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I'm a 30 year old male working as a bartender in a college city making around $35,000-$40,000 a year. I don't want to do this with my life and stuck around for a while because of the money and my friends. I also had a mild drinking problem that I killed off, been sober for 6 months. Anyways, long story short, I'm looking at going back to school and it's majorly been on my mind. I went to the local university about 10 years ago but didn't have my poo poo together and dropped out (I was 19 years old at the time). Now, I don't want to work until 3AM five nights a week and want to be able enough money to do things like buy my own house (and not live with 2 other dudes) and support a future (hypothetical) family. AKA, it's time to grow up. The biggest thing I'm looking at is majoring in Film/Digital Film and minoring in Graphic Design. I already do graphic design on the side for my bar and any business/friend that needs something from me, mostly flyers. Although, honestly I consider myself less of a graphic designer and more of knowing my way around Photoshop and being able to combine ideas into a graphic as opposed to making something actually super original. Film was what I was originally looking at going into when I was a teenager, but the school didn't have much of a program back then and I just was a dumb rear end teenager. Fast forward now, UCA has a great film program. Talked in detail with one of my friends who just graduated in Theater from there and he put over the Film department quite a lot. Saying that a lot of people are skipping over schools in New York to come to central rear end Arkansas to do Film. I've always messed around with film projects, doing things like small weddings for friends or small projects. Or stuff like my short lived YouTube cooking series (https://www.pearcemealprep.com). The stuff is easy to me, I just haven't done anything with it. But, I feel like I'm robbing myself out of a good living. One of my other friends graduated a year ago from UCA in Film and he found a great job he's gone full time with doing commercial work. Started at $45k a year, his friends have moved up to $55k in the one year they've been there. They get to travel and shoot fun projects. That doesn't sound bad! Admittedly, this idea started coming back to my head after I saw how much a Digital Media Producer makes ($80k+). Noticed the Cincinnati Bengals had an internship available.....I'm sure I could work my way to Philadelphia :p. I thought about the idea of... Computer Science + Guaranteed good job right out of the gate ($60k) + Could be a natural evolution of my computer skills - Not so sure about the idea of being trapped behind a desk - I don't like math, one of my weakest subjects despite being placed in advanced classes growing up) Nutrition + Have taken a great interest to it in reshaping my life style and transforming my own body and health - Chemistry was by FAR my worst subject But I feel like I need to stick to what I already know and enjoy. Anybody have Film degrees around here that regret or don't regret it? 89 fucked around with this message at 02:53 on May 31, 2017 |
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May 31, 2017 02:49
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 18:56 |
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My biggest fear with going back for a degree is a poo poo ton of debt. But I feel I'd excel at the top of my classes in digital film.
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May 31, 2017 02:54
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And it seems that in Film, a degree isn't exactly NEEDED. But, I figure the invaluable amount of networking, working with professional equipment, and running on deadlines/grades might make it worth the tuition.
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May 31, 2017 03:04
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I did two years of film studies at college. Unless you get your rear end into NYU or Emerson or SUNY Purchase (the only schools with recognized talent in film, which is important if you plan to network, which is literally all working in a creative field is), your degree is worthless as gently caress and good luck financing literally any portion of your first film in the director's seat with all that debt already piled up. Sorry, OP. I hate to hit you with the severe bad news early, but you absolutely need to hear this from someone who very nearly almost hosed up, and then at the last second figured it out and ran so far away. EDIT: Let me be clear, any idiot can walk onto a set with a film degree and hold a boom mic. But unless you want to bust your rear end being a behind the scenes guy and having pretty much no creative control, you basically need to make a name for yourself before you even get a foot out the door. For every minute you aren't analyzing shots in every movie you ever watch, someone is already out there with a full-length script and getting camera crews together. The industry is a real shitfuck and unless you go the YouTube route, there's no guarantee you get a paying job at all, let alone one you can live off of. barnold fucked around with this message at 05:30 on May 31, 2017 |
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May 31, 2017 05:27
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The problem with film is that everybody thinks they can cut it and rise above the rest. The truth is, very few people do. You can start your own wedding videography company from your bedroom without going to film school if you just want to make money shooting things. Are you ready to gamble an assload of money away on a project that has absolutely no guarantee of a return, on top of potentially being toppled by the debt you would incur from film classes? Are you ready to potentially live out of your car, depending on how well off financially you are? You are likely going to end up working another dead-end side job while you pine away, looking for a break. These are the questions you need to ask yourself. If you think you're ready to play Life Roulette, spin the fuckin' wheel and let the ball drop.
