<p>I don’t know how much more clear I can make this point. If your daughter wants to study film and theater and get into the business an LAC is not the way to go. An LAC would provide her with a excellent education but would not translate well into the work world.
If your daughter is interested in film AND theater and wants to do that as a career she would not want a Film Studies or a Film Production degree. The kind of degree best suited for that is Theater Design with a minor or classes pertaining to business (and media) and/or Live/Event (Stage) Management. That way she would receive the film studies, production, screenwriting and acting classes she needs plus have a marketable business/art degree. Unless your daughter plans on becoming a professor she would want to go to NYC or California if actually wants to work in the business. People here can go on and on about ranking percentage this and that, my sons/daughters school is better than yours all they want but that is the reality of the situation. There just are too many people trying to break in the business and the ones that get a chance do tons of internship hours where such industries are located, not in some suburb of Connecticut.
There are other good examples but SDSU has one of the stronger programs for what I’m talking about since many are traditionally similar. Your daughter can take film studies and production classes as part of her IGETC pre-req’s while working on a major.</p>
<p>Theater Arts with the emphasis in TV/film:</p>
<p>PREPARATION for the Major 15 Units
__ TFM 160-Cinema as Art 3
__ Theatre 100-Theatre and Civilization 3
__ Theatre 120-Heritage of Storytelling 3
__ Theatre 130-Acting I 3
__ Theatre 240-Theatre Design and Technology I 3</p>
<p>MAJOR: Upper Division Requirements<br>
__ Theatre 325-Script Analysis 3
__ Theatre 359-Directing I 3
__ Theatre 440-Scene Design I 3
__ Theatre 442A or B-Practicum in Theatre Prod. (Scenery or Costume Construction) 2
__ Theatre 446A-Practicum in Performance (Running Crew) 1
__ Theatre 446B-Practicum in Performance (Running Crew - Costumes) 1
__ Theatre 447-Lighting Design I 3
__ Theatre 452-Costume Design I 3
__ Theatre 460A-History of the Theatre 3
__ Theatre 460B-History of the Theatre 3
__ Theatre 530 A or B-Period Dress and Decor 3
__ TFM 350-Staging and Art for Television and Film 3
__ TFM 550-Art Direction for Television and Film 3</p>
<p>ELECTIVE AREAS<br>
Three units to be selected from:<br>
__ TFM 401-Business Aspects of Film and Television Production 3
__ TFM 551-Production Design for Television and Film 3
__ Theatre 490-Internship 3
__ Theatre 540-Scene Design II 3
__ Theatre 547-Lighting Design II 3
__ Theatre 548-Sound Design for the Theatre 3
__ Theatre 552-Costume Design II 3</p>
<p>AND two units (2) to be selected from:<br>
__ Theatre 448-Theatre Technology 2
__ Theatre 539-Theatre Rendering 2
__ Theatre 541-Scene Painting 2
__ Theatre 545-Mechanical Drawing for the Theatre 2
__ Theatre 546-Computer Systems for the Theatre 2
__ Theatre 549-Lighting and Sound Technology 2
__ Theatre 550-Software for Theatrical Design 3
__ Theatre 554A-Costume Design Technology I 2
__ Theatre 554B-Costume Design Technology II 2
Total Upper Division: 39</p>
<p>They seem to strike a good balance between practice and theory. I wonder if it might be good for a young person to be away from the epicenters of NY and LA to have some time to learn and grow. I understand what you are saying about practical internships in the industry but can’t those be done in the summer? I went to college in NYC and while I wouldn’t trade it for the world with the hindsight I now have, I know I was too young and intimidated to take advantage of what was surrounding me. Others may be stronger but now that I am a parent I am glad my 1st is somewhere that he will be challenged but also held and nurtured outside of the work world for a short time. I liken it to growing a healthy plant. Forcing them in a hothouse usually doesn’t make them stronger.</p>
<p>Thx Drae you make some good points. I think it’s good some students are nurtured before get a taste of the bitterness of the working world. I can relate to not knowing what I wanted to do in the so called ‘real’ world so placed much emphasis on personal growth and learning all I could. I’m still a bit old school in that think education is important for actually learning and thinking and especially becoming a better informed citizen since has the power to vote! One of the weakest links in California that hurts this state the most is there are not enough informed voting citizens and many fall quite easy to fear propaganda. I also think too much emphasis has been placed on education as just a means to get a job when many times it’s not even the best route.</p>
<pre><code> Lets say a student fresh out of high school goes to college for 8 years straight and gets all A’s. As with any changing of the guard within that time span nearly everything will change. That means if one took a bunch of computer or business classes early on or really anything that is conforming to any sort of trend or bandwagon effect will be nearly obsolete by the time that student leaves the comforts of college.
