film school is a general word for any educational institution designed to training students in making movies, including, but not just, producing, theory, and screen writing.

For the most part, hands on technical training is incorporated as part of the course, for example learning how to use light meters, video cameras and other types of movie equipment. many schools are a part of existing colleges and universities, most often in art or communication departments. Some are privately owned and not tied to universities, for instance technical schools giving associate degrees.

A good number of disagreements have raged over the years on the relative importance of film school in helping a person to become a part of the film sector. without a doubt, there are examples on both sides, as directors George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola graduated from prestigious film schools, however Quentin Tarantino had no formal film training.

The fast rise of independent films and digital video have transformed this argument somewhat, since anyone with a couple thousand dollars can make their own movie (and some have done so) with very little formal knowledge of the film industry. Hence, it could be debated that the prices of going to a film school could now be even better spent on producing a movie.

Others claim that film school is important because it allows students to network and make contact with others interested in filmmaking, as well as with those who may eventually offer them opportunities in the sector.