Hey, I needed to know if a film majors is actually worth it? And does it get one a job and connections inside of the industry? And is the major itself helpful too?
It’s great that you are asking these questions. Unfortunately, there are no magic answers. For clarity, I do not have a film degree nor did I go to film school. But I direct national TV spots so I work with a lot of people from different backgrounds and education who have succeeded in film. Here are some thoughts as a start…
First, no. You do NOT need a film degree to be successfully employed in film. There are a lot of things about it that only working will teach you - things you’d never learn in film school. I know one art department guy who had one year of art school, flamed out, started working as a PA on shoots, got into the art department, and now is one of the most skilled and top art department guys in our community.
Second, yes. It can help you break into the business. What you’d want film school to give you is (a) background training in how to construct films that are interesting, compelling, important; (b) skill training in all areas of creating film, © experience finishing projects that you can show as you work to get jobs, (d) theoretical sets of ideas to solve specific challenges.
Third, no. Film school does NOT set you up to graduate and be a director. I know one individual who reps a film school who advises “you need to have a day job you love and best if it’s crew or DP or editor or… THEN, you never know. Some day you might also get to direct and break into it.”
Fourth, no. Not all film schools are created equal. Some are extraordinarily focused on “film as art” - an arcane practice that won’t help much if you want to work in film as a career. Others are far more practical. I heard that at one point (at least), at Tisch all projects were evaluated for their ability to succeed in Hollywood. While I don’t always love Hollywood choices, that kind of real world connection is far better than the untethered “artiste” approach elsewhere.
Fifth, yes. I’m in film and direct TV commercials. But, I have absolutely no formal training in it. Except, I started in music, majored in math (2 degrees), worked in aerospace, tech, now advertising, learned drawing and painting outside art school, am married to an artist, and hang out with lots of artists. Truth is, none of my jobs where I’ve succeeded are jobs I trained for in school. I mention music because it helps to have a musical sensibility - cutting and pacing are shared between them. Sometimes, you learn far more by learning on the job - if you’re the type of person who does that well. BUT, some people do far better starting with the confidence that school and a formal degree give them.
Ok. That’s plenty for now. And I know this is an old post. But maybe this will help some folks.