Which major should I choose? Or maybe I should choose an alternative route?

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Ettammivi

Member
Hey,

OK, here's the deal..
I'm going to graduate from high school in about a year and a half, and I've decided that I want to direct/write movies.
I wanted to (well, want to) attend USC or UCLA, but I suck at math (read: I'll probably get a bad SAT score), so I have to forget about that.
So I came up with a new plan - attend Santa Monica College for 2 years (and direct movies while attending the school), and later on maybe transfer to USC or UCLA. (SMC doesn't have a film program, so I dunno what point would there be for me to transfer to USC or UCLA later on)
Anyways, my question is - which major should I choose? I mean, which major would help me later on in life in the movie business? Maybe communications?

Any suggestions (maybe an alternative route) appreciated.

Thanks! :dankk2:
 
Bean counting? What do you mean? I will read that article, but still, I want to pursue a career in the film industry. ;)
Anyways, thanks for the answer.
 
I'm in the same situation but I don't plan on going to community college to take GED.
You really have to keep your grades up in college for you to transfer to USC/UCLA
very competitive school....although I'm still going to apply there.
 
OK, so I read the first half of the article & stopped.. it was too depressing, lol. Yeah, but I guess it's the sad truth. I still kind of want to do it, though, but it makes me wonder.. how would I make a living out of it? Anyways, I also kind of want to become an actor.. well, one of those two (a director or an actor). Would it be more realistic to make a living as an actor? I know, both of those are hard professions, but eff it. I can't imagine myself doing anything else.

Thanks!
 
the article was ok.... there is some truth to it

but here is my take... (and it was said in many of the comments)

indie film was never a great investment, nothing new there

and if you have dreams of making filthy rich millions on your creative indie films, sorry bud.

now if you can settle for earning a middle class income and you are smart, driven, talented.... then heck yeah you can be a creative content producer (fancy word for indie director I reckon)

and here's a DANGEROUSLY INSULTING idea!!!

hows about going out, getting a decent paying job, save money, and finance your own films???!!!! what a crazy idea!!!

if you're naive enough to wait around with your hand out, begging for money, and trying to wrangle "name talent" then its already over for you.

sorry, just my lil rant. :dankk2::beer:
 
oh and I wouldn't study film man....

I mean... well, I would take film/art classes but I would go into something that would guarantee a good paying job when you get out and I would use that money to finance my films

two of the directors I love immensely universally revile film school (PT Anderson and Werner Herzog)
 
Ettammivi said:
I wanted to (well, want to) attend USC or UCLA, but I suck at math (read: I'll probably get a bad SAT score), so I have to forget about that.
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Just a simple word of (life) advice . . .

You're never going to make it if you decide, before you even try, that you "have to forget about" something. And that applies to just about everything. :beer:
 
geology....

civil engineering...

renewable resources...

physics...

nursing....


all these would probably guarantee you a nice job upon graduation.

I know it isn't as glamorous and hipster as being in film school but hell man, when you get out and you're making bank, you can make your film and all the little film school half asses will be whining on the internet about how indie film is dead and whatnot
 
I'd be happy if I could earn a middle class income in the movie industry. :)
Haha, I didn't find it insulting. Actually, it made me smile. :P

Thanks for your 2¢!

David Jimerson said:
Just a simple word of (life) advice . . .

You're never going to make it if you decide, before you even try, that you "have to forget about" something. And that applies to just about everything. :beer:
Click to expand...
I know, I'm not always like that, but this time it's just pure facts.. I would fail miserably at the math part of the SAT's.
 
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What I am getting from everyone is have your major be your safety net in life. I know you can't imagine doing anything else, but try. Have communications be your minor. This way you wouldn't lose touch with your love. Graduate, get that safety net job and make your films on the side. The internet is your friend. Get known online with your films. This is the direction media is going. Indie films are good but the mass appeal is huge online. Just like Andy Samberg, that's how he got casted on Saturday Night Live. He made his spoof music videos and such for the internet and was hired.
 
