The Mission of Write & Direct

Aspiring Filmmakers

Hollywood is still the sought after filmmaking hub of the entire world. With Mark Wahlberg and others booting up Hollywood 2.0 in Vegas, the legendary name is sure to continue. And if you’re reading this page, you undoubtedly have your sights on breaking in to the industry. Or at the least? Becoming a successful independent filmmaker.

Most aspiring filmmakers naturally look to film school as one of their first steps to break in. But unfortunately film school is not the golden ticket to breaking in to the industry as some might think. Those who pour all their resources into film school are in for a rude awakening.

What Happens After Film School?

To put it bluntly, reality sets in. There’s an elephant in the room with traditional film schools: They teach you a lot about the craft but they know the likelihood of students landing a job is rare. And if you want to be a director? Get at the back of a very long line.

But what about Ben Affleck and Matt Damon? You know, the GOOD WILL HUNTING stories? Sure, those can happen. Astronauts can also be selected to walk on the moon.

When the dean of the film school I attended asked us what we wanted to be back in March of 2005, hands went up all around the auditorium signifying those who wanted to direct. I realized right then and there that a directing major was futile. It wouldn’t pay the bills after film school. I’d taken out a sizeable loan to go to school…money was crucial. Decided on a double major in editing and sound design. At least I could crew, right?

The Receptionist At 20th Century Fox

Right before graduation I started to call studios. I had a polished editing reel that would surely get me a job. My goal was to at least land a job as an assistant editor. I’ll NEVER FORGET what the receptionist at Fox said to me after I relayed the purpose of my call:

“You know we only hire award winning editors right?” Nope, didn’t know that.

A few days after graduating from film school with $62K of school debt I was working at Banana Republic in Santa Monica just to make ends meet. I was sleeping on an air mattress in the living room of a shared condo in Burbank. Even applied for an internship to work for free at Cheyenne Productions, but the competition was so fierce I couldn’t land that job.

Film Industry Reality

When you graduate as a directing major from film school, nobody cares about your school credentials. They don’t care about the thesis film you spent a few thousand dollars on. They don’t care about your reel of that you graduated top of your class.

Aspiring directors must begin directing films immediately after graduating. But they have to fund them which means hiring and feeding crew, renting gear, locations—and so much more. Aspiring directors who nuke all of their money on film school are in a very tough spot. It can delay them by a decade—if not more. Many give up entirely or settle for other industry jobs. Such jobs do not turn into directing jobs. Few ladders go to the top.

Los Angeles is loaded with film school grads networking and networking. Trying to make it. Hoping for that actor. Hoping for that funding. Burning year after year working day jobs to stay afloat. I’ll never forget seeing an upperclassman serving sushi in Malibu years after graduation. He was a directing major known at school for being a hard worker. Doing things well.

To date, 20+ years after graduation, not one of my fellow classmates who went to school as directing majors are making money as a director of narrative film. Most aren’t directing anything at all. And this reality isn’t restricted to my class or school.

A New Alternative

I’ve painted a sobering picture, but this doesn’t mean don’t pursue your dreams. It means be strategic about it. If you come from a wealthy family and can nuke $150K at USC or AFI with plenty of money left over to start making movies, then do that. Go to an elite school.

But if you’re like the majority who don’t have $200K lying around, you need a better option. Write & Direct was designed to do that.

Our film school focuses on not just teaching the craft for less, but we teach you the entire filmmaking process from development through post production. This accomplishes two significant things that will moves you ahead in your pursuit of the craft:

1) We Enable You To Buy Gear

Attending film school has it’s perks. Like tons of gear, editing bays and sound stages. The problem? All of that evaporates when you graduate. The good news is that current gear pricing is such that you can purchase a quality cinema camera, prime lenses, gimbal, lighting, sound equipment, editing workstation, grading hardware…everything you need for quality productions for literally less than one year at USC or AFI. With Write & Direct you can take the money you didn’t spend on tuition and use it for all the gear you’ll need. Gear that won’t go away when you graduate.

2) We Teach You Everything

Another problem new directors face is finding crew. Unless you have tens of thousands of dollars in the bank, you can’t hire crew. Their day rates are too high, because they have to pay rent too. I’m telling you from chiseled experience—the only way to control the pacing of your filmmaking career is to know how to do it all.

If you can’t afford a gaffer, you’d better know how to light. If your camera operator doing you a favor lands a paid gig, you’d better know how to get exposure and frame your shots. And this is just the beginning. We train directors how to do everything from writing to post production to not only make them better directors, but allow them to control their future in ways other film school grads are unable to.

Our Unmatched Guarantee

Write & Direct is the answer to the challenges facing aspiring filmmakers. We believe this so much we have a guarantee you will not find anywhere else. What is it?

If you work through the Write & Direct training and do the assignments you’re given, you will write and direct a film you can submit to festivals and even get on IMDb. If that does not happen we will refund our 2-year tuition 100% and up to 12-months of monthly tuition paid.

You will not find this guarantee from any other film school. They’re in the business of issuing degrees and certificates. We’re in the business of helping aspiring filmmakers find another way to pursue their dreams. If you’re ready to start your journey as a filmmaker, enroll today. We hope to see you on the other side! Write & Direct can put you closer to your dreams.

About The Founder

Kyler Boudreau here, the founder of Write & Direct. I’m the lead instructor at the school and also an independent filmmaker. We just wrapped a period film called Reckoning, have a sci-fi in production and a feature film in development. Life is busy!

My first taste of Hollywood came through the lens of film school. We were positioned in the heart of Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard, a stone’s throw from major studios. After graduation I had to immediately work retail to make rent.

Fortunately, a woman I met who worked at Universal got me on as an editorial PA on a couple films directed by Bob Odenkirk back in 2006/2007. After seeing the studio process first hand I jumped into the world of independent film as an editor. After cutting a few feature films I moved to writing spec features and eventually writing and directing my own films.

I experienced the strengths and weaknesses of film school first hand and decided to create an alternative for those who want to compress the time it takes to find any type of success. I’ve put my heart and soul into Write & Direct and excited to officially launch in winter of 2025!

If you have questions about the school, schedule a free call with me!

Whatever you do, never give up on your dreams of becoming a filmmaker.

Kyler Boudreau

IMDb | Theater Eleven Pictures