<p>Purely out of curiosity, what do you think are the ten best college majors regarding application to the film industry (including cinema studies or film production majors if you wish)?</p>
<p>I think if you are serious about film then the most important thing is where you go to college. Location is huge, GO to New York or Southern California. I know people who got acting/film jobs out of UCSB and USC if that helps. I think Gerorge Lucas went to USC, but I might be mistaken. There also use to be a small private school in Hollywood, can’t remember the name now. All they taught was film stuff, I don’t know how good they were but they were able to introduce you to people that could actually get you jobs in the film industry, so that’s pretty huge. It was a lot cheaper than most colleges because there wasn’t any filler courses to take, no science, no history, etc.</p>
<p>Also I think there is some top photography school in California too, Brooks Institute for film photography not Brooks College, two different things. Good luck, I love movies, maybe you can make one for us one day.</p>
<p>I personally plan on majoring in Computer Science, but I have freinds who have considered seeking a career in the film industry. I may try to apply my degree to the film industry if possible, because it interests me, but if that doesn’t work out I have alternative plans. </p>
<p>I mainly started this discussion to have people analyze what types of degrees are best applicable to the film industry, ranked in order from helpful/ applicable to very applicable/helpful (ex: film studies, business, philosophy, etc). Mainly I was curious about what people had to say about educational opportunities outside of schools that strictly specialize in film.</p>
<p>I think the best thing for an aspiring filmmaker is to go to college for something practical and unrelated to film, but get the social benefits of a film school by double majoring or minoring in film. </p>
<p>For example, you could major in business, computer science, engineering, etc. (even some of the ‘softer’ subjects like history or psychology, which still have far more job prospects than film majors), but utilize the equipment, facilities, and student connections of your schools film program by double majoring in film, minoring in film, or even taking a couple of film classes on the side. </p>
<p>Bottom line, I think it’s a terrible idea to major in film, screenwriting, cinematography, or anything else like that, because you’re putting yourself into a very competitive, niche pool for job searches. Those skills aren’t applicable to a wide variety of jobs. If you want to go to film school or major in film, at least craft a safety net simultaneously. </p>
<p>So if you had to pick 10 and rank them in order (as I meant to imply by the discussion title), what would your list look like?</p>
<p>To be honest, I don’t think any specific majors would make you more likely to succeed in the film industry. For starters, producers and studio executives usually look at your directors reel first (if you’re a director) or your screenplay(s) first (if you’re a screenwriter) over anything else, because the issue of whether or not you went to college or what you majored in isn’t necessarily a * top priority *. No producer wants to take the time to comb through college resumes to find someone with a “useful” major that relates to film, only to find out that that person isn’t a naturally good storyteller. </p>
<p>I mean, whether you majored in communications versus chemical engineering isn’t going to make much of a difference in the long run. Say you have two writers vying for a job. If one writer majored in mathematics and has written an amazing, unique script, and the second writer majored in creative writing but has only written a decent script. In this case, the mathematics major will come out on top. Always - unless the creative writing major has some other edge, such as extensive industry knowledge or a huge number of connections. Similarly, if you look at a cinematography major with a so-so reel, versus a history major who made their own independent reel which is very high quality, the history major will get first pickings when it comes to jobs. The major you have can be an indicator of your interests, but unfortunately, it really isn’t an indicator of how creative or naturally talented you are. The only way to gauge that is by looking at your work or your filmmaking resume (not your college resume). </p>
<p>The quality of your work is always going to be 10x more important than your college background. When looking for jobs in the film industry, you don’t lead with what major you obtained in college. You lead with your work - what have you written, what short films have you made, what projects have you worked on, etc. When looking for work, people will want you to cut to the chase and show them whether or not you’re any good, and showing them what you majored in won’t really accomplish that. </p>
<p>Just my two cents. </p>
<p>Thank you for your response. </p>
<p>One of the benefits of graduating from the USC cinema school is that you are on their mailing list and learn about things that are relevant to cinema, no matter what your specific “major” within the cinema school is. Our D graduated from USC cinema in narrative studies but is currently an assistant director in an independent film.</p>
<p>USC is good. If you want to get into acting Depaul is well known for that, and the chicago theater scene is amazing. A good computer science double major that works into the film industry is Animation, and Cal Arts is amazing for that. Top pixar and Disney directors graduated there. If your friends want to get into film/acting while minimizing the risk of unemployment than here are some options:
Major in something like business or other money making degrees as a back up
Major in Acting/film with a dual major/masters in education to be able to teach </p>
<p>You know what would go nicely with this thread? A list of Directors (who at minimum were at least somewhat successful) and their respective degrees/ majors, where applicable. </p>
<p>I’m pretty sure:
Joel Coen: Film Production
Ethan Coen: Philosophy
(Not sure of BA, BS, MS)</p>
<p>Quentin Tarantino: high school dropout; two years in acting school and quit because it bored him</p>
<p>Haha of course we’ll be getting a lot of that, but keep them coming.</p>
<p>I can only think of one truly great director who studied film in college: Martin Scorsese. (Plus, he did it in grad school.) Don’t even get me started on Lucas. Coen is great, but he and his brother started college earlier than most kids (and they must have been from a privileged family, what with Ethan going to Princeton to study philosophy). </p>
<p>I agree with everything you said, @Abcde11. Either double-majoring in a useful subject and film or minor in film. A single degree in film is a waste, nor will it earn you the best directing/writing gig ever. </p>
<p>Now, if I were to make a list of majors related to film which would work well (were you to double-major in one of these and something useful), I’d say go for (in no particular order): </p>
<ol>
<li>Film and Television Production</li>
<li>Film and Media Studies</li>
<li>English</li>
<li>Theatre</li>
<li>Philosophy</li>
<li>History</li>
<li>Photography</li>
<li>Art History</li>
<li>Art </li>
<li>Psychology</li>
</ol>
<p>Keep in mind that you would want to pair one of these up with something useful which you enjoy. Some majors I consider “useful” are Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and (if you’re at a great school) Economics and Finance. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that those “hard science” subjects take up a lot of lab time, so if you’re not the best of the best in science and math, consider something business-related. Apply to a school with a good business or economics scene, since those subjects tend to combine math with some comparatively easy social studies/liberal arts stuff. </p>
<p>So you think business is the only alternative to math intensive things, as far as alternatives go?</p>
<p>I was thinking it really doesn’t matter what your major is and then saw this. Makes sense to me.</p>
<p><a href=“HOW TO GET STARTED IN FILM - Film Connection”>http://www.filmconnection.com/reference-library/film-entrepreneurs/how-to-get-started-in-film/</a></p>
<p>I don’t know why they would look down on a degree persued out of personal interest, especially if it wasn’t persued specifically for the purpose in breaking into the film industry. Maybe that part is true, I obviously have no way of knowing, but it seems a bit odd to me. I would think more experience is a positive thing.</p>
<p>philosofish, I don’t know either, but that really wasn’t the point of the article.</p>
<p>I’m aware of that thank you, but that’s a point they addressed, and the point I found most interesting.</p>
<p>Perhaps you can satisfy your interest by sending them a message on the contact page asking why that is the case.</p>
<p>Well, that’s definitely one possibility. </p>
<p>But in all seriousness, thank you for sharing the article.</p>