Toronto Film Schools?

Hello Everyone!

I've been considering a course in film editing here in Toronto but am not having much luck finding a school that meets my needs. The courses at York, Ryerson and Humber all look pretty good with the exception that they're all 4 year courses. I've been in the entertainment business for 20 + years now in the audio end of things but would like to get some solid cred in film editing/production via a certificate or diploma. It seems no one will give you the time of day today in this business unless you're holding a degree or 5 years experience.

I've got a pretty good base now in FCPX and would like to get more experience with Motion and After Effects. I've got tons of experience with ProTools and would be great at audio post but again, it's hard to break into that part of the biz when you've been doing music production as long as I have.

Any recommendations and/or advice on the topic would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to all in advance!

Most people I know working don't have degrees. You need to find the small free jobs, and build on those to larger paid jobs. A demo reel goes further than anything else.

Hey Ben,

That's always been the way the audio/music industry works. In the past, degrees, certifications etc. have always been looked at by the pros with a raised eyebrow. I recall when I was starting out, a guy came by one day soliciting our recording studio for the purpose of opening an audio school. We all laughed at the notion (after the fact) and commented amongst ourselves, " Who'd ever think that you could learn about this stuff in a school?" While they've now sprung up everywhere, I still believe that only a few students who are inherently made for this type of work, would benefit from it. It's a long road to success. Nothing beats on the job training. I was fortunate enough as a kid, to land a gig at a great studio as a 2nd engineer and go from there. A lot of kids never get that lucky.

I've thrown resumes out there, that I think are quite impressive, to the major players in the local market and have absolutely no replies. Initially, they're all looking for degrees, diploma's and/or experience in the field. I'm searching for answers because quite frankly, I can't believe the lack of response. There is however the realistic possibility that these job offers are being advertised by default and that the positions have already been filled internally. I hear that happens quite frequently.

Thanks for your reply Ben!

Film school can be very valuable- for everything BUT the degree, which for people in our industry is a useless bit of paper I wasn't even willing to pay the $100 Ryerson wanted to charge me for it when I graduated in the mid 1990's.

The first benefit is that you are forced to produce- deadlines on many projects a year. This forces you to not be too precious about every film. Come up with an idea. Shoot it. Edit it. Deliver it. Make your mistakes and move on. This is the biggest reason some people never get anything done. They can't set their own deadlines and stick to them.

The second benefit is networking with your classmates. I still hire, work with, and work for so many of the people that I spent that 4 years with. Great people who are now professionals in all areas of the industry and at all levels. Some of which are well out of my budget range!

I'm sure there are ways to get both of these advantages without going to film school for 4 years- probably cheaper too! But I don't regret it at all. Of course, I went right out of high school at 19, so I had the time and energy to do a 4 year program.

Of course, absolutely NONE of the technical knowledge I learned in school helped me at at. At at that time film school was still FILM school. In the 4 years I went there, there was a massive technological upheaval across the entire industry. From film editing- to A/B tape editing- to the early digital systems.

Man, what a ride...

Thanks very much for your reply Dis,

All good points that you bring up. When I was an assistant engineer in the recording studio, the lessons were much the same as you've mentioned with of course the emphasis being centered around timeliness. We were allowed "off time" when there was no one in the studio and encouraged to bring our own projects in, record and produce them and get our feet wet. Gosh, we recorded some horrible stuff but in retrospect . . . that's what ended up making us good at what we do now.

The point you've made about networking is an important one. All of my contacts are in audio so I'm really missing out on film contacts however this forum is quite good. A lot of informative and very nice people here who are more than willing to offer up advice.

I uploaded a post here yesterday with regard to lending my services for free and hope that people will take me up on this offer. As well as being proficient in all areas of audio, I am also a pretty good composer and am willing to help people out (just to get a foot in the door) with scores and/or original compositions depending on your needs. I'd also be more than willing to edit footage for you or do whatever else you may need. All for free of course. If you have a certain genre of music you need (original compositions/scores) give me an idea of what you're looking to accomplish and I'm happy to send you examples. No strings attached.

I have a modest studio here with ProTools 9. I can do V/O work, editing (FCPX) and record very decent audio projects. I've worked on Grammy award winning musical projects, written and recorded Billboard songs and had a few hits in Canada, Hit me up if you're willing to give it a shot. Nothing to lose!

Another avenue that is opening with the preponderance of cheaper cameras & the mulitplication of filmmakers, is that you can work on other people's projects. Many of those film school grads or even students need help on films they're working on. There are bulletin boards at those schools, local papers & even Craigslist. List what you can do, what you want to do, & soon you'll have all kinds of opportunities, & a demo reel.