# Las Vegas School of Film?



## melomunki (Jun 10, 2009)

So I live in Las Vegas and we have film schools out here through our university and community college...but they supposedly aren't as good as ones you can find in LA. 

Supposedly there is this new one out here now called Las Vegas School of Film. Has anyone else heard about this school or attended? It seems pretty cool. They say it's actually ran by a production company or something. 

I was thinking of just moving to LA for a more hands on full on thing for film, but maybe this school has that already. 

Looks pretty good just wanted to see if I could get a second opinion from the outside. 

Their website:    Las Vegas Film School

What do ya think?


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## airborne911 (Jun 30, 2009)

Looks sketchy. I'd be cautious of any film school that claims to teach you all you need to know about film production in six weeks. 

Also, take a look at their bios. The Founder/CEO claims he has IMDB credits for work he's done "on many short films." An IMDB search reveals that he has  _one_ IMDB credit for a TV pilot he worked on as production coordinator. His claim to fame is the fact that he worked as a TV news director for 14 years. Being a director on a television news broadcast doesn't make him particularly well qualified to teach you everything you need to know about film in six weeks.

A google search of Kent Villaraiz, "DP Specialist," reveals even less information. His name pops up once as a videographer (aka: cameraman) and once under the Las Vegas School of Film. He has no professional credits or qualifications. 

Looks to me like a fly-by-night operation where two guys with very limited industry experience decided to call themselves a film school. 

The university and college programs in Vegas may not match USC's reputation, but they have to be better than what these two guys are offering. One of my professors at the community college I attended started the film program at UNLV many years ago. Thanks in large part to his guidance, I'll be starting the production program at USC in August.

Take a look at the community colleges and universities in your area, and check out the faculty. You may be surprised at how much they can teach you, and transferring to a school in L.A. after completing your General Ed classes and introductory film classes will save you a ****load of money in the long run. Most of the time, you can't even start the real production work at the university level until you're a junior anyway.

If you don't want to do the "college thing," and just focus on a shorter, more hands-on-from-the-start type of program, then coming to L.A. is pretty much the way to go. These programs, however, are not cheap. The plus side is that in a year or two, you will have the basic technical knowledge to be able to start looking for work. Another route is to try to get your foot in the door doing whatever, and then work your way up. There is no magic formula for breaking into the industry. Having said that, most people in the industry share certain qualities--dedication, resiliency, talent, creativity, and a little bit of luck.

Hope that helps.


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## color soup (Jul 3, 2009)

I had seriously been considering the LVSF, but just reading this dialogue full of animosity, I am now considering other options...


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## melomunki (Jul 13, 2009)

Gosh I don't know what to think now! Crazy story...I was hanging out with my friend and some other people, I got to talking about film to one of he friends and found out she actually attended the school! I asked all about it and and if I should consider other colleges around the area. She said they are definitely legit, supposedly they had only three teachers but they were definitely knew a lot. She said it was the real deal...like they actually had to learn how to get film permits for the movie they shot. Production was supposedly the real deal...they had all day production shoots on location. She said she really liked it. There were some kinks about it, but she did say they were a new school just starting up and she was in the first test semester. She said she still learned a lot though and loved it. I don't think she learned everything like they say you will, but she said she learned more than her other film class. Supposedly they are way hands on, and they did full production days on location like the real thing. She said that they are more of a short term course kinda school...like if you want to learn film quick. They don't offer degrees or a full program yet, but that it's good to go to if you wanna get an all around feel for what production is like and that it can help you in start up PA jobs. I might use it for this just so I can get more experience to start building myself up the industry ladder. Otherwise I'm still searching on what school is best. But I will definitely look more into this school...I do wanna get as much experience as I can in film production and such!


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## Nova (Jul 13, 2009)

Is this an accredited school?  What exactly is the degree you get from it?

These are important questions to ask when considering schools and comparing them.


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## color soup (Jul 15, 2009)

My friend graduated from the program last year and told me that she received an "Online Certification".  She was fired from her internship at the Travel Channel but her uncle is MSNBC's Chris Matthews so I am sure she will raise hell.  Good luck to you.


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## melomunki (Sep 17, 2009)

That's weird, I didn't see any online programs that they offer...

But thanks.


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