Last night, I did something that I have wanted to do for a long time: I started film school. Anyone who knows me or who has read this blog knows that I love movies. My earliest career goal that mattered was to write and direct films, but that faded into nothingness when it came into battle with my more practical side. There have been brief flirtations over the years - a film course in college more than 20 years ago, some screenwriting courses five years ago - but, as usual, there was no staying power to these actions. I allowed other things to get in the way, and abandoned my dream.

So, what's different this time? Well, several things. First, cost. The courses for the program I am in cost $225 to $250 per. Other programs I looked at had some courses that cost over $1,000. Second, time. These are all evening courses, while other programs were either full time or required at least an occasional full-time commitment, extremely difficult for any father who cares about his children to manage. Third, me. I have reached a point where I am comfortable enough that I can do this and not be afraid of failing.

But, most important, is that this is the age of the garage filmmaker. We've all heard of garage bands, who take a DIY aesthetic and some computer equipment and ride them to success in the music business. With the rise of digital cinema, aspiring filmmakers can do the same. Once you have your computer and a camcorder, the cost of making a film, assuming a healthy corps of volunteers, can be virtually nothing. All it requires is a commitment of your time. The result won't rival "King Kong" for production values, but it will still be a feature film, either as a stand-alone accomplishment to be proud of, or as a calling card to raise money for a bigger picture or to try and get someone to hire you to make their film. Either way, it will be yours, the same way that garage bands don't need a music label to get their sounds into the world.

At first, I was going to take my courses at Ryerson University. The cost of these courses to obtain my certificate would be roughly $10,000 at current rates, at the end of which I would have a short film. Then I read a blurb from Dov Simens, the mastermind behind the two-day film school, where he says that it makes no sense to make a short film as a calling card when you can make a feature. Plus, Ryerson seems more interested in film than digital video, which I have concluded is the most practical way to try and get a filmmaking career off the ground. So instead of Ryerson, I enrolled in George Brown College. The total cost of my courses will be less than $3,000, and the remaining $7,000 will be more than enough to make a digital movie. If you don't believe that, check out "Primer", made for roughly $6,000 US on film, and a bloody good movie at any price.

The program consists of six core courses - History of the Cinema, Write Your Own Screenplay, Producing and Directing an Independent Digital Movie, Digital Cinematography, Digital Video Editing and Video Project - and two electives, of which I intend to take Production Design and Storyboarding and Directing Actors for the Screen. I took the screenwriting course five years ago, so credit #2 is History of the Cinema, which ran last night from 6:30 to 9:30. There are roughly two dozen people in my class, which I would break down into three groups: people seeking a career in film, people just there out of interest, and people who are there out of interest and thinking about a career or people seeking a career but too shy to admit it. I, of course, am in the first group.

Class one dealt with the early days of cinema, from the scientific developments leading ultimately to the first moving pictures to the films of the Lumiere Brothers and Georges Melies. We watched several Lumiere pieces and Melies' "A Trip to the Moon". The teacher, Gil Gauvreau, has a lengthy background in movies, including studying at the UCLA film school and working in American television in the 1970s on such shows as "Columbo". He's a nice guy who genuinely loves movies, and that enthusiam comes across naturally. As for my fellow students, at least two of them have already completed their first feature. One woman showed up and immediately began passing out flyers inviting us to buy tickets to a fundraiser at which her movie was to be shown. She also had DVDs of the film with her should we wish to buy it. Reading the promotional materials, I am certain that I would consider it crap, since it's the kind of movie I would never choose to watch based on past viewings of similar flicks. (It's a slapstick comedy/slasher movie.) At the same time, there is a strange fascination that makes me want to see it. It's a movie. And she made it, with her friends and anyone else she could coerce into giving up a few Sundays. And there is a market for that kind of film. The desire to be in her next film is overwhelming, just so I can see what she does and hopefully learn from it. If she doesn't irritate the hell out of me by her classroom comments, I just may approach her.

Anyway, it's obviously early, but I am extremely hopeful about the experience to follow. Wish me luck.