<p>Hey everyone I’m kinda in a tough situation.</p>
<p>I was planning on trying to transfer to USC or a few other universities to earn a BA in film.</p>
<p>Today I talked to my film professor at my community college for a letter of recommendation. He used to work in Hollywood as a producer and has made several films for HBO and worked as a producer on Foxfire, a movie with Angelina Jolie. He knows a lot and many people don’t have a clue why he’s teaching at the local Community College.</p>
<p>When I asked him for the letter he told me I should skip undergrad school. He told me to get a BA in English, Sociology, or something like that and then go to USC as a Film Grad. He said that having a background in something other than film will help me create stories because in Hollywood they look to see what else you know, not just film. He said “When you study film only, you make movies like film is all you know. When you study something else, you’ll create better stories.” </p>
<p>I want to know your guy’s opinion. I really want to go to film school, but this is a guy who knows a lot and had a career doing what I want to do; I really don’t want to pass up advice from someone like him. Should I apply to USC and some other schools for a BA or should I follow his advice, get a cheap BA here where I live then try for the graduate program? This is really killing me…</p>
<p>I agree that asking the professor to elaborate more with more examples would be helpful. However, the last reply smacks of elitism…it implies that working at a CC means that the professor is a failure professionally as either a film maker or as a professor/teacher. If you go in with that attitude you are going to create an enemy instead of an allie.</p>
<p>First, you should ask him to elaborate on his reasoning and if it is based on personal experience. Did the professor take the BA route and then film school? Does he have other contacts who can speak to this experience? I also have friends who did BAs in philosophy/economics/etc at a small LAC with no film program who are happily employed in hollywood in different parts of the film industry.</p>
<p>More importantly, the fact that the prof is teaching at a CC is a red herring in terms of indicating “success” or “wisdom”. Many professionals enjoy sharing their expertise but don’t want to be locked into full-time academia. I am a well paid professional in my field but still choose to teach special seminars at selective MBA school at prestigious Uni down the street. BUT I also teach the occasional CC course out in the burbs because I absolutely love teaching and seeing the lightbulbs go on. The CC classes are generally more rewarding emotionally while the MBA seminars pay more. There are few moments as exciting as to have a non traditional student who hated high school and is attending classes after a grueling day at a crappy job say "I get it!"and “I think I want to major in this”. Don’t ever despise professors at CC. They are often as knowledgeable of their field as their conterparts at prestigious Univ and they may turn out to be more gifted teachers.</p>
<p>I am not talking about profs, besides that was what OP said I followed, people are wondering about his choice???
nice to live in such community and to teach such students. here, kids are either couldn’t get in bottom tier of 4 year city college or kids eating up foreign parents’ money believing they are getting better education in the big city in America.
Of course, night classes are different, it is their second, third, fourth, fifth chance for deploma. It is either do or die.</p>
<p>Well, I said that He knows a lot and many people don’t have a clue why he’s teaching at the local Community College b/c I didn’t want people to doubt his expertise despite working at a CC. Everyone seems to think that a quality professor who knows a lot can only be found at the university level, even me; I was extremely surprised to find someone as knowledgeable about Hollywood at the CC.But believe me, I’ve learned quite a bit about the studio system and what it’s like to make a movie based on some of his stories. All he ever tells the class is that this is his chance to give back to the community.</p>
<p>He also still has contacts, but he is extremely hesitant to give anyone access to them. Yesterday, a student asked him for one of his contacts and he flat out said no, only until the student told him it was for a class where he needed to interview a professional in the field he wanted to work in did my professor say that he knows an executive producer, who worked on Foxfire, that might talk to the student.</p>
<p>thanks fineartsmajormom, I’ll definitely ask him to explain next time I have class with him. It’s starting to drive me crazy.</p>
<p>but how do you guys feel about his opinion? Is it better to go to graduate school with a BA in english or Sociology and a background in film or just go get a BA in film?</p>
<p>///find out why indeed he is teaching at CC. maybe you’ll find an answer. ///</p>
<p>It’s easy to burn out from Hollywood. Many turn to teaching because they enjoy teaching regardless of the school. It wouldn’t matter where I taught. A professor can make the same connection with students regardless of the institution. You’ll find just as competent professors at smaller schools as you will at the big schools since there are only so many positions to go around each year.</p>
<p>Oh…my opinion is that if you do enjoy literature or sociology or some other major, then follow his advice because what he said is very true. Unique and well-respected films are made by intellectually diverse people.</p>
<p>I often find some of the best professors teach at junior colleges. They often don’t have the same research or professional obligations as those at large universities. Also the class sizes tend to be smaller and total student load lower so they have more time for individual one on one attention. Of course there are bad professors just like any other school, but if you find a good one at a JC that’s a great resource. </p>
<p>I may agree with what your professor suggested depending on your interests. An undergrad BA degree in film would consist of at least 50% of your classes in GE requirements, so you may find yourself inadequately trained in the aspect of the industry you are interested in. I studied film in grad school and found my undergrad studies a rich wealth to draw on in terms of story telling. </p>
<p>On the other hand, if you are interested in a specific craft such as cinematography or editing, I think a undergrad degree in film an give you the training you need to get out there and start obtaining the on job experience which is where your real training begins. </p>
<p>The wider your range of interests and experiences, the more fodder for your stories. Also in grad school, your focus will be completely on your film studies without the distraction and requirements of other GE courses.</p>
<p>As a graduate of UCLA Film School (graduate program), I can say that your professor’s advice is solid. When I asked the profs why I got accepted (I majored in math), they said, “because you didn’t major in film. you got a degree in something else. you had a wider breadth of education/experience.” well, not exactly that, but you get it. the kids in the graduate film school all had poetry, philosophy, lit, math, etc. degrees. no film undergrads.</p>
<p>but if you don’t want to go to grad school in film, then ignore this post. :)</p>
<p>hello fellow bruin!
I’m curious if you thought the undergrad film program offered better craft training classes than the grad courses did. That was the impression and experience I had. </p>
<p>Also I am not sure why an undergrad film grad would apply to a grad program unless they felt that the education they had received in undergrad was inadequate.</p>
<p>Um, are you able to pay for six years of college instead of four – remembering that the FA that is available for undergrads is generally not available for graduate students? And if you are looking to embark on a career in film, do you want to postpone that for two years? </p>
<p>Also, USC strongly encourages students to have minors that may be entirely unrelated to the major, and there are film majors minoring in all sorts of different subjects. (Although, as a transfer, you’d have to check and make sure that you’d be able to do a minor outside of film given the film requirements you might have left at this point.)</p>
<p>“Um, are you able to pay for six years of college instead of four – remembering that the FA that is available for undergrads is generally not available for graduate students? And if you are looking to embark on a career in film, do you want to postpone that for two years?”</p>
<p>I would get a BA out at my home university, which costs $2000 a semester. A lot less than USC’s $25000 a semester. And the was what I’m worried about; postponing my career for two years.</p>
<p>Is the Graduate degree in film That much better than the undergrad degree? Do you learn that much more? And will you have a better chance at getting a job once you’re out? Which would be better a BA and two years of work (if you could find any) or a Masters in film with a BA in something else?</p>
<p>A graduate degree isn’t better than an undergrad, but it is usually more intense and focused since that’s pretty much all you are doing. MFA’s are also terminal degrees and usually require some sort of thesis project for graduation. </p>
<p>It’s definitely not going to give you any edge over a job. Depending on what you are aiming to do in the film industry, it will depend on your experience, your reel or your contacts.</p>