Hello, I’m just a junior and I just want some direction to prepare for when I apply to colleges later. I have interest in digital media production, meaning I actively create projects with Adobe software and I am interested in post production film editing and film in general. I understand that there is a cinematography major, but a lot of sources tell me it is an unreliable major. I am already considering Visual and Media arts, but I simply want to cover all bases. Are there any other specific majors that deals with my interests? Any kind of engineering majors??
Some others that might interest you are concept art, entertainment arts and industrial design (especially if you’re engineering minded).
Concept art which encompasses film, theater, gaming, animation etc. It’s probably got the same issues as film though - it’s a niche field and like any other job you do a lot of the ‘drudge’ work before you’re assigned the more ‘glamorous’ stuff.
Also schools like CalArts, Laguna and Ringling all have majors for the ‘entertainment arts’ that might be worth looking into.
And industrial design can be a very lucrative field. It’s a great meld of a visual thinker and engineering, science and math.
Good luck! And remember you may get to a school and be exposed to a career you hadn’t even thought of. The visual and creative fields change so rapidly and as technologies change new careers open up that haven’t even been thought of a few years ago.
I would look at the Ringling site and look into the majors they offer and the course offerings–film, motion design, game design, computer animation, VR plus others. It’ll give you an inkling of career options.
As to a specific major–I think every school names what they do differently. You’ll have to do some digging. Always look at examples of student work.
Cinematography is often a concentration in film production, as is editing. There are a lot more wanna be cinematographers than editors so you might position yourself better as an editor for job purposes. Production Design is another good fit for you if you are interested in engineering, and yes visual/digital effects.
In addition to Ringling, check out Chapman’s Dodge College and Savannah College of Art and Design just to get a feel for the different majors–not recommending the programs specifically.