<p>I really want to end up in the film industry, but my parents don't support me applying to a film school for undergrad. If I majored in English, would that put me in a place where I could, after undergrad, move on to the film industry? I will be applying to several ivy league colleges, in addition to UVA and U Chicago.</p>
<p>since no reply and you are going farther from the top of the pile, here is an old debate lower down the page in case you haven’t read it yet. it might or might not help
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/897985-english-vs-journalism-filmmaking.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/897985-english-vs-journalism-filmmaking.html</a></p>
<p>What might you like to do in the film industry? Are you interested in screenwriting? If so, English might be the perfect major. As I said on another post, we were recently at NYU where one of the professors in the film dept was telling my son that almost anyone can make entertainment- but without a broad liberal arts education, they may not make intelligent or interesting films. Studying great literature and learning to tell a good story in an interesting way will help you in future endeavors-whether it be in the film industry, or in another field…</p>
<p>Many, many, many people in the film industry don’t have film degrees ;)</p>
<p>There are literally hundreds of careers in “the film industry.” Just look at the credits at the end of a movie. At the start of film school, seems like most everyone wants to be a screenwriter/director. But as they experience the “craft” of filmmaking, they begin to sort themselves out. Some find that they fall in love with casting or with art direction or camera work or postproduction things like editing or visual effects or with preproduction activities like location scouting or budgeting or contract negotiations or fund-raising. The list is endless.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that many of these jobs have better employment prospects than others. The more technical people seem to be able to get jobs where directors are of course much less likely to ever see a job come their way.</p>
<p>So film school has several things going for it: the opportunity to learn different crafts and try out different jobs to find the one you will fall in love with and also the opportunity to make films which will get noticed. Having some film festival selections under your belt distinguishes you from the crowd of other wannabes.</p>
<p>There is a compromise: Go to a school with a film or media arts production program, major in English (or anything else) and fall in with the film people. They ALWAYS ALWAYS need help with films, and would welcome your participation in a variety of roles.</p>
<p>I agree that a major in film is not critical. I would however pick a school with a connection to the film industry. I would either look to go to school in the LA area (usc, ucla) or a school where there’s a connection to that industry (wesleyan, nyu) through alumni. Internships would be key.</p>
<p>A Bachelors Degree in English is a very underrated degree these days which is too bad. In low economies English and Visual Literacy become extremely important for media and entertainment, especially in revamping creative advertising. People who can write well can always find contract work and/or even land in the film/tv/media/radio broadcasting fields. </p>
<p>What that person said about Broadcast Journalism (not just Journalism as he first mentioned!) is true to get a more in depth knowledge and style of the business over just English. Although he did as many others seem to make the similar mistake of, and that is, a English Literature and English Degree are quite different. </p>
<p>I do find the idea strange since an English Lit person is going to have a way more in depth understanding of story, setting, character, mood, plot and other literary based narrative devices. That is still one of the most strongly emphasized aspects of film school because writing quality and literary education dropped drastically with the digital revolution. During the studio system era the majority of the people’s favorite movies nearly all came from very popular books. Film scripts still have a beginning, middle, and end whether or not one uses the typical 3 Act Structure.</p>
<p>This person would want to do a dual major English(or Lit)/Screenwriting Degree if possible or a major/minor. If that wasn’t offered or possible at the college then English/Broadcast Journalism. If he wanted to work in Film (aka Hollywood as in making movies distributed to theaters) the he would more want to move to California. Now there are plenty of jobs in TV and other media outlets that are cool and typically more stable but film is different animal. There are still many business jobs in film and media but you really do have to possess some savvy personal and business skills just like actor would.</p>
<p>I took a year of film history and that alone think really helped me better analyze cinema overall. Since was history of cinema we covered American, French, German, Italian, Russian, and British cinema extensively. Historically speaking, a hundred plus years of such a large international industry is quite a lot of material to cover and learn its vocabulary. Just because I took pictures or operated a camera for years did not mean I knew the rich history of photography (and photographers) and film (including many screenwriters, directors, editors, and genres) which are barely covered in US or Art History books or classes.</p>
<p>I eventually want to become a screenwriter. I would be happy barely scarping by as a TV writer, though (at least for my first few years in the business).</p>
<p>You really would want to take Intro to Film and/or Media, Screenwriting I, II, (<em>III and IV) plus Fiction for Film I and ? Writing for Film and TV I, II, (</em>III and IV). Other lower division production requirements are F/TV production I (single camera technique) and/or TV/Video Studio (multi-camera technique) plus the Audio Production. Then you want History of Cinema II (1945/50 - modern) and History of Media/Radio/TV/Broadcasting II. and Journalism/Comm II - Mass Media (impact) and society. Ideally if you want to succeed in TV then film it would befit you to take at least Directing I and II (*III and IV) and/or any Production Assistant type classes and an aesthetic lighting class. If you put that together with an English major or minor and are a good writer and speaker then there are multiple avenues of media writing independently or working in teams or on set.
