What films should I make in film school?

(Former) Film lecturer here. Some advice for you here. Some of them are just general advice on how to survive film school.

These are just my opinions based on my experience being a film student and also teaching film, of course.

Do's:

  1. Something that is actually shootable for you and your friends/classmates as students. Drop that car chase scene. Drop that extensive gunfight scene. Make something that is realistic in terms of logistics and budget. Don't torture yourself by writing bombastic scenes that will require insane stunts etc. Be. Simple. With. Your. Script. Locations, casts, props etc in the script should be achievable for you as a film student. Know your limits.

  2. Write a personal story. About your family. About yourself. About that cat you lost when you're a child. About that bully in your highschool. About that crush you nearly had sex with. When you translate your memories into script and screen, it resonates. It became authentic. It became yours. It became unique. It bacame HONEST. Relieve your past. Find a moment that you think really define you as a person right now.

Don'ts:

  1. Gangster / Noir / It's-Just-A-Dream / Crime films. There's enough of these themes/genres already in most film schools and I loathe to see another one of them if one of my students make one. Just search 'film student cliches' on Youtube and you'll find some lists. But if you want to attempt one when you've progressed further into your studies, go ahead. It's just not advisable to attempt these in your first few semesters.

  2. Scenes/stories that require extensive cgi work. If you have the manpower and skills to do quality cgi go ahead. If not, avoid.

Also some other general advice for film school:

  1. Don't be arrogant / being a frickin' snob. Not only it will make it harder for you to find helping hand from your classmates for your projects, but it will set high expectations from your peers about your work. "Damn this guy rambles about 'boo-hoo-how-hollywood-is-bad', let's see how his works actually turn out. Nobody likes a film snob.

  2. This is the ONLY safe time for you to make mistakes and (unintentionally) AWFUL films. A part of your film school fees is for the privilege of having the lecturers scrutinize and destroy your work in front of your classmates. You will need to be 'destroyed' in film school - to learn from your mistakes. And I believe, as a former film student & lecturers, if you want to work in the industry, film schools are the only safe place to make mistakes without damaging your reputation too much.

Good luck! May you succeed in the future as a filmmaker!

/r/Filmmakers Thread