The document discusses whether formal film education is necessary to become a successful director. It analyzes the careers of Quentin Tarantino and J.J. Abrams, who took different paths - Tarantino had little formal education while Abrams attended film school. Through examining their styles, successes and backgrounds, the document concludes that either path can lead to success as both Tarantino and Abrams became acclaimed directors, showing formal education is not the sole determinant of a director's career.

1. Is Film School the Best Choice?
Kate Ortopan
English 3360: White Paper
March 8, 2016
An introduction to first year film students.

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Table of Contents
Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................1
Becoming a Director: Do you need a Formal Education? ...............................................................2
Biography: How did Tarantino and Abrams get their Start? ....................................................... 2-3
Trademark Film Styles................................................................................................................. 3-4
Film Stock Vs. Digital .....................................................................................................................4
Professional Statistics/Comparisons ............................................................................................ 5-7
Works Cited .....................................................................................................................................8

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Becoming a Director: Do you need a Formal Education?
When considering a career in film you must decide which path is best for you. What do you
intend to get out of film school and is it the right path for you? It is easy to learn how to take a
photo or film a scene and be considered an artist. Some directors are born with incredible talent
and some directors learn those talents through film school. How do you define the talent of a
director and does film school give you an edge over the completion? I will be researching two
directors: Quentin Tarantino and J.J. Abrams. These two directors may not be in the same genres
but they are known for consistently creating critically acclaimed films that stretch beyond their
perspective genres. Abrams has a formal education while Tarantino has very little education and
no film school experience. Through research and professional movie scores, my determination is
that a formal film education does not determine the success of any particular director.
Biography: How did Abrams and Tarantino get their Start?
Quentin Tarantino
Though the great master of cinema would like to have had a more interesting beginning, he was
simply the child of an upper middle class family from California. His mother became pregnant
with Tarantino when she was still in college in Tennessee. His mother was only there for college
and after Tarantino was born the two moved back to California where she remarried. During
their time in California, one of their favorite hobbies was to go to the movies. Tarantino spent
most of his life in front of a screen watching films and TV shows; many of which were not child
friendly. Although Tarantino’s mother was very successful in school and the health care
industry, Tarantino loathed his school days. In a Vanity Fair article Tarantino recalls his school
days saying, “I hated school. School completely bored me. I wanted to be an actor. Anything I’m
not that good at I don’t like, and I couldn’t focus on school.” (Hirschberg, 1994) Tarantino
eventually dropped out of school and began working as an usher while taking acting classes on
the side. He moved on to work as a video store clerk where in his spare time he wrote screen
plays. He eventually got the opportunity to work for a production company where he was able to
slip a few of his scripts to some other directors. He was soon able to fund his first directorial
debut for Reservoir Dogs which led to the famous Pulp Fiction. After the success of Pulp Fiction
Tarantino rose from a high school drop out to a well-known super star director.
J.J. Abrams
Unlike Tarantino, Abrams was born into a film family. His parents, Gerald Abrams and Carol
Ann, are both producers known for, Houdini (2014) and Second Honeymoon (2001). Abrams
also had a love of film at a young age. After a trip to Universal Studios, Abrams could think of
nothing else but working on special effects and writing screen plays and showed promise for film
work. When Abrams graduated from high school he relocated from California to New York
where he continued his schooling at Sarah Lawrence college. Before Abrams left for college, his
father gave him the best piece of advice, “It’s more important that you go off and learn what to
make movies about than how to make movies.” (Nathalie, 2014) While he was at Sarah
Lawrence, that’s exactly what Abrams did. At first, Abrams did not have as much success on the
big screen as he had hoped. He did however have great success with the small screen and worked

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on projects such as Lost, Alias, and Felicity. He eventually went back to the big screen with such
blockbusters as Mission Impossible III and Star Trek. Abrams has just completed his latest film
Star Wars Episode VII and plans to continue the series with help from George Lucas.
Trademark Film Styles
There are several special characteristics to identify these directors. Here are a few trademarks to
distinguish between a Tarantino or Abrams film.
Quentin Tarantino
 Violence/Gore – There are very little scenes in Tarantino movies that are not blood
soaked and filled with intense violent scenes. These scenes are not limited to sword
fighting, gun duels, hidden snakes, beheadings, scalping, and body mutilations.
 Shared Universes – Each movie includes homage to Tarantino’s previous movies. All of
his films are connected in some way to each other.
 Music – Tarantino never uses the same song twice and tends to pick music that is unusual
for a particular genre. The music he chooses enhances the scene and sets the tone for
what is expected to happen. Also instead of using composed music that fits the genre he
will use remixed modern day music for his westerns and western theme music for his
Kung Fu films.
 Title Cards – Tarantino’s films do not occur in chronological order so he uses title cards
to inform the audience of where the film is taking place and which characters are
involved.
 Extended Dialogues – In-between the scenes of intense violence are beautifully scripted
dialogue scenes. The dialogue is included to inform the audience of particular characters,
plots, or to introduce the next scene of violence.
J.J. Abrams
 Lens Flares – Thought to be a mistake in the film world, Abrams has chosen this has his
stylistic trademark. According to G.S. Perno these flares are used, “when the action picks
up.” (Perno, 2013)
 Sparks – The use of sparks is a way for the audience to identify intense action scenes and
a unique approach to lighting.
 Death of a Parent – In a majority of Abrams films there is bound to be the death of at
least one parent. In Star Trek, Captain Kirk’s father dies from saving all passengers
aboard a spaceship set to crash and in his latest film Star Wars Episode VII, one of the
main characters is stabbed and killed by his son.
 Child Driving – It is almost certain that is a child is present in one of Abrams films they
are bound to be driving a vehicle. In Super 8 and Star Trek all children are scene driving
a car at least once and even in his latest film Star Wars Episode VII, the two youngest
characters’ fly and operate a space craft with very little training
 Collaboration and Tributes – Abrams has always been happy to collaborate with different
directors. In many of Abrams films he uses characteristics of other famous directors. In

