Should You Go to Film School? Is Film School a Waste of Money? (VFX Artist Vicki Lau)

We love hearing the success stories of filmmakers who either dropped out of film school or avoided it entirely.

But the reality is, not every self-taught filmmaker will become a Spielberg or a Tarantino. Just like not every film school grad will become a George Lucas or Robert Zemeckis.

VFX artist Vicki Lau believes the decision to attend or not to attend rests largely on your preferences and learning style.

Vicki Lau is a multi-hyphenate artist, author, and entrepreneur.

Vicki started as a humble student of digital media back in the small city of Singapore with a background in visual effects in film and television and computer programming. Without any contacts or connections in the United States, she began her career at the age of 18 from Singapore, working her way up into the Hollywood film industry and landing her first break working on AMC's hit series, The Walking Dead (Season 4), as well as other movies such as Guardians of the Galaxy, War for the Planet of the Apes and Aquaman.

Already recognized by her country and by major organizations as an expert in her field, Vicki has made great strides for someone her age. At only 24 years of age, she was one of the youngest speakers and presenters at the SMPTE Annual Technical Conference in its time, where she was a panelist and speaker for virtual reality in motion pictures.

She gave a TEDx talk on visual effects and virtual reality in May 2016 at Napa Valley, CA, and in November 2018, was invited to speak as a keynote speaker at Elliot Masie's Learning 2018 conference, along with keynote speakers Former First Lady Laura Bush and Hamilton star Leslie Odom, Jr.