Important - college - seattle? film business??? (Vancouver, Pacific: cheap apartment, transfer)

[lizzzie]

hello!
i am an international student from europe.
i moved to the us, for my senioryear at high school. im now about to graduate in mid may. i decided to come to the us because of my vast interest in filmmaking, i want to study film.
i came to atlanta in georgia and really enjoy my time here, there are lots of opportunities in the film and tv industry.
i also figured out a nice future plan.
i ll attend gpc (a 2 year community college) in order to safe money. unfortunately as an international student i am not able to pay for a 4 year university. gpc is a good community college with a good film program. i ll be also able to transfer after two years to georgia state university, which is also well known for its film program. as you can see, i figured everything out. im just wondering, is atlanta the right place for me? i kinda miss living in the city! i have always been a huge fan of seattle but to be honest, i ve no idea if i ll have any opportunities in the film industry there. i need your help, please tell me everything you know about seattle.
i found a nice community college truth google. its called seattle central community college.
what i need to know: is it the right desicion to move to seattle? or are my opportunities better if i d stay in atlanta?
are there good 2 year community colleges which offer the program i need? and- are there good 4 year universities- which are well known for their film program? Am I able to go to auditions in seattle? (film/tv) ??
i love seattle and i wish i d have opportunities for my future there. los angeles and ny is way to expensive for a student- and i should def have experience before i ll move to such places (with a lot of competition going on).
thank you so much for your help, i really appreciate it.
THANKS

[Jennibc]

I know people who used to work on a public television program here. They all have moved on. Seattle is not a big city for film. I have no idea what Atlanta is like but if you are really interested in filmaking you need to be in NYC or LA. I think I've heard that Shreveport LA has become a place known for independent filmaking In less than 3 years, Shreveport has passed Austin as a film hotbed

[fairweathergolfer]

Agree with previous post. There is and never will be a film future in Seattle. There are no good schools. It may be worth your while to look into LA as the truth is that is the place. Period. There are smaller places as mentioned but these are the only places and even then it is tough. Look into Vancouver BC if you like Seattle. They in contrast have a great film school and film opportunities. There is a long history of why Seattle does not have an active film industry and Vancouver is largely why. Check out Vancouver BC or Austin or Shreveport (although I am not familiar with the latter's opps as it is news to me.) Bottomline. Best opportunities and schools are in LA. No changing that. Good luck.

[toughguy]

From the sound of it, Shreveport heavily subsidizes film productions with cash rebates, to the tune of 25% of all in-state expenditures. Any city can become a film hotbed if they are financially attractive enough (read: taxpayers are footing the bill).

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by toughguy

From the sound of it, Shreveport heavily subsidizes film productions with cash rebates, to the tune of 25% of all in-state expenditures. Any city can become a film hotbed if they are financially attractive enough (read: taxpayers are footing the bill).

Well, whatever the reason, its film industry is better than the one here. I don't think the OP is going to care much the reason why, she/he just wants to be someplace with opportunity.

[Ira500]

while there is no film industry to speak of in the Seattle area, there is a highly regarded school, the Seattle Film Institute. People study there and then go on to find work in other cities.

[blondandfun]

It's hard to get into the movie business anywhere. Most people start out doing the grunt work and then hopefully with luck and the right connections get better opportunity.

Unless you have a nice cozy corporate job in LA filmmaking in general isn't a full-time job, and lots of people are videographers and do other things besides make movies.

If you want to be a filmmaker, you will need experience working and learning the skills. Gus Van Sant lives in Portland, maybe you should study him and how he became a success.... where he went to school, who he met, and when, etc..

[seattlewayne]

I just tried to post here but nothing happened. This is a test.

[seattlewayne]

Well that sucks. I wrote a super long response to this, because I just moved to Seattle from Atlanta (and I'm a documentary filmmaker), but it didn't appear on the page. I can't write it again, but the jist is: stay in Atlanta. There's no industry here. Move to Albuquerque, NM if you want a thriving film business, a great school, easy access to LA, and a cheap apartment. For Atlanta, stay in school, hover around the film festivals, participate in the competitions (48-hour film festival, etc.), and eventually you will establishe a "film family." You'll be working for nothing or for free for quite some time, though, so make sure you've got some savings and some talent. Seattle is a cool city, but it's not as cheap as Athens, Georgia and not nearly as interesting. Georgia Pacific College is a great school for the money. Take night classes and work as a PA during the day. Tons of commercial work in ATL, and even more hip-hop videos (which are fun!). Good luck!