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Super 8 he had help from Steven Spielberg and many of his trademarks are present
throughout the film. He also worked with George Lucas to perfect the most recent Star
Wars film.
Film Stock Vs. Digital Film
To some directors the digital era has ruined the film industry and to others digital film has helped
to increase the development of special effects. Tarantino is one of the directors that refuses to use
digital film for his movies. “The fact that most films aren't presented in 35mm means that the
world is lost. Digital projection is just television in cinema.” (Tarantino, 2013) Many directors,
including Abrams are behind Tarantino on saving film stock for future generations. Abrams on
the other hand sees the good in both film stock and digital film. In an interview with Abrams, he
states, “I appreciate how that technology opens the doors for filmmakers who never had access to
that level of quality before. However, I do think film itself sets the standard for quality.” (Fritz,
2014) Digital film can allow a director to develop intriguing characters that before would have
taken months to create through make up and costume development. Also, with advancements in
technology it is becoming much easier to hid the digital look of characters. Abrams has moved
away from the digital screen and has begun to film his latest movies on film stock and is joining
Tarnation and his quest to save film stock from extinction.
Professional Statistics/Comparisons
Quentin Tarantino

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Chart 1. This graph represents all of the aspects of Tarantino’s Career. As you can see from the graph he
has spent most of his time as a writer, producer, director, and actor. Although these sections represent
what Tarantino does most in his film career, he does not exclusively spend too much time in one
particular area.
Chart 2. As you can see from this graph, Tarantino’s movies tend to score in the high 7’s to low 9’s
consistently.
Chart 3. Although Tarantino has high scores for his movies they did not gross as well as Abrams movies.
Tarantino usually sticks with independent films which limits him to certain audiences.

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J.J. Abrams
Chart 4. This graph represents the components of Abram’s films. As you can see from the graph,
Abram’s spends most of his time producing, writing, and working on sound and music. This will possibly
change in the future, however, for the majority of the beginning of Abram’s career these three sections
remain the highest percentage of his career.

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Chart 5. Abram’s movie scores have increased over time but are inconsistent due to the critic scores from
these three websites. His scores range from high 6’s to mid-9’s.
Chart 6. Due to Abram’s interest in revisions and incredible blockbusters his movies grossed range from
2-billion dollars to 300-thousnad dollars. Tarantino may have outscored Abrams with his movie scores
but Abrams movies tend to gross much more money.
Which Path to the Film World is Best?
It is hard to debate whether or not going to film school makes a particular director more superior.
Tarantino is a very rare case in the film world, with his talent and connections he was able to
work his way up to stardom and even though Abrams started out in a film family and went off to
film school he still had some rough beginnings. Rough beginnings are to be expected in an
industry that revolves around connections; it may take years to become a prominent director,
actor, or writer in the film world. The ultimate deciding factor is whether or not you feel as an
artist that you need practice in these three main areas.
These two directors took very different paths to get to the top but both managed to
eventually become well known. If you go the Tarantino route you could make a decent amount
of money making avant-garde films. If you choose to make blockbusters like Abrams, you can
make a larger amount of money and have steady ratings. You do not need much schooling to
learn how to director and use digital special effects. Just as Abram’s father says, “It’s more
important that you go off and learn what to make movies about than how to make movies.”
(Nathalie, 2014) Success in film can be achieved, with and without film school, it is truly up to
the discretion of the artist which direction is best.

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Works Cited
Dawson, J. (1995). Quentin Tarantino: The cinema of cool. New York: Applause.
Fritz, B. (2014, July 29). ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ Director J.J. Abrams Extols Shooting on Film
vs. Digital. Retrieved May 09, 2016, from http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/07/29/star-wars-
episode-vii-director-j-j-abrams-extols-shooting-on-film-vs-digital/
Hirschberg, L., & Magazine, V. F. (1994, July). Early Quentin: A Profile of Tarantino, Pre–Pulp
Fiction. Retrieved May 09, 2016, from
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/1994/07/tarantino199407
J. J. Abrams Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved May 09, 2016, from
http://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2007-A-Co/Abrams-J-J.html
Metacritic - Movie Reviews, TV Reviews, Game Reviews, and Music Reviews. (n.d.). Retrieved
May 09, 2016, from http://www.metacritic.com/
N. (2014). J.J. Abrams on The Best Advice He’s Received and What He Learned Really Early
On. Retrieved May 09, 2016, from http://www.mentorless.com/2014/09/26/j-j-abrams-best-
advice-hes-received-learned-really-early/
(n.d.). Retrieved May 09, 2016, from http://www.imdb.com/
Certified Fresh Picks. (n.d.). Retrieved May 09, 2016, from http://www.rottentomatoes.com/
Perno, G. (2013, May 13). Directors' Trademarks: J.J. Abrams. Retrieved May 09, 2016, from
http://www.cinelinx.com/movie-stuff/item/3931-directors-trademarks-j-j-abrams.html
Perno, G. (2015, December 27). Directors' Trademarks: Quentin Tarantino. Retrieved May 09,
2016, from http://www.cinelinx.com/movie-stuff/item/8757-directors-trademarks-quentin-
tarantino.html
Smith, N. (2013, May 23). Quentin Tarantino Blasts Digital Projection at Cannes: 'It's the death
of cinema.' Retrieved May 09, 2016, from http://www.indiewire.com/article/quentin-tarantino-
blasts-digital-projection-at-cannes-its-the-death-of-cinema