LOS ANGELES FILM SCHOOL

Your Los Angeles Film School Alternative

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The Los Angeles Film Connection Film School Advantage

1) Locations-Hundreds of Them.

Los Angeles is the undisputed heart of the film industry, but that doesn’t mean you have to study here. The Film Connection has locations all over the United States, from Houston to Atlanta to New York to Philadelphia, and many other cities. Your path to Hollywood can begin right near where you live.
Learn near where you live. Advantage: Film Connection.

2) Low Tuition, Graduate Debt-Free.

Don’t bury yourself in student debt to go to film school: you could kill your dreams before they ever take flight. We’ve developed a system of training you that is highly effective and extremely affordable. Our tuition rate is so low that even if you finance, you can graduate with little or no student debt.
Low tuition, no add-on charges. Advantage: Film Connection.

3) On-the-Job Training.

Forget about classrooms: there’s no place for them in our program. Los Angeles has more real-world opportunities than any other town, and many industry pros agree that working on-the-job is the one of the best ways to learn. So we put you in a real film production company as an apprentice (extern). Your “classroom” is on-the-job, and on the set of real film productions. You can’t get any closer to the action than that.
Real-world experience, no classrooms. Advantage: Film Connection.

4) One-on-One Mentoring With a Real Pro.

As a film apprentice (extern), you’ll be paired with a mentor, a seasoned industry professional with real film credits and lots of connections. All training happens one-on-one, with no competition or interruptions from other students. Learn at your own pace, ask any questions you like. Your mentor can open doors for you like no one else.
One teacher to one student. Advantage: Film Connection.

5) Endorsements From Major Film Professionals.

Who endorses the Los Angeles Film Connection? How about David Lynch, Oliver Stone, Hans Zimmer and hundreds more like them? We’re endorsed by the best in the business because they see our results!
Lots of endorsements from real film professionals. Advantage: Film Connection.

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6) Real Job Placement Assistance.

Many of our apprentices don’t need any help finding work after graduation, because many end up getting hired by the companies where they apprenticed! But we’re so determined to help you break into the film industry that we leave nothing to chance. Every student is automatically enrolled in our Stay Connected Program which offers active job placement assistance for up to 12 months after graduation.
We don’t just hand you a cold-call lead list when you graduate. We help you find work. Advantage: Film Connection.

7) You’re On the Inside at the Beginning

Even in a major film town like Los Angeles, breaking in can be difficult if you’re not already on the “inside.” With the Film Connection, you’re on the inside from day one of your training, because we place you as a working apprentice (extern) in a real film production company. You’ve got the opportunity to learn on-the-job and prove your skills to the people who matter.
Get on the inside track of the film industry. Advantage: Film Connection.

8) Unlimited Free Tutoring.

Stumped with homework? Never fear. We offer free, unlimited tutoring to all our students.
Unlimited free tutoring. Advantage: Film Connection.

9) Real Industry Connections.

In this business, connections are everything are everything. Isn’t it ironic that you could spend 2-4 years in a Los Angeles film school and never make enough industry connections to get you started? That’s because the film industry pros don’t hang out in the classrooms—they’re working on the set. This is perhaps your biggest advantage to being a Los Angeles Film Connection apprentice—you’re learning on-the-job where the pros are working, and you can make the connections you need for the future.
Real world film industry connections. Big Advantage: Film Connection.

10) Pitch Your Own Film to Hollywood

It’s not enough to get a film education in Los Angeles: if you want to break into film, you need to have a film to pitch. The Film Connection curriculum is geared toward helping you develop your own original film idea, and when it comes time to graduate, we’ll arrange a meeting with actual L.A. film industry executives and give you the chance to PITCH YOUR FILM to them.
A real chance to break into Hollywood. Big Advantage: Film Connection.