</code></pre>
<p>Another mixed bag issue today is the internship. Ever since the economic turnaround many companies have been exploiting students under the guise of being an ‘intern’. There are strict guidelines on internships but it has been abused as a way for a business to hire cheap labor with none of the benefits. I’ve seen way too many internships lately that don’t even teach the intern about the business besides getting them to do a bunch of irrelevant and unrelated busy work. It’s a catch 22 which the businesses are very well aware of since how is one going to get a taste of real world experience or a job w/o experience. </p>
<p>I also do think that UNCSA’s film program is extremely good and NC overall has a comparative but more affordable education than California since the Governator.</p>
<p>I have a cinema major at Oberlin. He chose Oberlin because he wanted a liberal arts education and they offered a cinema major with the option of doing a semester at either NYU/Tisch or a film school in Prague. He is quite pleased with the program at Oberlin and has had several production classes. </p>
<p>Will he find a job fresh out of college? Who knows … does anyone find a job these days?
I do know that he is receiving an excellent education, has really developed his writing style and has matured leaps and bounds in the personal growth category. All in all, it was the right choice for him.</p>
<p>kmazza – You are very clear. I understand entirely what you are saying. I would also say that I know or have met MANY people working in film and/or television over the years as this part of NYS is a very popular place for weekenders with primary residences in Manhattan. None of the people in the industry I have met, ranging in age from the late
20s to 60s, got their start at USC, UCLA or NYU (although they include a couple BU grads) Vassar? Yes. Bard? Yes. Tufts? Yes. Ithaca College? Yes. SUNYs? Yes. Muhlenberg? Yes.</p>
<p>So while I would concede that your best bet for future employment might well be through a production program offered by one the schools that are best known on this sub-forum, my experience has been that there are other avenues out there worth exploring.</p>
<p>Secondly, I don’t perceive the passion for filmmaking in my daughter that leads me to believe this will ultimately be her career, or even her overweaning interest in another 12-18 months. That’s why we would prefer she have options – at either a LAC or university – if she decides next year that she is wavering in her interest in film.</p>
<p>Interesting what drae27 has to say about going to school in LA or NYC. My daughter has attended several career fairs for kids interested in the performing arts in the last couple of years. One thing the actors and theater professors who spoke were unanimous about: “Don’t go to college in NYC.” Of course, this would be contradicted by several CC posters whose children went to NYU or Marymount Manhattan and are doing quite well.</p>
<p>‘Liberal Arts’ is rather a misnomer since every US student has to complete their Liberal Studies education no matter where they go. The US has standardized education so a class like Intro to Film is going to cover the same material no matter where one goes. The factor that is the most inconsistent is the professor him/herself and second the student body. The fact still remains that the majority of students are merely in class to earn the grade and rarely go above and beyond the minimal required of them. This is still an individualist country where each person has the right and freedom to not study or do anything outside the classroom. What a young student doesn’t realize is merely scratching the surface to feel intelligent or so knowledgeable is minute to the level and intensity of the demands required of them in such a high tech dynamic system such as we have in the US.</p>
<p>The biggest thing the media industry is seeking out now is quality (screen) writers. It doesn’t matter where one goes to college if are a good story teller. Ever since the rest of the US was turned on to the internet there has been devastating decrease in the quality of story telling. Things have also been moving rapidly that even though people are bombarded with more images, traditional visual literacy on deciphering such images has dropped too. There was a massive campaign to purposely target the young since are less discriminating in spending their parents money or when obtaining easy credit. Thankfully the failure of the self esteem education movement is being dismantled but the conversion process towards more critical thinking with a balance of humanism hasn’t fully bloomed yet. The old professors with a wealth of knowledge, insight, and experience are retiring and a younger generation of LAC based PC Liberals turned professor are infecting educational institutions across the US. This may sound cynical but is still a fairly accurate analysis at a large number of universities.</p>
<p>It is true that the students from the suburbs in college are just not going to be able to compete with the NYC crowd that live and breath Theater, TV, or film. I think NYU’s film program and creative student body was great ten years ago but became mediocre since then. I would have never thought I would have said that before but these days think LA just has more going on with more opportunities for those wanting to getting their feet wet. If I was on the east coast today I would not go to NYU and would pick an LAC for film studies instead. If I was more mobile and not interested in Hollywood or lame NY sitcoms I’d actually move to Canada or Australia to study film or animation not the US these days. Their students are better nurtured and work together in close proximity to the industry through the school. Nearly ALL US colleges have merely become a business and are raping students and their parents for a sheepskin that exceeds its value spent on it. The cost of education in Canada and Australia at many good schools is typically less than a college of the same caliber in the states with just as good as quality of an education. Just a thought to consider.</p>