Where are the best film schools?

Jordan's answer is also excellent. Most of us became involved in the work because we were passionate consumers of films, television, etc.... Most of the people that are my personal idols never went to film school (Truffaut, Godard, Rossellini, De Sica, Ozu, Kurosawa, John Ford, Billy WIlder, Howard Hawks, all the o.g.'s) for the simple reason that film schools didn't exist. That left these people able to invent their own way of doing things. Watch, watch, and watch some more. A subscription to Filmstruck, for example, is a great investment if you have the time to watch a few films every day.

I think the best film school is a collection of free videos and courses you find online. YouTube and Vimeo are full of lessons, behind the scenes and how to videos that rival any institution. Then take focused courses that teach craft.

Hi!

Your question is pretty broad.

You say you, "...like playing with cameras." Does that mean you want to be a cinematographer or a camera operator? Or do you want to tell stories using film or video as your canvas? Any endeavor, and especially filmmaking, requires a huge amount of dedication and passion. Mostly to carry you through all the difficult parts.

Rather than hunting for a film school which you may feel will make you into a filmmaker, maybe the thing to do is find film and video production companies in your area and ask to "shadow" one or more productions. Maybe even help out. Which may mean just holding stuff or carrying stuff around.

You should know what you're getting yourself into before you start hunting for the academic version of it.

And by the way, the most famous filmmakers of all time never went to film school.

Not a question I can answer straight out. It depends on what sort of work you want to make, or why types of jobs you would like to have in the industry. There are schools that specialize in Hollywood-style narrative cinema, schools that are better for documentary work, schools that offer fully-developed programs for screenwriters, schools that have specific programs for Cinematography, Sound Design, Art Direction, Animation, and so on. For people with a limited budget to spend on school, many community colleges offer excellent programs for much less money, and access to decent equipment and instruction. Obviously Los Angeles and New York offer the highest concentration of quality programs, but many universities and art school around the country have great options. Never choose a school just on reputation only, especially since film faculty can come and go, depending on their professional objectives.