Another kid who wants to be a director needs advice

[Alexander McCoy]

ok so i need some advice. alright so i recently joined the air force and am gonna do 4 years there. afterwards id like to attend the los angeles film school and study directing because thats where my film passion lies. BUT WAIT. i heard from someone that going straight out of film school trying to be a director is a bad idea which makes sense to me. they said to instead study something that will get you a job in the film industry (like sound editing and stuff like that) then later pursue things like directing and producing. heres my plan: im gonna go to lafs then become a police officer(as my backup career also that i will always have money) but do my film thing on the side. and my question is what to study at the lafs because i was thinking about studying something that could get me a job a littel easier and then pursue directing later. do you guys think i should do that or stay on my directing dream path. and dont think im completely naive and are certain that ill be the next award winning director. ive thought about other careers and stuff and i actually do have an interest in cinematography but directing is always what ive wanted to do. i think like a director and all kind of stuff. so i was just wondering what you all thought about what i should do. thanks a bunch

 

[Knoxworth]

Its true most directors these days started off doing something else. You could study filmmaking in general and specialize in anything you want. You'll soon figure out if you prefer lighting to sound, or vice versa.

the hardest step to becoming a director is actually getting easier, in my opinion. With the digital age you can gather up actors and direct their performances, and have little to no expenses. So what's true of todays directors may not be true in a few years. Just keep directing actors and find your weaknesses. Do more exercises, call them "films" if you wish and enter them into festivals. If you have something unique, like a talent, you will soon be discovered. Easy as that.

But yeah, definitely research something else, if not everything else.

 

[Batutta]

Being a police officer as a backup career!!! Nothing against being a cop, but from what I understand it's a very high stress job, and that's not good if you also want to pursue something else, your true passion, on the side, as you won't have much energy left over after work. Be a security guard maybe, but you're better off doing something relatively mindless like working at a video store or in an entry level job at a post production house.