Film school scam or not?

September 24, 2009 9:27 AM

Is anyone familiar with "the film connection film institute?" Are they a scam?

Came across their site (will not link it here) while looking for info on learning to become a director. Idea they promote is that while you go to school you will also be connected with a real working mentor in the industry and you will be an apprentice. They say that for tuition of $7750 you get A private teacher in a real studio, station or production company; course curriculum taught by that teacher or mentor; opportunity to apprentice and/or intern in that studio so as to make real world connections as you train and take the course curriculum; own Student Counselor to make sure you are getting what you paid for; own website to promote yourself; Final Cut Express for Filmmaking Students; All your books; a certificate that certifies you and job assistance if you need it, for one year.

Thanks for any help on this!

posted by irie1972 to education (7 comments total)

Just from looking online quickly, the only references I can find to it are (a) People asking if it's a scam, (b) their own "The Film Connection Film Institute, was designed from the ground up to do two things simultaneously" text, and (c) a user on Digg with a suspiciously sales-y "About" section. That raises some seeeeeerious red flags for me.
posted by specialagentwebb at 9:46 AM on September 24

just found some disturbing things here at better business bureau: http://www.la.bbb.org/Business-Report/Career-Connection-13134620
posted by irie1972 at 9:49 AM on September 24

Err ... I'm guessing you've read the first few links on Google already, but just in case:

The consensus on this message board is that if the apprenticeship isn't an outright scam, it comes close.

Yahoo Answers (yes, I know, I know) gives a complete non-answer here, with general good advice that you should ask a lot of questions and consult multiple schools.

Another forum here has more negative feedback about this particular organization.

Oh, and then there's this article in Musician's Friend/Pro Rec, an interview with founder Jim Petula, which starts out with the idea that Film/Radio/Recording Connection is a scam but ends up somewhere else entirely. It seems that many find the organization distasteful, but aren't willing to label it an outright scam.
posted by brina at 9:49 AM on September 24

"Final Cut Express for Filmmaking Students"

Why in the world wouldn't they teach regular (non-express) Final Cut? That's bizarre.
posted by niles at 9:52 AM on September 24

Even at the top accredited film schools only an infinitely small percentage of students go on to become professional directors. So this program, with shady reputation as noted above, certainly can't be worth it, even if it's not an outright scam.
posted by hamsterdam at 10:03 AM on September 24

I've never heard of them, but that doesn't mean much. I will note that my film school writing program cost considerably more than that, and the actual directing program was a good four times the cost of the writing program.

The main rub for me is this apprenticeship program. I can't imagine how they could pull that off in any meaningful way. I'm sure there are plenty of fringe producer, wannabe filmmaker types out there who would love to have a free "apprentice" mainly to validate their own status as producer or director. But the real ones, the ones you'd actually want to apprentice under, they're too busy for that, or they get their mentees from places like AFI, and quite informally.

And it's actually called the Film Connection Film Institute? That doesn't even make sense.
posted by Naberius at 11:04 AM on September 24

I note that the definition of "real studio, station, or production company" out here encompasses everything from a Disney or a Warner Brothers or a KTLA down to "three-man operations in some guy's garage." As other posters have noted, Final Cut Express is not Final Cut Pro, although some of the skills transfer between the two packages.

That being said, you could take Final Cut Pro courses (with access to labs that have not only FCP, but usually Maya and the full Adobe suite, too) out here for about twenty bucks a credit at a Los Angeles County community college. You could get a domain with webmail and everything via Google Apps for ten bucks a year, and hook up some hosting somewhere cheap for your website with your reel. You would have access to profs who might need a hand with their gigs, user groups for your apps, and classmates and Craiglist ads aplenty looking for cheap help with student films and commercials and so on.

Also, no one will give a shit about the certificate. Things people in the industry give a shit about include unfailing work ethic, good connections, a marketable skillset, and talent, not always in equal proportions or all at once.

(I went from "no job, no VFX skills, no degree" to "entry-level but steady VFX gig" in about two years thanks to good connections and the willingness to juggle school and work. It can be done without paying someone an obscene amount of cash for nebulous promises. It will be harder to become a director that way, but I believe it's possible if you are willing to really bust your ass-- and that it's definitely not necessary to pay out for these people's dodgy course.)
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 11:49 AM on September 24