What to Do If I Want to Become a Movie Director

College Search & Selection
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<p>At least you have a goal. That’s more than what most people have. Now, work back to where you are now.</p>

<p>Film school teaches know-how, but not necessarily knowledge. I’d start developing the knowledge.</p>

<p>A director is an artist. What do you want to say? It’s hard to know that without a philosophy. So, I’d start with a quick skim of a basic philosophy primer. “101 Great Philosophers” by Madsen Pirie fits that role, and it’s not expensive. It’s a breeze to read. You don’t need to get too deep, just learn from the masters who’ve already done the heavy thinking.</p>

<p>Next, you need to be able to tell a story. Read stories, and pick up on storytelling techniques that you can make your own. Pay close attention to character development and scene-setting.</p>

<p>Go to a public area and watch people. Pick a couple out, then write their backstory. See the world through their eyes and what motivates them. That’s what method actors do. Combine your observations with what you read in the philosophy book and your own life experience.</p>

<p>Watch Citizen Kane, Hitchcock movies, Kubrick movies, Jarmisch movies, etc. and closely observe the shot selection, pacing through editing, nonverbal communication, and lighting. </p>

<p>Join an ensemble or form your own, like a band.</p>

<p>And, as a previous poster wrote: Start shooting.</p>

<p>$30,000 to $40,000/year saved on college will be enough to buy/rent the hardware and software you need to get started.</p>

22

<p>Maybe you should read the bio of Ang Lee</p>

<p><a href=“Ang Lee - IMDb”>Ang Lee - IMDb;

<p>As I understand he starved for around 30 years before became famous, his wife supported him for a long time. He had NO backup plan. However, he is one of Many 100,000s who succeeded. His education is exactly you are pursuing, go get it.</p>

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<p>I’m not going to mooch off of someone else before I get my dreams off the ground. Don’t get me wrong: Lee is a…good director. I’m not his biggest fan, but I like some of his movies.</p>

<p>Don’t get me wrong. I am fully committed cinema. I just don’t see any harm in having a backup plan. It’s better to be safe than sorry.</p>

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<p>Former English major here… I found a job after graduation and I’m not starving! I’m not rolling in dough by any means, but I’m able to live off of a starting salary as an English major. Finding a job is possible! As for film studies… Two of my high school friends majored in film. One went to NYU (I know you said that’s out of the question) and he worked on movies in Africa and Sweden the summer after graduating. Another friend went to SCAD (which might be a possibility for you?) and she had jobs with movies all through college to gain experience (Fun Size, Kings Of Summer). Now that she’s graduated she has managed to find jobs with other movies and make a living wage off of them. So it is possible to major in film and be able to live off the money you make in the film industry, even if you aren’t famous. You just have to work hard and make connections!</p>

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<p>Skills you need to be a film director:
Artistic

  • developing an eye
  • storytelling
    Technical
  • actual nuts & bolts, learning tools of the trade
    Business
  • pitching a project
  • people & project management
  • money skills - raising funds, budgeting
  • marketing</p>

<p>I’m sure there are more. I think pick a program of study that will help you develop the skills you will need.</p>

26

<p>@kubricksghost

</p>

<p>That’s quite a howler. </p>

<p>My advice would be to look seriously at some trade schools. Look into culinary arts or the hotel and hospitality industry. Avoid the insurance industry by any and all means. </p>

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<p>You should go to film. You may not think its worth the money cause you think you can learn the things yourself, but you cant all that really. Going to film school brings you into an atmosphere where everyone is as excited to make movies as you- thats when magicallll things happen. Make Indie movies and submit them to Film Festivals, you might be famous one day </p>

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<p><<<
Make Indie movies and submit them to Film Festivals, you might be famous one day</p>

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<p>I agree. Go to a college with a good film school. There are some all over the US, not just NY and Calif.</p>

<p>There is a parent here who posts on CC whose NMF son didn’t start undergrad with film in mind. However, he got involved with the school’s film school and blossomed. He submitted his short film to a regional film festival and won. Because of that, he got to go the Hollywood college film festival and won Best Picture.</p>

29

<p>@stacks13‌ </p>

<p>And that’s the thing: I don’t want to go to college for a major which isn’t going to bring in a lot of money. I want to make a good investment, and economics seems like the way to go. Sure, I’ll take some English and film classes on the side (as electives), but I’m not majoring in something which doesn’t have a good guarantee of earning me a very good salary.</p>

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<p>I think econ will help, since it has a lot of business stuff to it. </p>

31

<p>@circuitrider‌ </p>

<p>I never said I wanted to work in insurance. I said that having a degree in something in demand could be good insurance in case I end up living in a tenement. Not saying that will happen, but I only want to go to college for an in-demand field. Top ten students usually don’t skip college (that’s out of the question), so I’ll go do four years undergrad econ, one year M.S, and then I’ll move into film right away. I know it’s not all smooth sailing right away. </p>

<p>But I’d rather move to LA and start off with nothing, rather than move to LA and start off in the red with a degree which won’t guarantee anything. Practice? Can get that from books and the Internet; filmmaking information has been proliferated so widely with the advent of the WWW. As for networking, I can get that at a bar. I’d rather hunt for people to make connections with, rather than pay a few thou to get it at a film school.</p>

