Documentary and Nonfiction Film Education Pricing and Costs
Understand documentary and nonfiction film education pricing and costs
Whether starting a new career, expanding your current business to include new services, or sending an employee to training, it is important to consider the documentary and nonfiction film education pricing and costs and how programs differ. There are various paths to take to get quality education and training, and which is a better fit for your business might depend completely on price.The education options to consider that vary greatly in price include the following:
1. Documentary film education in a traditional setting will provide the most in-depth training, but will be the most costly.
2. Alternative resources for documentary film training can provide a good education but cost much less.
3. Free resources for documentary film training, like internships and volunteer opportunities, are available.
Look into documentary film schools
Participating in one of the many accredited documentary film programs will provide the opportunity to learn all aspects of documentary film making and prepare students for directing and producing films. It will take a few years, but the investment in a documentary film degree will pay off. Associate programs start around $8,000, and Bachelor's programs range in price from about $30,000 to $90,000 depending on whether a school is public or private.
Try: The New York Film Academy has one-year documentary film making program that costs around $9,000 per semester. Burlington College offers a one to two year certificate program in documentary film making for between $14,000 and $17,700, depending on whether it is done full-time or part-time. Stanford University offers a Master of Fine Arts degree in Documentary Film, costing around $12,000 per semester.
Attend documentary film workshops
Workshops are intensive, nonfiction film classes usually spanning several days. Attending documentary filmmaking workshops is a great way to stay updated with new technology and learn new techniques or styles of documentary film making. Also, they are much more economical than taking a course in a university setting.
Try: Attend the four-day workshop at FilmTreks in Pennsylvania to get hands-on training for about $700. Lodging is provided for an extra fee. Search through listings of day-long documentary film making workshops at Documentary Cinema Institute. Subjects vary from lighting and audio to storytelling for between $75 and $100 per workshops after a membership fee of $20 to $300 is paid.
Get a hands-on documentary education
If the prices of nonfiction film classes are too expensive, then consider getting hands-on training as a volunteer or by working an internship. Internships are totally free except for the time spent working with and learning from professionals, networking with filmmakers, working with the tools of the trade and gaining experience.
Try: Find free listings for internships in documentary film at American Documentary. Search for documentary filmmaking internships at EntertainmentCareers.net.
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