Ok , here is the thing. I have a 5 year diploma in Chemical Engineering ( MSc ) but my passion has always being in directing movies. For the past 2 years I have written and directed an award winning short http://vimeo.com/15153578 and 2 music videos while doing all the post myself ( including the editing and all the vfx) h ttp://vimeo.com/theodemiris/videos I've also worked as an editor and a cinematographer in several student projects. Currently I am 25 years old and doing my obligatory army service while trying to decide about my future ( I'm from Greece and while the country is falling apart we are still obliged to a nine months service before or after our degree)

While I consider myself to be a filmmaker even though I haven't attended a related school , I think it would offer me a lot and would be a wiser choice to specialize in the area of post production. Maybe then I could land a permanent job in the field while pursuing my directing dream . My problem is that apart from the internet community and exactly because I haven't attended a film school , I have none to consult and talk about such a subject. Therefore I am looking forward to your comments and thoughts on my situation.

I thank you all in advance .
Theo Demiris

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tdemiris,

Well, first things first,
what do you mean when you say specialize in post production?
Which aspect of post production do you want to specialize in?

In every case, "specializing" in something that is as big as post production is none existant. There is no one man/woman who is specialized in the whole post production.

So the main thing is probably to see what you really want to get into. Is it the editing aspect? the sound design? the FX? the general workflow (Post Production coordinator)? etc.


In regards to film school, you don't have to go to film school to be good at film making. It is simply another path to take to learn more about film making and/or creating contacts.
In all honesty, to improve your craft, you must keep on working on it, then getting people to get you constructive criticism, then rework it till you get the film the way you are satisfied with it.


apart from that, saying that you're specialized in post production is like saying you're specialized in Maya. It's impossible because it is way too broad of a field to specialize in its entirety, much like saying you're specializing in the airforce (not that you said that or anything, but it's an example). I would realistically suggest you really look into what you really want to do and go for it.

I hope that helps.

I am passionate about every aspect of the post production workflow and when I say specialize I obviously mean in a specific part of the hole process. I guess my question here is whether such studies will help me and if such a choice is wiser than going to a casual film school while already having some experience of my own .
I keep thinking that no one can actually "teach" you how to direct. Yes the can teach you the "language" of film and the technics ( nothing that a good book can't ) but the directing presses is something personal that you have to go through with some hands on experience and experimenting with personal projects . On the other hand , post production knowledge could actually get me closer to the industry while giving me the tools an the know how to reduce the budget of my personal projects..
What do you think ?

well, that's why alot of us who chose to be editors are studying editing. Most of us like the post production process as a whole. I was only just correcting you on semantics since you said you want to specialize in the area of post production several times without being specific. Nothing big.

On the idea of teaching someone how to direct. It's not really possible to teach someone to direct, but to be in an environment that you can direct and direct and direct then eventually build a way of communication with the actors and the crew. Not only that, when you have professors that are directors, they can impart some knowledge of what they do in their experience.

My specialty is editing but I go to a class that is taught by Marth Coolidge (if you don't know her, IMDB her) and all the insight she provided in class on her experiences with different actors are pretty interesting and quite often techniques that are absolutely great to use. You can also learn about what they did on their film to save money on certain films and such as well as weighing the cost of certain set ups (equipment usage or special service like a snow crew). Alot of budget related stuff are mostly in the producer's line of work and your best bet to learn about it is to be a UPM or PA for a producer both on and off set, especially in pre production.

There is no curriculum that will teach you to be a director, but there are classes that let you work with actors continuously until you build a style. There are also classes where working hollywood professionals can impart some of their knowledge.

In the end it's up to you. For some people, directing comes naturally to them. For others, they want/need someone else to instruct them or atleast guide them. It seems though, that you would rather be directing that editing or doing sound design or VFX or other areas in post production. If you want to go into directing, I suggest you learn about how post production is like for various different projects (feature, tv, indie, etc) but also focus on directing.

Thank you Mike_V for your insights. I really appreciate it.

One thing's for sure, I will always keep working on personal film directing projects weather I end up a chemical engineer or a VFX artist . Having an Indie-DIY filmmaking background though and being used (even obliged) to work on every aspect of creating a movie , ( from script writing to pre production to post- in shorts and music videos )I keep feeling that there is a lot for me in the VFX field. For example, I'm in the process of penning my first feature film and I think that this project in particular and my craft as a filmmaker in general have a lot to gain from such a knowledge. On the other hand I know that this is not how the industry works and that no one is looking to hire an all around guy ... I'm way over my head on this.

I think, if anything, you are putting too much on your head, therefore you're overwhelmed.

If you believe that you want to pursue VFX, you will be learning a very different set of softwares as opposed to the ones that I would use.
You're looking at Maya, After Effects, 3DSMax, Nuke, etc etc.
Those you can probably get the basics of from their official books, but in my experience trying to learn the basic usage of Maya from Autodesk's own book was ridiculously difficult. It is not exactly hard as in hard to understand, but dense.
The fact is, if you want to be a director, you need to have some knowledge in the whole process of filmmaking, not just post. Your main focus is to bring the film together as a whole. In other words, you're more of the manager of the film than you are the worker inside of it, but without the difference in position power. You may be working as managing the vision of the film, but that does not make you better or more important than the rest of the key creatives (producer, cinematographer, editor, etc etc).

Again, All I can say is to focus on what you really honestly want to do. If directing is what you want to do, work with lots of actors. Make short films. Develop your style. and in between all this, get a general understanding of film making as a whole, from script to screen.

Hopefully what I've said is helping you. If you have any questions, you're welcome to keep asking. I'll try my best to answer with what I know or believe.