CSUN is a good example of a average and balanced screenwriting upper division BA evem though I’d take all of them since am more production:
* CTVA 309 Film as Literature (3)
* CTVA 320 Writing for Film and Television (3)
* CTVA 420 Screenplay Adaptation (3)
* CTVA 425 Advanced Screenwriting (3)</p>
<p>Select one of the following:</p>
<pre><code>* CTVA 230 Fund of Audio Production (3)
- CTVA 240 Fund of TV Production (3)
- CTVA 250 Fund of Film Production (3)
</code></pre>
<p>Select one of the following:</p>
<pre><code>* CTVA 301 Design of the Media Message (3)
- CTVA 319 Criticism in Radio, TV, and Film (3)
</code></pre>
<p>Select one of the following:</p>
<pre><code>* CTVA 305 History of Broadcasting (3)
- CTVA 310 History of American Cinema (3)
</code></pre>
<p>Select one of the following:</p>
<pre><code>* CTVA 327 Writing for Industrial Media (3)
- CTVA 428 Writing Screenplay Comedy (3)
</code></pre>
<p>Select one of the following:</p>
<pre><code>* CTVA 350 Film Directing (3)
- CTVA 440 Theory & Techniques of Television Directing (3)
</code></pre>
<p>With permission of your advisor, select 9 additional upper division units in CTVA or an allied field.</p>
<p>Here is a full lower division block required from the close by LAC Chapman Screenwriting BA:</p>
<p>FTV 130 Introduction to Visual Storytelling
FTV 140 Introduction to Film Aesthetics
FTV 227 Screenwriting Fundamentals
FTV 244 History of Film (to 1945)
FTV 245 History of Film (1946 to the present)
FTV 246 History of Television</p>
<p>This is the more TV to business alt writing lower division block of their Bachelors of FINE Arts:</p>
<p>Chapman University
BFA TV and Broadcast Journalism</p>
<p>FTV 114 Introduction to Television Production:
Studio
FTV 116 Introduction to Television Production:
Location
FTV 140 Introduction to Film Aesthetics
FTV 227 Screenwriting Fundamentals
FTV 240 The Business of Television
FTV 246 History of Television</p>
<p>Here is USC’s Writing for Film and TV BA:</p>
<p>Four-Year Major Requirements for the B.F.A. in Writing for Screen and Television
Year One, First Semester Units
CTWR 106a Screenwriting Fundamentals 4
4</p>
<p>Year One, Second Semester Units
CTCS 190 Introduction to Cinema 4
CTWR 106b Screenwriting Fundamentals 4
CTWR 120 Genesis of the Screenplay 2
10</p>
<p>Year Two, First Semester Units
CTWR 206a Writing the Screenplay 4
CTWR 314 Writing to be Performed 2
CTWR 321 Introduction to Television Writing 2
8</p>
<p>Year Two, Second Semester Units
CTCS 201 History of the International Cinema II 4
CTPR 241 Fundamentals of Cinema Technique 2
CTPR 290 Cinematic Communication 4
CTWR 206b Writing the Screenplay 2
CTWR 250 Breaking the Story 2
14</p>
<p>Year Three, First Semester Units
CTCS 464 Film and/or Television Genres, or<br>
CTCS 469 Film and/or Television Style Analysis 4
CTWR 305 Advanced Screenwriting: The Relationship Screenplay 4
CTWR 416 Motion Picture Script Analysis 2
CTWR 434 Comedy Writing Genres 2
12</p>
<p>Year Three, Second Semester Units
CTWR 411 Television Script Analysis 2
CTWR 421 Writing the Hour-Long Dramatic Series 2
CTWR 453 Advanced Feature Rewriting 4
8</p>
<p>Year Four, First Semester Units
CTWR 418a Senior Thesis 4
4</p>
<p>Year Four, Second Semester Units
CTWR 418b Senior Thesis 4
CTWR 459a Entertainment Industry Seminar 2
6
Electives
Suggested electives in Cinematic Arts include:</p>
<p>CTWR 417 Script Coverage and Story Analysis 2
CTWR 430 The Writer in American Cinema and Television 2
CTWR 431 Screenwriters and Their Work 2
CTWR 433 Adaptations: Transferring Existing Work to the Screen 2
CTWR 435 Writing for Television Genres 2 or 4, max 8
CTWR 437 Writing the Situation Comedy Pilot 2, max 4
CTWR 439 Writing the Original Dramatic Series Pilot 4, max 8
CTWR 499 Special Topics 2-4, max 8</p>
<p>Grade Point Average Requirements
A minimum grade of C (2.0) must be earned in all required and prerequisite courses (a grade of C- (1.7) or lower will not fulfill a major requirement).</p>
<p>Thank you for the advice! I’ll make sure to come back to this post when I’m selecting my classes next year.</p>
<p>hey what happened, what did you do?</p>
<p>I heard that he kidnapped a famous talk show host.</p>