Two years of school equals two years of practice. In two years our students are supposed to produce at least four films. Film theory is abundant, so an excessive focus on it may get in the way of making films.
Usually, before a young director starts to gain their professional confidence, they must shoot 4 or 5 short films (exercises do not count). It is unreasonable to drag this process on, indulging in fantasies of making an astonishing movie that will shake up the world, conceptualizing every step on the way to a masterpiece. This is an amateur approach.
Each semester students complete a series of weekly assignments, that bring them to finishing a film in about four months. This is an inspiring experience that leaves one craving for another round, putting new skills into practice.
First student films can not do without a touch of rawness, this is their inherent quality. It is premature to strive for perfection without acquiring practical skills and getting used to the fast-paced work environment. A wish to skip those necessary steps will only spoil the process of professional development and lead to abandoned projects. But even these consequences are not the most unpleasant: in the future, that negative pattern of not finishing a movie or putting an overwhelming amount of effort into it will repeat itself thus impede the creation of a really good and mature movie. It is much better to experience the joy of creativity, not the throes of it -- and this can, and should be learned.
