I have to admit, I have a bias against going in to debt in order to attend music/art/film school. I’m sure there’s lots of useful stuff to learn at film scoring school. But I have so many friends who are in piles of debt from going to school, and it really impedes their lives. I have an actress friend who is $100,000 in debt for school and she says she felt the money wasn’t real to her at the time she took on the debt. But she can’t afford to buy a house now, and feels like she’ll never pay back the debt.
Most of the composers I admire didn’t graduate from one of these schools, though I just learned on the other thread, Giachinno graduated from the UCLA FS program and I certainly admire him. Correct me if I’m wrong, but John Williams has no Bachelor’s degree. Neither does RK.
When you go to school, you pay to learn. If you score projects for free or intern for a composer for free, at least you’re not paying to learn. And you’re making contacts.
I’m not saying the schools aren’t worth it, if you can easily afford it. But they’re not the only way.
