Q&A (Part 2): Screenwriter-film school teacher Brad Riddell

Interview (Part 2): Brad Riddell

I often get asked about the merits of attending film school. While I do teach one screenwriting course per semester at the collegiate level, I didn’t attend film school, so I always feel hamstrung in terms of what information or insight I can provide. So I reached out to a screenwriting colleague Brad Riddell who has four produced movie credits and has worked on assignment for MTV, Paramount, and Universal, and rewrites and book adaptations for several independent producers.

Brad has also taught screenwriting at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts for six years, SUNY Oswego for one year, and is now an Assistant Professor in the School of Cinema and Interactive Media at DePaul University.

I asked Brad if he could take on a series of questions about film school to provide an informed perspective on the subject and he kindly agreed. Today in Part 2, Brad answers some of the key questions I often get asked about film school:

What is the point of film school?

I think the point of film school is the same as the point of law school, or in the case of some undergraduate majors, earning a specialized degree that trains you well to do a very specific job. The mission is to provide an intense, focused, and safe training space for students to learn their craft and build well-honed, professionally scrutinized portfolios. Students also come away with a deep understanding of the business, as well as a life-long support network consisting of their classmates, their faculty, and the industry contacts they make through internships and programs like our L.A. Quarter — where students spend twelve weeks taking classes and working in Los Angeles. Students also meet and learn from industry pros in our Visiting Artists Series — wherein highly successful writers and filmmakers come to the school and engage directly with students. We just had fifteen writers and industry professionals come to DePaul for our Page One Writer’s Conference (amazing, big-name, A-list people), and I must have heard this one phrase uttered four or five times: “We met in film school.” It’s true of my career, too. “We met in film school.” My former classmates are writers, producers, and directors in TV and Film, who collaborate with me to this day. Truthfully, that may be the most valuable element of a film degree — the people you meet and work with while in school

Can I actually get a job with this degree?

Of course! Everyone else is. Hundreds of thousands of people are employed each year creating all of the stuff we watch and hear. But getting one of those jobs is up to you more than it is your degree. I’ve taught at USC, SUNY Oswego, and am now firmly planted at DePaul University in Chicago — but no matter where I’ve taught, I’ve always told my students “what you get out of this degree is completely dependent on how much you put into it.” I went to USC for an MFA in Screenwriting and earned a rare “Distinction” on my thesis script. That script went on to be produced, and was successful, but nobody in Hollywood cared at all that I was a USC grad or what award that script had won. What they cared about was the product: my skill on paper and in the room, which I completely developed in film school. I have four produced movies, have performed twice as many writing assignments, and most importantly, I have great training, better-than-average discipline, and a fantastic network in place across all facets of the business — and that began for me in film school. But some students don’t work hard. They party, or they’re lazy, or they don’t connect with others, or they expect it all just to come to them. Those students tend to bomb unless they enter school incredibly well connected.

My former students constantly report back about their successes. It makes me happier than when I get new work of my own. They are now selling pilots and working on The Walking Dead, Dallas, Silicon Valley, Supernatural, and more TV shows than I can keep track of at this moment. Many of them are working in development or at productions companies. Some are producers and directors. They work at agencies. Some have created hit web series and even written published novels. I know of a current junior at DePaul who co-produced a feature film that premiered at SXSW this year, and one of our grads is the assistant to the president of a top management company. Yet another just got a gig as a writer’s assistant on a major network drama. Talent, passion, and determination almost always win out. But you also have to know your own process. How do I work best? How can I sustain a career by knowing my strengths and my brand? What must I improve on? What does it take to survive and thrive? Knowing how to work is as important as knowing what to work to do, and I think good students develop those skills in film school.

And finally, a film school degree does not train you to just make movies and TV shows, it trains you to communicate with people: to share information, experiences, emotions, and learn to connect. Lawyers, teachers, doctors, politicians, and business professionals — they all must communicate clearly and efficiently with people every single day. Screenwriters and filmmakers are in the business of connecting, too. They create and control narrative. They are in the business of telling stories. If you can do that well and deliver, you can find work anywhere, in a lot of fields.

Why shouldn’t I just use that tuition money to go make my own movie?

Ah, yes. That’s a familiar question, and an often-polarizing one. There are noted success stories on both sides of this argument, and I do have friends who have gone to L.A., planted a flag, declared themselves writers or filmmakers, and eventually found success. In my opinion, it’s a longer and tougher row to hoe. Film school provides you with a built-in network of collaborators. It gives you sheltered, protected, professional training in an environment where failing (otherwise known as “learning”) is much safer. It gives you an in-depth understanding of how the business works before you enter it, and reduces the hustle factor by many years.

