Part One
Introduction: Middle-Aged Olympians
They who lack talent expect things to happen without effort.
Eric Hoffer, Reflections on the Human Condition
In 2012 the United States sent 530 athletes to the summer Olympics.
Their average age: 26.
In 2012 the Academy Awards nominated 49 individual filmmakers in the categories of screenwriting, directing, producing, editing, cinematography and documentary.
Their average age: 50. Almost twice that of the Olympians.
Some more sobering statistics:
- UCLA, like NYU, USC and most top film schools, accepts less than 5 percent of applicants.
- Of those accepted, around 1 percent make a successful feature film.
All this is to say that a career making feature films is incredibly difficult to achieve. Very few people, including the majority of top film school graduates, ever do it.
So why buy this crazy book? Why not spend the money on an LSAT prep course and a nice bottle of bourbon?
Because studies show that people who think achieving a goal will be difficult plan better, work harder, and persist longer than people who think it’ll be easy. In other words, they actually give themselves a shot at succeeding.
A big part of individual success comes from an ability to manage your expectations. As I continue on my own path as a filmmaker, I realize how much of my frustration stems from my own naïve expectations of how things are supposed to work, usually in my favor. Thus one of my major goals in writing this is to help you conceptualize what film school is, and what getting in actually means.
I hope this book will be a roadmap you can turn to when you get lost, confused or frustrated; believe me, it’s all part of the process.
I don’t discuss current curriculum or equipment because that information constantly changes. If you’re serious about filmmaking, you’ll have to do that research on your own anyway.
I made my first narrative short film in 2006. It was shot on a shoestring budget with a two-person crew. Seven years later, my UCLA MFA Thesis Film premiered at the 2013 South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival and was a finalist for the Student Academy Awards. Inside this book is everything I learned in between. My experience is as an emerging writer/director, but this book will benefit people from other disciplines (specifically producing, cinematography, and editing) as well; ultimately we’re all in the same boat.
In your hands is the book I wish I’d had throughout my early career as a young filmmaker. I hope it helps you on the long journey ahead.
Jason B. Kohl