Ettammivi said:
Hey,

I wanted to (well, want to) attend USC or UCLA, but I suck at math (read: I'll probably get a bad SAT score), so I have to forget about that.
So I came up with a new plan - attend Santa Monica College for 2 years (and direct movies while attending the school), and later on maybe transfer to USC or UCLA. (SMC doesn't have a film program, so I dunno what point would there be for me to transfer to USC or UCLA later on)
[...]
Any suggestions (maybe an alternative route) appreciated.

Thanks! :dankk2:
Click to expand...


I agree with David Jimmerson. Practice for the SAT and get into USC or UCLA on the first round. The SAT doesn't measure how good you are at math, it measures how good you are at SAT math. If you have the cash take an SAT prep course, if not then do what I did and get practice SAT books from the library or the bookstore. Spend a couple hours every day practicing for the math section and I bet you'll be amazed at how well you end up doing.

Also, if you want a job in the business side of the movie business you should find out which schools the studios and agencies go to when they are recruiting entry level talent. I'm on the East-Coast and the only tv/movie company that was recruiting at my school was NBC Universal. It's much easier to get hired via on-campus recruiting than by just sending your resume out with no referral. So if studios and talent agencies are going to a certain school to hire graduates then I'd say attend that one.

Also, I think you should always hedge your bets by going to a school where you can get a broad education, rather than one where you spend all your time taking classes on one subject. If you want to do hardcore specialization in a field you can always do that with a masters-program. Undergraduate education should give you a chance to figure out what exactly you want to do with your life. The broader your education is the more ability you have to deal with the contingencies in life.



davide
 
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Yeah, I could probably get some practice books & study them from cover to cover.

Anyways, thanks for all the answers! :) I really appreciate 'em.
 
Ettammivi said:
Bean counting? What do you mean? I will read that article, but still, I want to pursue a career in the film industry. ;)
Anyways, thanks for the answer.
Click to expand...

If you want to work at a studio, there is almost no creative done there, it is almost all accounting (aka as bean counting) and marketing.

My point is, if you want to choose a career, the film business holds very little promise for you succeed. There are much better careers where you can easily make more money and have a better chance for success. The film business is glutted with product, demand is way down and there is too much competition.

I work for the studios and am behind the scenes in almost every facet of the business and it is a terrible time to be trying to enter the film business. Me saying this won't stop you, but I give this advice to all young people that I meet who discover what I do (write, produce and shoot).

Healthcare is a field with MUCH better opportunity to be successful. Your chances of suceeding in the film business are microscopic.

Dan
 
hoofandmouf said:
geology....

civil engineering...

renewable resources...

physics...

nursing....


all these would probably guarantee you a nice job upon graduation.

I know it isn't as glamorous and hipster as being in film school but hell man, when you get out and you're making bank, you can make your film and all the little film school half asses will be whining on the internet about how indie film is dead and whatnot
Click to expand...

Best advice I have read in a long time. Nothing wrong with making films. Its the making films and trying to make a decent middle class living at it that is becoming impossible. One of the smartest guys I know is a brilliant composer and musician and he has always wanted to be a film composer. The smartest thing he ever did was he earned a degree as an X-ray technician. He now works 2-3 days a week, makes a solid living and spends the rest of the week composing. If he didn't have his X-ray degree and skills, he has told me he would be starving on what he can make in film.

Get a real career, then make films. If you are lucky, perhaps you can quit and go full time. If not, you can still enjoy a quality of life that 98% of below the line people can only aspire to.

Dan
 
Thanks for all the answers!
I guess I'll have to think this through and decide what I'm going to do. I'll probably get a part-time job (something like puredrifting's musician friend has) & make movies on my spare time. And who knows? Maybe I'll be lucky enough to do it full-time later on in my life.

Edit: OK, so I was calculating how much I could earn if I would work for 3 days a week, for 8 hours a day, for $20/hr, and it equals $1,920/mo. So, puredrifting, how can he survive? It barely covers the cost of living in LA, lol.
 
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Hiya:

My friend who is an X-ray technician makes about $75.00 to $110.00 an hour. No worries. He has the degree and took a bunch of extra classes to get certified in specialties.

He doesn't live in LA, he lives in Ventura County near LA. Quite a bit cheaper.

Dan

Dan
 
Get on any crew you can, and shoot, shoot, shoot. If you want it bad enough, make it happen.
"Life is not a problem to solve, but an experience to be realized"
 
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