. I really don't think its necessary though. Film school will definitely help with the filmmaking side, but making contacts is almost more important.

I'd say if you;re 100% sure you want to do surfing videos, just take a couple film classes or like you said a one year course about filmmaking. Then spend all the money you would have spent on school on equipment and travel and start making surf movies.

Check out my website... www.huckfestproductions.com

I make snowboarding videos. I'm sure there are other people out there who can make better snowboard videos than I can, but I know so many people in the industry and have used that to my advantage. I got a contract and $$ from the biggest company in snowboarding, Burton. My video is now being sold in snowboard shops all over the east coast and a few out west. This wasn't completely because of my filmmaking skills, my networking skills were a huge part of that..

Sorry if that came of like bragging haha just trying to emphasize the fact that networking is just as important as the actual filmmaking.

wow, long first post.

Tom is right. I live in downtown L.A.'s arts district and see kids shooting (with good cameras) skateboarding videos all the time. I used to be a world-class surfer in Hawaii and knew a few people who made surfilms. Most did not go to school but learned by trial and error, a slow and incomplete process.
Enroll yourself in LACC's cinema department school (6th largest and 2nd level film school in the US) and also take some digital cinematography classes at LAVC's media arts department. You can craft yourself a specialized curriculum and use the money you save (by only paying community college tutition) to buy the best high def camera and equipment you can afford to shoot, edit and burn to DVD. Get your friends to pay you to shoot them surfing, skiing and skating while you begin networking and saving your money to supplement developing the specific skillsets you need at the more expensive Maine filmmaking camps held in summer or at UCLA extension.

Since this spring I surf again, you can shoot me styling in my classic "soul surfer"/old school, something worthy of documenting for the ages. :-)