My Child Wants To Go To Film School

Some parents may be excited about the filmmaking endeavor. Others? Let's just say they're not 100% sold on the idea. Career stability, LA culture...there are many aspects of the dream that raise concern. I'm a son and a parent—I get both sides.

BY KYLER BOUDREAU

Updated August 3, 2025

If your son or daughter wants to direct movies, this page is for you!

Personally, I would not want to ship my kid off to LA. I’ve lived there and know what it’s like. But isn’t that where you go to become a filmmaker? Yes and no. Hollywood 2.0 is starting in Nevada (Mark Wahlberg) and outside of that, running to where the studios are located provides zero guarantees. Trust me on that.

You can glean info by reading this page, but ideally—if you’re a parent I encourage you to watch the video below for a casual breakdown:

The First Thing Parents Should Know

If your son or daughter wants to go to film school please know this: The entertainment industry does not care about your child’s education. They care about skill, connections, stuff like that. But a degree and school pedigree simply DO NOT MATTER. You can’t get into Hollywood that way.

Now, your child DOES need to learn the craft and learn it well. But here’s the point and there’s no getting around it: When your son or daughter graduates from film school—regardless of the school—they will have a singular objective: To start making movies. But it’s on their dime.

How To Get A Job In The Industry

What you pay for film school is a tiny percentage of the overall path to any type of career stability in the entertainment industry. The problem? Some wanna-be directors dump money on film school like it’s the key factor. And then they graduate, realize the truth, and lose a decade or two working side jobs to make ends meet. Some get depressed. Some give up. It’s not pretty.

So how do you land a job?

First you have the miracles we all know about: Ben Affleck and Matt Damon show up as extras in FIELD OF DREAMS in 1989. By 1997 they co-write and co-star in GOODWILL HUNTING. Stories like this set fire to any creative dreamer. We pack up our life and move to LA hoping for the same. But these stories are not the norm. Plus, it was a different industry back then.

Another avenue is starting out as a PA on studio films and working your way up. The problem? PA jobs can lead to various crew positions. But they seldom lead to directing jobs. Again, Hollywood doesn’t work like that. I’m not saying it could never happen, but don’t bank on it.

A More Guaranteed Route To Take

From my own experience in Hollywood and independent film, a more reliable way to move a directing career forward is to begin making movies after film school. The problem? Nobody will pay your child to do this. So your aspiring filmmaker must first learn the craft, and then have the resources to buy gear and begin making movies. There are a few huge reasons for doing this vs the other zero-guarantee methods discussed above.

1) Gain Experience As A Filmmaker

There are only so many films each year that make money. And the competition to direct is fierce. Your child doesn’t stand a chance if they don’t develop serious filmmaking chops. And that doesn’t happen in film school—it begins there, but they have a long way to go after that.

2) Prove Themselves & Build An Audience

Imagine hiring a contractor to build your home. What do you want to see? Other homes they’ve built. Same applies to filmmaking. The challenge? Nobody pays for these “spec films” to be built. And this is where so many film school grads hit reality. They’ve just dumped their savings into film school only to realize they have tons of expenses ahead of them to keep moving forward.

3) Start Doing What They Want To Do

Would your child rather slave away for years on various crew positions with the hope of some day directing only to have this door NEVER open up? Or would it be more fulfilling to begin making movies right now? When I graduated from film school, the equipment needed to make a movie was out of reach. That has all changed. Additionally, studios are afraid to take risks on stories. Independent filmmakers can tell the stories they want to tell. Right now.

So the obvious question: Where do you get the training without draining the bank account?

A FILM SCHOOL FOR ASPIRING DIRECTORS

Write & Direct is an answer to the film school dilemma. It’s an online yet hands-on school and private community that will save your son or daughter a lot of time. Write & Direct is designed to do two things:

1) Teach the craft of filmmaking to beginning directors the right way. We teach the details they must know to start making movies now. This means that when they can’t afford crew, your child will be able to wear multiple hats and keep moving forward. This is paramount.

2) Remove the financial weight of the traditional film school model. The money saved can then be used to buy equipment and begin making movies. The normal education route exposes kids to a lot of equipment that they don’t own. So as soon as graduation happens, filmmaking is over. Unless they can afford to purchase their own gear.

ADDITIONAL SCHOOL INFORMATION

If you have a child that wants to go to film school, we hope this page has been helpful. Watch the video below to learn more details about the school. Additionally you can schedule a free call with the school’s founder and lead instructor to discuss further.

We hope to see your child join the film school! There is a 30-day money-back guarantee. And if there’s a concern as to their ability to commit to the training, a final bit of hard truth: The film industry is so saturated and competitive, your child must want this more than anything. If committing to training is an issue, there will be other challenges down the road.