Students attending film school in the Hollywood area have advantages not available to students attending other film schools across the country. Many of the Hollywood film schools hire industry professionals to teach courses or serve as guest speakers. In Hollywood, students get more than film theory, they get the opportunity to work with equipment and make a film. Students also have a number of opportunities to gain additional experience on film projects outside of the school.
The Los Angeles Film School offers an Associates degree in film, while Columbia College offers Associate and Bachelor degrees in Fine Arts for cinema and television. The New York Film Academy at Universal Studios offers a one-year program up to a Masters of Fine Arts degree in film. The Hollywood Film and Acting Academy is a non-degree institution providing a variety of short-term programs that cover all phases of film-making. With the sixteen week course a student will complete two short films and one feature length movie.
Tuition and fees vary depending upon school and type of program. LAFS's $41,720 per year tuition is comparable the $36.000 charged by NYFAUS, as of March, 2011. Columbia College's $500 per unit, is discounted for full-time students and can be as low as $11,190 per year. HFAA's tuition for the sixteen-week course is only $1,500 per month, and that includes housing with no additional fees. At most film schools students are charged additional fees for equipment or use of editing labs. NYFAUS charges a $2,000 equipment fee per semester, while LAFS charges a refundable $400 deposit.
Just like other colleges, film schools in Hollywood offering degree programs require the application to include standard documentation such as high school or college transcripts, letters of reference and a personal essay. Some film schools require a portfolio or demo reel with examples of films the applicant has participated in some aspect of the production. Columbia College, HFAA and NYFAUS do not require a portfolio or demo reel.
Among the short-term programs offered at HFAA is a two-day film school. This crash course includes hands-on exercises in production and post-production for $295. Hollywood Film Institute also offers a two-day course taught by producer/director Dov Simens. HFI is available through live seminar or digital formats for about $395. Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie launched their careers soon after taking the program. Celebrities previously established in Hollywood such as Valerie Bertinelli, Queen Latifa, Will Smith and a number of others took the course to learn what hadn't been readily available to them, even while working in the industry.