32

<p>@thegrant‌ </p>

<p>I honestly think that some people here are actively recruiting for film schools. </p>

<p>I’ll say this once more: I’m not going to film school. No major film schools are in my state, and I will be going to college entirely in my home state. </p>

<p>The question has to do with what to study in college outside of film. Now, I eagerly await the next commenter trying to induct me into film school. </p>

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<p>@mom2collegekids‌ </p>

<p>Cute dog.</p>

<p>Anyway, there aren’t any film schools in my home state, and I have no plans to attend any film school unless a big bag of money presents itself in front of me (and even then I’d prefer to spend it on filmmaking supplies). I definitely plan on submitting stuff to film and screenwriting contests. </p>

<p>What’s NMF? </p>

<p>Last thing: I get that going to film school doesn’t automatically mean you won’t blossom. I’m just in favor of avenues which won’t involve me having to shell out thousands of bucks when I have a slim chance of success at my local film school. </p>

<p>If I had the money to go to NYU or USC or AFI, I’d do so. But I don’t. And so, that’s out of the question. I only plan on going to college in-state and majoring in a field which is doing very well. Not because I’m not committed to film, but because I’m not going down the rabbit-hole of paying for a useless degree when I could get a much better one. If having a film degree was a measure of how much “fire” one has in their filmmaking belly, then PTA is a hack. </p>

<p>And of course, I’m not saying that I’ll become PTA just because I reject film school (he did, after all, come from a very connected family). I’m just not pro-film-school. </p>

<p>Okay, it’s settled. It’s Econ for me. Five years college and then I’m doing film full-time. Plus, I’ll also find the time to write in college.</p>

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<p>Television major? </p>

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<p>The problem with your plan is that you can’t have a career that pays Big Bucks while at the same time pursuing a film career. That’s why aspiring actors are waiters or hotel desk clerks - flexible hours that allow them time to go to auditions or pick up a small job. They can easily quit those jobs or miss a few shifts then pick up another one without missing a beat. For that reason alone, bartending school might be your best option, but I don’t think you want to go there.</p>

<p>Here’s a more reasonable plan, consider majoring in Communications. You’ll learn writing and all aspects of media production - film, television, radio, print, etc. It’s a viable degree that will also teach you something about telling a story without the “film school” label. You can take film production classes as part of the degree program. And if the film career flames out, just remember that you can get an MBA or JD after majoring in anything. That’s your real backup plan.</p>

36

<p>I think mr mom is right on the money.
I can give you a personal story. 30 years ago i work for GE capital. One day boss called me ask me to go home to pack my tooth brushes and come back to work on a project. It turned out to be a 3 billion dollar acquisition analysis project. Because of confidentiality we were not allowed to leave office for seven days. We worked 24 hours a day with little sleep. I was paid handsomely for that job as a contractor. But when I finally got home i just realized that I missed a good opportunity to buy a really special item I wanted in an auction. </p>

<p>Suppose you were in my situation, in those seven days MGM called with a great script want you direct and because you were working you were not chosen, could you be a good film director?</p>

<p>In fact. To be successful in ANY profession, you cannot be a part timer. Not even in real estate, life insurance or bible sales. </p>

37

<p>NMF is national merit finalist.</p>

<p>What are your test scores? You’re at the top of your class. You may qualify for merit elsewhere. </p>

<p>The student I mentioned had somewhat similar concerns. He double majored. His degrees are in Film Studies and something in the B school (not sure which area). And while in college, he pursued the film stuff thru film festivals. His film was shown at Cannes as well. He graduated in May and immediately was hired to work for a film company because of his successes in college.</p>

38

<p>You have a dream that is plan A and then plan B, which is to get a college degree that will make you lots of money while you wait for plan A to happen…? English or Econ are out…you are above them while waiting for plan A. Okay, major in what you think is going to bring in the big bucks…move to LA and do what the rest of the aspiring actors, directors and filmakers do.</p>

<p>“Would you like an apple pie with that?”</p>

39

<p>@KubricksGhost‌

</p>

<p>Listen to @MrMom62. Be prepared to spend a lot more money on graduate school. </p>

<p>Forget about being a top ten student for a moment and just concentrate on what your resume is going to look like in six years. It’s going to have a big hole in it for all the time you spend looking for film work and will quickly make your economics degree every bit as useless as it would have been had you majored in film in the first place. And, of course, because you’ll be competing against a lot of filmmakers with actual respect for it as a learned profession, you’ll manage to muck that up, too, that is, if you even get that far with it. </p>

<p>No one says you have to major in film, but, an economics degree is no panacea and IMO takes you even farther afield from your real passion. English, History, and Philosophy are all good solid undergraduate majors, too and frankly since you’re probably going to go on to graduate school anyway, they sound like a lot more fun. </p>

40

<p>And if you didn’t get the point of all the above posts…well just stand outside and hope Steven Spielberg drives by and hits you with a golden happy stick. Point being…there is no easy way to be a “film director.” That is something, barring extenuating circumstances, that will take you YEARS to rise through the ranks of the industry and put in your dues. No college degree is going to ensure you a job when you graduate. I hope somebody drives by and hits you with a reality stick. </p>