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Your LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA FILM SCHOOL ALTERNATIVE

Welcome to the LOS ANGELES FILM CONNECTION, the film school that gets you inside an actual Los Angeles film production company as a film student apprentice (extern), learning directing, producing, editing, camera, screenwriting or general production. One of the smartest ways to break into the Los Angeles film business is to start inside a Los Angeles film production company as a film apprentice (extern). And the FILM CONNECTION can help.

You don’t have to spend 10-50 thousand dollars on film school tuition; you can go to film school in a real production company for far less. Learn directly from the pros, and get connected as you get educated. Our film school alternative is a smart, affordable and effective way to get a quality film education.

To APPLY for our Los Angeles Film School, click here.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA is not only the 2nd largest DMA in the nation—it’s also the film capital of the world. Every year, thousands of aspiring filmmakers, actors, screenwriters and film school graduates flock to Los Angeles looking for their chance to “break in” to the business. Countless films and major television productions are shot on Hollywood sound stages an on location throughout the Los Angeles area. Celebrity spottings are common occurrence.

With all this film activity and so much demand for talent, you’d think it would be easy to find your way into this business, but the opposite is true. Whether you want to produce, direct, edit, run camera or write screenplays, you won’t break in just by knocking on the doors. Most hiring is done from within, and getting noticed and making connections can be quite difficult. And it CAN’T be done by sitting in a classroom. You have to find a way to get where the action is happening.

That’s where the Los Angeles FILM CONNECTION comes in. By placing you as a real apprentice (extern) for one-on-one training in a real film production company, we provide you with the inside track, the competitive edge to get you in the door and noticed, so when that opportunity comes knocking, you’re the one who gets chosen.

How do we do it? Simple: the FILM CONNECTION is the Mentor Apprentice School of Film, and we provide each student with their own mentor, a working industry professional in the specific discipline chosen by the student. This mentor provides one-on-one training on real film sets, or TV stations and production companies. While apprenticing two to three days a week around the student’s schedule over a period of six months, the student acquires dozens of industry connections and contacts—connections that often lead to future work. In fact, more than 70 percent of our students go on to rewarding careers in the film industry.

Check us out! You owe it to yourself to see what the Los Angeles FILM CONNECTION can do for your career!

To APPLY click here.

Current Los Angeles Student News

Connections & Experience pay off: Film Connection grad Noah Dekel lands a job at 21st Century Fox in Los Angeles!

Proof positive that connections and on-the-job experience pay off: within months of graduating the Film Connection, Noah Dekel had launched his career in film post-production with a job at 21st Century Fox in Los Angeles, California. He says he got the job lead through connections gained through the program, and ultimately it was his work experience that got him hired.

“It was basically all the projects I was able to get on through Film Connection to build a kickass resume that eventually found me this job,” says Noah. “I haven’t done anything else…Everything on my resume happened through Film Connection. And the experience you guys were able to provide through your mentors was enough for a big studio to let me work for them.”

It didn’t start off that way. Like most film students, Noah started off by going the traditional route, enrolling in classes in his local community college in Southern California. But he was soon disillusioned by the classwork and the lack of real world experience, which he knew was crucial to getting a job. “I just really just wanted to start getting working on film,” he says.

After doing some research, Noah says his father gave him the lead on the Film Connection, and he decided to enroll. Almost immediately after being placed as an apprentice with film producer Daniel Sollinger in Los Angeles, he knew he was in the right place. “It’s not in a classroom, and you just get right to work,” he says. “It’s actual work…You just get in the industry and just see how it’s done in the real world.”

Noah also began to learn the inner workings of the film industry, and how important a role connections play in finding work. He says he also understands firsthand the power of connections in the film industry. “My perspective on the industry has changed a lot,” he says. “It’s not as big as an industry as I think people would imagine, at least on the production side of things…Everyone seems to know each other through at least one mutual connection.”

