EDUCATION
There are several strong schools in Chicago that have a strong emphasis in film and video production, each with their own benefits and appeal. At the end of the day, however, it is worth noting that true filmmaking cannot be taught in a classroom.
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Northwestern UniversityThe Big Ten school of Chicago, Northwestern creates its own subculture of recent film grads who remain in the city. Professors include some of the more accomplished filmmakers in the city including Stephen Cone, Kyle Henry, and Spencer Parsons. Northwestern has a strong MA program that focuses on writing, a discipline I view as underrepresented in other areas of the community. They often have public events with high-profile filmmakers, such as director Sam Raimi, that make the trip up to Evanston well worth it.
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Columbia College ChicagoIt won't take long before you meet someone in Chicago with a connection to Columbia, which has been hailed as one of the best film schools in the country. This accreditation, however, is of course subjective. Columbia seems to emphasize production above all else, primarily churning out students who are ready to work on bigger professional sets in lower level positions, though there are several notable graduates of the school.
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DePaul UniversityWith stages available for their students at Cinespace, DePaul offers a lot of similar opportunities as Columbia, particularly in connecting students to local productions. That said, I associate this school with more producing and screenwriting opportunities than production, which may simply be because of prominent producers and writers who teach at the school.
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Flashpoint ChicagoFormerly associated with Tribeca, Flashpoint Chicago offers a variety of disciplines of study, including visual effects and design in a more intimate setting. Though I haven't personally had much interaction with Flashpoint, aside from attending screenings at one of their locations, they seem like a solid place to make connections to the creative advertising world.
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Harold Ramis Film SchoolOne of the newer institutes of continued education, the Harold Ramis Film School is an offshoot of Second City that emphasizes comedy writing and the basics of film production. If you're a comedian or performer looking to explore with film, this is a great place to transition into that world. If you already have some production experience, some aspects may be rather remedial but still provide an outlet to focus on creating comedic content.
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Additional Educational Resources
Final Thoughts
As someone with a B.A. and M.A. in Media Arts and Technology (well, technically the M.A. is in "Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media"...whatever that means), I have many thoughts on going to film school. And if it is ultimately worth it. Of course, the choice is very subjective to each individual and filmmaking is certainly not conducive to academia. It is a discipline that can only be learned by doing. That, however, can also be said of most disciplines. One of the first things I tell student filmmakers is that it will never be as easy to make a film as it is when you're a student. It is hard to grasp the difficulty in maintaining a career as an independent filmmaker. In school, you have equipment, mentors, and crew handed to you on a silver platter without the concerns of raising funds. When it comes to the Chicago film scene and the schools here, I can not speak to which provides the best experience for the students. I am friends with people who teach at, have attended, and have dropped out of many of those listed above. For filmmakers not looking to go back to school at the moment, these institutions provide many good opportunities for the public, such as talks and sponsored events, that are worth keeping them on your radar.
For me, going to school was pretty essential in my development as a filmmaker, particularly since I did not know that I wanted to do this when I began college. Going to any school, whether it be a Big Ten University or tiny institution, will provide you with access, not only to knowledge and resources, but also people, who will ultimately be your greatest asset moving forward in the industry. I am still in contact with several friends I met in college who have went on to work on huge studio pictures. Ultimately, film school is what you get take out of it. For me, I stuck around and got a Masters degree because not only did I want to have the option to teach in the future, I could also share credits I was getting for my B.A. and the additional degree was only about a year of more work. I then used that time to make a micro-budget feature as my thesis project. Would I recommend this to everyone? Absolutely not. If you go to school and then halfway through find another opportunity that saves you money and time, then drop out! Make a movie instead! It's not like having a degree will automatically get you into a higher tax bracket these days anyway. That said, having a Masters degree sets me apart quite significantly, which is a good thing.
As I said, the best thing you get out of film school is your connections, both through mentors (I keep in touch with several former professors today who still write me recommendations for grants and residency applications) and with fellow students, but also with people you didn't meet in school (I've gotten at least a couple jobs where the employer was a fellow Michigan State alum...hopefully they hired me primarily because of my ability but I think this helped). Ultimately, the path is your own. I would simply recommend acknowledging your goals (is filmmaking a career or a hobby?) and understand that your education is never over, whether you go to school or not.
For me, going to school was pretty essential in my development as a filmmaker, particularly since I did not know that I wanted to do this when I began college. Going to any school, whether it be a Big Ten University or tiny institution, will provide you with access, not only to knowledge and resources, but also people, who will ultimately be your greatest asset moving forward in the industry. I am still in contact with several friends I met in college who have went on to work on huge studio pictures. Ultimately, film school is what you get take out of it. For me, I stuck around and got a Masters degree because not only did I want to have the option to teach in the future, I could also share credits I was getting for my B.A. and the additional degree was only about a year of more work. I then used that time to make a micro-budget feature as my thesis project. Would I recommend this to everyone? Absolutely not. If you go to school and then halfway through find another opportunity that saves you money and time, then drop out! Make a movie instead! It's not like having a degree will automatically get you into a higher tax bracket these days anyway. That said, having a Masters degree sets me apart quite significantly, which is a good thing.
As I said, the best thing you get out of film school is your connections, both through mentors (I keep in touch with several former professors today who still write me recommendations for grants and residency applications) and with fellow students, but also with people you didn't meet in school (I've gotten at least a couple jobs where the employer was a fellow Michigan State alum...hopefully they hired me primarily because of my ability but I think this helped). Ultimately, the path is your own. I would simply recommend acknowledging your goals (is filmmaking a career or a hobby?) and understand that your education is never over, whether you go to school or not.