What is a good degree to have if you are a filmmaker who doesn't want to major in Film?

College Majors
1

I have heard for years that film school isn’t always necessary. From what I’ve seen/heard, if you want to really major in film, you are best off earning your masters in UCLA or NYU. Great directors seem to either go all in with their formal eduction, or all out with no film school at all. A film degree at a no-name school just seems useless to me. Regardless, a film degree in general won’t get you a job in the industry alone; you have to have work/a solid reel to show what you are capable of.

So here is my situation. I’m going to UCF in Orlando Florida. While the school is nice, the state of Florida isn’t known for it’s film industry. Last year I applied for the Film BFA program that only allows 30 people per year. I wasn’t really shocked when I didn’t get in because a lot of people apply. The school looks for a mixture of students as well. I met a girl who said she got in by telling them she never made a film in her life but wanted to try. After taking a couple of the film minor classes that overlapped with the film major, I felt that the school’s film program wasn’t really worth the money.

I had a professor who always told his students NOT to major in film, but instead go for an English degree. Last year I started a creative writing major and more recently, a film minor. Unfortunately the writing program offers very little for screenplay writers (only 2 classes). After being told countless times to change majors, and actually meeting someone with a creative writing degree who continues to look for work after 1 year, I decided to make writing my minor. Currently I am thinking about a Business degree (after all, film is half artistic talent and half business skills, right?) Does anyone think this is a good/bad idea? I would be looking at a Business Management degree with a double minor in Film and Writing. Is the major too unrelated? I feel like business skills would be useful, perhaps for a PA internship or Production Manager position. After college I plan on moving to New York or LA.

2

Yeah, Business would be a great alternative path if film doesn’t work you . It’d also be efficient to have a business’s degree in the film industry. Wish you the best

3

If you really want to write/direct, then business admin is a suspect major. If you’re having serious doubts about whether you can make it in a creative role, then sure, start learning some accounting and supply chain management. If you believe you have what it takes to write/direct, however, then think about doing an MFA, getting into the film industry gradually through your 20s, and using your undergrad to broaden your understanding of human nature and improve your communication skills. Build a creative foundation for later work.

You need to travel and see how other people live, so a foreign language will be useful. History is a good major, English, any of the humanities. I’d emphasize literature over creative writing – study great writing, first, and learn how to build character and plot through the finest examples. Do you ever wonder why the best actors line up for roles in adaptations of the best novels, and it’s these scripts that often produce the best films? It’s because the writers that really know how to tell a story are, by and large, novelists and dramatists, not the hacks you find in screenwriting classes. Is your minor in film studies vs production? Opt for theory over practice there, too, but if you study English in some capacity, film studies can become an EC. Similarly, you can write and produce your own short material and learn the technology of filmmaking as you go.