As Noah shifted his concentration to post-production, he finished his apprenticeship with mentor David Parke of Make It Happen Productions in Sherman Oaks, CA. He also started working on his network of connections, which he says led to the job lead at 21st Century Fox.
“I was able to meet with Fox on multiple occasions,” he says. “I went into these meetings not thinking I’d get a job; I approached them just like I’d like to meet with them and get some more insight about the whole studio industry and how things work in a major studio…I just kinda consistently followed up with them, seeing if there were any openings for a job. And then, one day, I got a call.”

Noah says he’s currently working in the post-production department for the upcoming remake of Urban Cowboy, and loves not only the work, but also the people he works with. “Everyone on the show is very experienced and really enjoy what they do,” he says. “I’ve met tons of people on this job…I meet someone new almost every day.”

There are many ways to learn filmmaking, film editing and film production, but as Noah discovered firsthand, the only place to make the connections and gain the job experience the industry looks for is by learning on-the-job. Thanks to the experience and connections gained through the Film Connection, he’s now well on his way to his dream career.

Read More from Noah Dekel

From L.A. to the Philippines: Film Connection apprentice Nelson Kelkar travels with the “Dream Team”

Within three months of starting his Film Connection apprenticeship, Nelson Kelkar found himself thrown into the heart of the filmmaking process. His mentors, husband-wife duo Daniel Lir and Bayou Bennett, the Dream Team behind Dolce Films in Los Angeles, CA, were preparing to go to the Philippines to shoot footage for a documentary film. When you’re learning on-the-job, you go where the action is—so that’s just what Nelson did!

The film, a documentary shot for musical artist Lourdes Duque Baron, was in part to help document her work with non-profit group Hope For the World, a medical mission fundraising organization that helps provide medicine and healthcare to impoverished areas of the world. As such, Nelson and his mentors found themselves in some unique situations while filming, and felt like they were part of something bigger than themselves. “It was very intense,” says Daniel Lir, one of Nelson’s mentors. “But seeing how the doctors came from the United States on their own dime to help these people and did 60 surgeries a day…seeing how they help these people was totally inspiring.”

Nelson was likewise moved. “It was tiring,” he says, “but when you see people’s faces… he sacrifices the doctors are making, and the people…when you see them, like, okay, everything is fine for them and their family—on their faces, when you see their smiles, all tiredness is gone.”

The experience proved to be a crash course in location filmmaking for Nelson, and his mentors made sure he learned everything he could in the process. “We really put him through a little lab,” says Daniel. “We had him shoot some footage, look at it, analyze how to improve it and go re-shoot and look at the footage again.”

Now back in the States, Nelson has the task of helping to edit the footage he and The Dream Team collected in the Philippines—but it’s apparent that a connection has been made with his mentors that could last long after his apprenticeship ends—including the possibility of collaborating on another documentary in Nelson’s home country of India!

Read More from Nelson Kelkar

More Success Stories from our Students:

Checking in on our Southern California Film Students who are learning filmmaking where they live in places like Los Angeles

I’m graduated, but still working with my mentor on film shoots on a regular basis.

I moved to Los Angeles and within a week I had an interview with a Film mentor that was a perfect match for me. My mentor is a Producer who works on indie features. He takes me on his projects where I learn from him.

I had class this week with Aimee. I will be working on my new documentary the next two weeks and showing Aimee my progress through the power point presentation as I am preparing it as well as my treatment. I hope to start on the interviews in the next 3 weeks. I will be finished with the rough edit of my first documentary by March 11th “The Good Hunt”. I have also been watching some classic films that have been assigned by me. I must say Citizen Kane is by far my favorite as of yet.

I am still working as a PA for the Director in Post Production which has been a great learning experience as I have been sitting in with the Editors the past 2 months. I am working on my scripts as well and hope to enter a writing contest at the end of March and soon to begin writing a new comedy. I am working on my website and once that has been completed I will post it to Myspace, Facebook and Mediawarrior. I have created a new company with my sister as she is the director on my documentaries and I am the producer. The company name is FocusIncProductions.

This is what I have been doing in the past 2 weeks and I will continue working on this until my next meeting with Aimee on March 11th. Things are going well and this has been the best experience and career training program.

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