Well, you don't need to buy equipment. School or friends can lend you theirs. Its easy to find cameras and a sound recorder.

To shoot, all you really need is to feed your crew. Most artists understands what film students go through, so even if you hire bigger talents, they probably won't charge you much.

BUT -- with taking up film is that that all there is. You learn how cinematography, screenwriting, directing -- then what? If you don't get into the industry immediately, you'd be stuck doing some random shit you don't care about. Not saying this is what happens to everyone, but I've known a lot of people that got stuck at call centers or real estate with film degrees because they don't know how what else to use it for.

A lot of people I've worked/working with didn't even go to film school or had film degrees. May galing Fine Arts, Psychology, Accounting, Advertising. My Psychology grad friend was a creative writer at our company, and her knowledge helped out a lot for fleshing out characters. Si Accounting grad, producer ko ngayon na ang galing mag pa-ikot ng pera. Si Fine Arts, production designer. Kung mawalan sila ng trabaho, ma-sira man ang industriya, they'll have something to fall back on.

Now, I'm not discouraging you from Film, because I also took that up, and I like where I'm at. But it was honestly harder for me to get jobs and some days I regret not taking up advertising instead... but thats only because I want more money.