Navigating the DP Life in Film School and Beyond with Alissa Rooney
Last week, we had the amazing opportunity of talking to Alissa Rooney, an LA based cinematographer and all-around boss, to discuss how to make the best out of film school, how to grow industry relationships, and how to grow a distinct voice in a saturated market.
In this blog, I wanted to give some of my thoughts about our conversation, but first, here’s the video.
Here are my recollected thoughts:
Film school: The necessity of film school is one of those topics that will never seem to get a final answer. However, Alissa’s recommendation to who should skip film school is pretty spot on. If you are a marketing powerhouse who can learn the ins-and-outs of your craft and the industry on your own, skip the student loan. Well, everyone should just skip the student loan, but these powerhouses can skip college altogether. If that’s you, consider an alternative route!
Reach out to your heroes: I know there’s tons of people out there who wish they could meet their film heroes. Alissa talked about her admiration for Brett Pawlak, cinematographer of Short Term 12 and Just Mercy, and how all it took to get in contact with him was to get in contact with him. Alissa now has a solid relationship with her mentor and encourages everyone to “just reach out.'“ Maybe it’s time for me to direct message Sean Baker on his chihuahua’s Instagram account. Who knows?
BIOLA is an amazing film school: Alissa mentioned how BIOLA is the best film school out there, and I have to agree. Yes, my counter-argument is that we have not attended the other bigger film schools, but I’ve heard enough about them to understand that if I had to go to school all over again, BIOLA would be my pick. A good film school fosters a spirit of community and collaboration, and in those terms BIOLA is a 10 out of 10. So definitely check them out!
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