Abhi from India writes;

Dear Jason,

I stumbled upon your blog while doing some general searches.I was reading your article on how you made it into ucla.Congrats!
I was hoping if you can help me out here.I wanted to know how you started out as a film maker. I was hoping to get some info regarding the courses that you attended. Firstly i am an amateur film maker with very little experience(i know it hurts). I dream of applying to the top universities soon however my dreams will remain metaphorical until i hit the ground running with my movies. With no movies in my bag i dont stand a chance. I was wondering if you can throw some light on how i should start off. I believe that getting the basics right in order is essential. Can you please refer to some programes (sic) or universities. This might sound naive but do you know anyone else who is in a similar situation or medium. Any information would help greatly. I am from india,my parents stay in LA where i might be moving to soon). The truth is i am person of my interests and i cannot imagine passing up this opportunity ever. I am sorry if my email is too episodic,i just want to learn more. I dont know you in person so if i did cause any discomfort i apologize.

thanks
Abhi

I have post on how I started becoming a filmmaker on this blog. The easiest answer is: Make Films.

Every film you make teaches you about the process. There are always stories about the Wunderkind like Gus Van Sant or P.T. Anderson who burst onto the scene in a sea of brilliance. What these stories eschew is the fact that these people were making and writing films, many films, before they ever made a feature. Not everything you make will be good. Take comfort in that. Treat difficult experiences as discoveries.

The top film schools in America, as far as I can tell, are:

1. New York University

2. UCLA

3. Columbia

4. AFI

5. USC

6. Chapman is definitely the up and coming school, and deserves to be on this list.

You should decide what you want to do. Are you a writer, a producer, the dreaded writer-director? The last of these is the most difficult, because they are very different and demanding skills. Most people who come to film school to direct also want to write. However I think film history shows that there are very few people who have successfully done both.

There are basics, but they can only be learned by making films and making mistakes. Perfectionism is the death of art. These are some books on writing and directing that I have found very useful if you would like to get some more information.

Directing:

Directing, Film Techniques and Aesthetics by Michael Rabiger gives a very clear overview.

Notes on Directing by Frank Hauser is an excellent overview of the process as well.

A Sense of Direction is an amazing look at dealing with actors.

Notes on the Cinematographer is a small, spiritual companion filled with Bresson’s observations from his own career.

Friendly Enemies by Delia Salvi is a great book on problems actors and directors have.

Writing:

Save the Cat! By Blake Snyder is a succint overview of basic storytelling principles

On Filmmaking by Alexander Mackendrick addresses similar issues, especially from the perspective of the new filmmaker

The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri is required reading in most screenwriting programs, as is

The Poetics of Aristotle.

To these I would add Alternative Scriptwriting by Ken Dancyger and Jeff Rush and

How Not to Make A Short Film by Roberta Munroe.

All of these books can be found in the store section of my website.

While I offered a lot of suggestions on books here, none of these books will mean anything without raw experience in the field. Write a script, get feedback on it, find people to act in it, shoot it, and edit it. See how it turns out, and what you could do better.

UCLA Extension teaches screenwriting and many other things in LA if you’re going to be here.

I hope this helps. Many of the other answers you are looking for can be found by looking through this blog.

Best,

Jason