Now, about that movie you’d make with the $60-$80,000 you’d save by not going to film school — how good is it really going to be? How much will it actually help you? What are the odds that a first feature film, made on a guerilla budget, actually launches the career of a beginner? Low, in my estimation. Has it happened? Of course. Everything has happened. Maybe you’ve made a bunch of shorts or webseries, found your voice, your look, and had some success in festivals. That’s different. But, if you haven’t somehow forged that identity over several increasingly successful and more complicated projects, I’d say the odds are lower that your first feature will find you more success than what you’d get with a strong portfolio of vetted student work and a film degree. I would rather first learn how to make movies well, and in the case of graduate school, earn a terminal teaching degree as a bonus, than hang my hat on a low-budget, first film made on credit cards (at a much higher interest rate than student loans) or money borrowed from friends and family. And, sorry to say, but good luck raising that kind of cash on Kickstarter if you don’t have some kind of a proven track record or an existing body of solid work — which film school offers you.

I think you get your tuition money back from school in the end because you are investing in your own small business, much like starting a laundromat or a taco truck. You’re investing in the business of being a screenwriter or filmmaker. Tuition is your start-up cost. I learned a lot more on set and in rooms on studio lots than I ever did in film school, but, I wouldn’t have had those opportunities without film school. I’m 100% sure of that. I needed that focused time to develop material and craft, the attention of faculty and peers, and to build confidence in my abilities.

Finally, think about this: at DePaul, for instance, our Cinema students have access to Red Epic and Alexa cameras, 20,000 square feet of studio space, a three-ton grip truck, every bit of sound and lighting gear you could imagine, and a DaVinci color correction system. AND, you have dedicated colleagues, your classmates, who work with you for free if you return the favor. You could never pay for all of that doing your $100,000 feature film. But at film school, you get to make your movies, and you get a degree for much less. I’m biased, but I think that’s a no-brainer.

Looking into the near future, are you encouraged or discouraged by opportunities for writers for film, TV, web and video games?

I’m encouraged, but with the caveat that I think we are in a DIY era. Everyone worries about getting representation for their big, three-part sci-fi epic, when what they should actually be worried about is learning their craft and making something really good. Studio features are a rare beast. Creating a new superhero is not going to get you very far, and that’s all they seem to care about right now. I think this is the time for creating fantastic roles for actors in smaller projects, maybe even based on existing IP, that have a clear hook and offer a unique world. In the end, scripts are actor bait, plain and simple — no matter what the medium. So it all starts with character and concept, and my advice right now is to think small for your first few projects. What can be made? What can I actually get produced, or produce myself?

And, as has been well documented, TV is king at the moment. There are obviously more writing jobs in TV than in movies, and with more TV being created than ever before it’s a great time to be a talented, driven writer with a unique world view, who understands how to work in a room and generate open-ended stories. Fundamentally, dramatic story telling for the film and TV are the same, but in a good film program you should be offered the opportunity to specialize at some point, which is what we are doing at DePaul. Related to TV (and this is obvious I’m sure), there is really great stuff on the web, too. Amazing stories produced with incredible production value. Just take a look at Chicago’s-own Tello Films, which is running a strong profit by providing great webseries programming online. Our students and faculty are now partnering with them, and one of their key creative teaches a webseries course for us.

With regard to games, we had game writer/creators Corey May (Assassins Creed) and Dominic Cianciolo (Mortal Kombat) visit campus last year, and both talked about the opportunities exploding in the gaming world, where great games are easily outselling big movies now. So yes, I’m very hopeful because there are so many ways to get your work out into the world. But again, I think it’s only there for the people who fully commit themselves. These are dream jobs for a reason. You rarely back into a film or TV career accidentally, and the more prepared you are when opportunity knocks, the longer you’re likely to stick around. That’s why when I decided to jump into movies as a kid from Kentucky with no connections and no experience, I wanted all the knowledge, training, and access I could get, and I wanted it as fast as I could get it. That’s what film school gave to me, and it’s paid off many, many times over.

In addition, Brad has agreed to respond to any follow-up questions you may have, so if you or someone you know is considering going to film school, now is the time to interface with a professional screenwriter who has years of experience teaching, and is on faculty at an impressive and expanding program.

For Part 1, go here.

You may follow Brad on Twitter: @bradriddell.

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