Chicago Film Schools

A rigorous and rewarding film school should inspire a promising filmmaker's imaginative vision while strengthening his or her technical skills. There are number of outstanding film schools, both nationally and internationally. The United States coastally boasts New York and Los Angeles as bountiful film school destinations, but centrally-located Chicago pulls a great deal of weight in the film industry.

Chicago film schools professionally represent the Midwest with challenging and state-of-the-art curricula. They rival many of the long-established national film institutions.

The University of Illinois-Chicago's Department of Electronic Media, Film and Photography offers students the opportunity to meld their creativity with the latest revisions in film technology. UIC is a Chicago film school that understands the direction traditional media is headed and wants students to "cross the traditional boundaries between recorded motion and animated motion." At the same time, this particular Chicago film school recognizes and fosters the effects of film in other disciplines. Students are encouraged to use digital film technologies and videography to document and narrate subject matter.

Chicago's Columbia College is more closely tied to using technological advancements with conventional techniques. Columbia College is a Chicago film school bent on helping students "develop the creative, conceptual, and technical skills needed to become a working film or video professional."

Students begin with immersion in rudimentary skills, such as script writing, then move on to actual film production. Core disciplines include audio, cinema studies, cinematography, directing, documentary, editing, producing and screenwriting.

Columbia is a Chicago film school concerned with allowing its protégés to make great art and conduct good business. Students compete for grants and learn grant writing skills. They also enter film submissions in the Big Screen Festival and learn how to enter other festivals worldwide.

One of the best kept secrets at Columbia College is its Semester in L.A. Program. The program sends candidates to work at school affiliated CBS Television in Hollywood under the tutelage of industry professionals. Columbia is a Chicago film school with its foot in the film world's door, eye on students and mind on modern media tools.

A combination of UIC and Columbia College is the School of the Art Institute of Chicago's Department of Film, Video and New Media. This Chicago film school rounds out theoretical, historical and cultural aspects with art and technology. Film study at this particular Chicago film school is as much academically complex as it is hands-on. The how's and why's of filmmaking are paramount to a curriculum that does not discriminate in culminating varied media.

The Art Institute does not lack new tools of the trade either. This Chicago film school is deeply rooted in community and tightly linked to the Gene Siskel Film Center. From digital to electronic, modern facilities and new equipment are at every student's fingertips. This Chicago film school boasts updated studios, screen rooms, computers and software, various camera equipment, and film editing and processing machines. The Art Institute is a Chicago film school that promises opportunity for complete artistic exploration and expression, along with skill refinement.

Columbia College, UIC and School of the Art Institute of Chicago all offer film students the same kind of opportunities in the Midwest as they would get on either coast. If prospective students are seeking knowledge and careers in film, then these Chicago film schools rank among the best in the nation. They have enough diversity among them to satisfy any need and taste.