Music Video Production Courses?

[Aram Rian]

hello.
would you guys know of any prestigious music video production courses (or filmmaking ones, in general) either in the usa or canada or australia or new zealand?
regards.

[Alan James]

Courses? Like film schools? I don’t know exactly what u are looking to learn but I am 100% sure that you will learn it better by just going out and doing it a few times. If you are looking for technical information the people on here are more then willing to help you out. If you’re a little more specific about what you are looking for we will probably be able to point you in a clearer direction.

[Wayne Benjamin]

Well music video production is something I do for a living, I didn't go to film school or take a course for making music videos, but I have been involved in production for some time(since 1997) and photography since 1989 (this helped sharpen my cinematography skills). So to some extent what Alan said is true. It's just that if you don't have a clue it might not be easy. Because at the end of the day, just watching videos and purchasing some equipment can't be enough. But if you do have a background in Directing, producing, cinematography and music I believe you should give it a shot. maybe start with some simple projects that don't require a lot of "Bling", some slow paced music where you can captivate people with a great story and good cinematography!

[Aram Rian]

thanks for the replies. i have already got some experience in music video production. what i had in mind, though, was merely obtaining a relevant qualification/certificate/diploma.

[Nate Weaver]

Originally Posted by Aram Rian

what i had in mind, though, was merely obtaining a relevant qualification/certificate/diploma.

Even if there was a diploma, it wouldn't be worth anything to the people who hire music video directors every day. I'll be frank, and please don't be sore at me for being honest...it would be kind of a laugh.

Your reel is your ticket. That's it. Not your years of experience in production, not the gear you happen to own, nothing. Your reel and your ability to deliver on time, and within the constraints given.

[Wayne Benjamin]

Getting a video isn't like getting a 9-5 job, when people hire me to direct a video, the most they will ask for is a show reel if they don't already know my work. If you don't mind me asking, why would you want a diploma or a degree for music videos? did someone request this?

[Chris Hocking]

In Australia, according to industry professionals the only "real" Film & Television course is AFTRS. Of course there are others (VCA, Swinburne, etc.) and I'm studying at one of them, but AFTRS is the only one that really compares to international schools (such as USC; which people like George Lucas went to). Because of that, it's also very hard to get into.

In the USA there are quite a few well regarded university courses.

I presume New Zealand would be much like Australia were they would have a few institutions available, but only one real stand out. The film industry is really kicking in New Zealand at the moment though, so I'm sure there are a lot of people wanting to get into the industry.

Not sure about Canada, but I'd bed there'd be a couple of options there.

For a list of film schools see: http://www.imdb.com/filmschools/

However! Like others have said, going to film school doesn't mean you'll get a job out of it. Hands on experience is what you need; stuff that you can put into a show reel.

There are pros and cons to going to university in our industry. Luckily there are HEAPS of online resources to help you with the decision. Have a search around the net, and even on DVi.

One example: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=80980

Hope this helps!

[Nate Weaver]

Chris, I think he was talking specifically about music videos.

[Steve House]

Putting together an initial reel all self-financed can be expensive. One thing attending a film school with good production facilities gives you is access to equipment you might not otherwise be able to afford to rent or purchase and manpower from the other students to assist you might not have been able to afford to hire. Other than that, a good education is important but it won't get you hired.

[Glenn Chan]

Talk to some people working in the industry. You will likely find that:
A- They didn't get formal education.
B- They briefly had formal education, but dropped out since they realized it was a waste of time.
C- They had formal education, and graduated not knowing what a sand bag is.

Not to be facetious, but the college and university programs tend not to be very good at teaching these things.

[Aram Rian]

i'll have to fully agree with you all. thanks for all the replies.

[Michael Gilbert]

Full Sail in florida was a school I was looking at. Its an intense 2 year program, you work like crazy to the point they reccomend not having a job. The film program at full sail is directed mainly at music videos. They also have sound engineering/ recording studio programs, animation, computer game programing etc. I looked at this school for quite some time before making my decision to goto a Film school in New Orleans Louisiana. They are quite expensive, think in the range of 30 or 60k a year. They have a very prestigious name and if you do somewhat decent your damn near guaranteed job placement. They are very hands on.

I decided against this school for many reasons, one was money, two was the fact that damn near any film school, as long as you apply yourself, can get you a job. The key that ive found so far is not to just do films for class, its do them . Ive worked on 14 films or so this past semester, 1 being full length, the rest being 3-10 minutes shorts. only about 4 were actually for school.

Univeristy of New Orleans film school is theory with some hands on production classes, BUT we havea club called the UNO filmakers and we make 2 short films financed by the school per semester with full access to the universities equipment, these shorts are written and completely crewed by students,above and below the line. On top of that, the students that actually make movies are constantly looking for crew members. Its a perfect place to attempt your break out shorts. Free labor, free to cheap equipment use, unlimited access to the tutelage of the proffressors. I pay 1600 or so per semester here as a louisiana resident. And another thing, New orleans is a filmakers/ art department dream right now. There is so much post apocolyptic stuff here that is placed curbside to throw away its unreal, people love film students here so they go out of their way for us, and 3 hollywood is getting move and move involved here. I think the goverment gives them some tax break for shooting here. Deja Vu was shot here, The explosion of the riverboat was like 10 minutes from my house and was awesome to watch, could feel the heat from about a mile away from that fireball. Made tourists and locals that didnt know about it freak out and scream terrorist. Benjamin Buttons with brad pitt is shooting here right now. If your not already situated somewhere, aka family, house etc, and dont mind making a move, New Orleans is a great place to get a break into the movie business both on indie scale and hollywood scale.


Personally ive been getting into the music video side, ive done live/tour videos but am now in pre production for 2 planned out music videos.

Schools can teach you the technicals of filmaking, film speeds, color balancing etc. But they cannot teach you creativity. Pickup this book, The Filmakers Handbook by Steven Ashcher and Edward Pincus. Lotta technicals in there for film and video.

The wierd thing about film is they can only teach you so much, I shot on 16mm with sync audio. Was a scary scary experience. I spend a few hundred dollars on a 400ft roll of film. I had to battle many things. One is the crew that was randomly picked for me had never done a thing, so It left me to Direct, DP, dress sets, pretty much do everything but clapper and I showed them how to do audio with the fostex. The other is that it was my first 16mm film, Robert Rodriguez won many awards with his first 16mm "Bedhead" so it was quite intimidating. My grades also were in risk if the film did not turn out. Everything came out great and will be taking a post production course next semester.

From all that I have seen and heard, a degree gets those who DONT make movies a job, Your PRODUCT gets those who do the GOOD jobs. Ive been asked for resumes to many people, and they really dont care to see im in film school, it doesnt hurt, but they want to see what ive DONE not what im supposed to be learning how to do.

Best bet is find a lower cost school rather than expensive prestigious ones. You take advantage of the gear that is at the school and make connections with those like you, and thats made all the difference for me.

It all depends on what you want to do, if you already have a clientele and are making things and just want something official to show the undecidedes then im sure theres some kind of afi workshops you can take to get some kind of certs.

I duno if this helps, coffee has got me rambling.