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May 31, 2017 05:38
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Find people in your area who are doing what you want to do. Get in contact with them, introduce yourself, and ask if they'd be willing to help you by taking some time to answer some questions about their job. This is called an informational interview and hardly any professional will think you're weird for asking. Conducting these will help you understand what's actually needed to do what you want to be doing. (Maybe a degree isn't needed at all, maybe a degree is needed but in something other than film, etc.) It will also begin to give you a network of people who are doing the thing you want to be doing, which is sure to be valuable to you.
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May 31, 2017 08:24
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I'm not necessarily trying to be The Director. I just enjoy the production part of everything. Now, there was a commercial I shot wayyy back when I was in high school where I came up with the commercial, the script, I picked the actors, had them read my lines, I filmed it personally. And then edited it myself and the power was perhaps a little...intoxicating, it did make me feel good. But, the production part sounds soooooo much better than slinging $1 vodka cranberries until 3AM. My buddy encouraged me to go for Digital Film over just Film as dudes are walking off the graduating podium with jobs before they even step a foot off that stage. But even from a production stand point, I've always been interested in being the lighting guy for concerts and events. That's always fascinated me.
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May 31, 2017 08:39
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89 posted:Now, I don't want to work until 3AM five nights a week and want to be able enough money to do things like buy my own house (and not live with 2 other dudes) and support a future (hypothetical) family. The creative industry will not give this to you. It simply will not. I laughed out loud when I read this. You want stability and reasonable work hours... from the film industry. You're specifically considering two areas of study that have been controlled by the bullshit gig economy before that was even a term. If you actually decide to pursue this your bartending job will be more reliable so don't quit it! You don't need a degree to run a camera or be a lighting guy at concerts. Of all the ideas presented in your post, the lighting technician idea is the best one.
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May 31, 2017 12:13
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Don't do it. You are not cut out for success, much less in such an intensive industry as film. Stay with what you are good at instead, and keep things realistic.
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May 31, 2017 14:02
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Didn't you make a thread at one point asking about becoming a nurse? That is a good idea. You have an interest in health. Do THAT. Then use your stable nurse income to buy a fancy camera as a hobby.
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May 31, 2017 16:52
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Scudworth posted:Didn't you make a thread at one point asking about becoming a nurse? That is a good idea. You have an interest in health. Do THAT.
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May 31, 2017 17:04
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I was a film major for a year. Don't do it if you want reasonable work hours dude. I did it because I was 19 and idealistic but thankfully switched after a year. My colleagues in the major found some success. One works for a indie-website helping to produce content, and another actually ended up as an adjunct professor at our alma-matter in the film department. Those two had to work many dead end part time jobs, move out to LA/NYC, and work their asses off, often times for free, in order to get where they are. And they did because they have an insane love of cinema and film. Normal hours or life are not a thing with this industry. If you want a "normal" life (an ever-evolving term in today's world) then bite the bullet like the rest of us and move into IT, Engineering, Finance, or the medical field. It's not glamorous or fun but these jobs pay well, there are plenty of them, and I don't think they'll be automatic out of existence for a while. *EDIT* I saw in your post you are afraid of Computer Science because you "Don't like math". Do not let that stop you. There are many areas in Medical and IT that do not require advance math skills. I bombed the math portion of the GRE, hard. So bad it is one of the biggest embarrassments of my life. I still managed to do well in my Network Security courses though and I am now self-teaching myself Bash and Python. Don't let it stop you. College is an opportunity to learn new skills, especially ones you are bad at or think you do not like. Solaris 2.0 fucked around with this message at 17:39 on May 31, 2017 |
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May 31, 2017 17:34
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Wait, you hate bartending and you want to get into film? Why, is the restaurant industry too easy, stable, and not stressful enough for you? You hate steady paychecks? Where you making too much money as a bartender? Dude, don't. I have a film degree, been working in post for ~15 years, and produced a film that won a prize at Sundance, which isn't an insignificant amount of success in this world. I tell everyone who can, DO NOT GET INTO FILM. I'm 15 years out of my degree, and I wish I had the ability to do anything else. Also, NO ONE IN FILM cares about your degree, and film school is essentially a joke. If a film school accepts you, it's probably not a film school worth your time.
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Jun 1, 2017 08:08
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i worked in film for almost a decade. i would echo the advice that you should not bother with film school. if you want to make it you need to get somewhere with a significant industry (if you have no experience i'd skip los angeles and new york and try atlanta, vancouver, new orleans or toronto) and sign up at the iatse union hall for every category you can plausibly do. once you get a call show up on time, work hard, be nice to EVERYONE no matter how insignificant they might seem and prove you can take instruction and get things done with minimum supervision. at that point you should start making friends. it's pretty easy to move from something like construction (where any warm body can get a job) to the art department or lighting & rigging where you can start to make connections with people who can get you close to production if that's your ultimate goal. be prepared to work 80 hour weeks and to have to pick up shifts bartending when things get slow incidentally, i'm a programmer now and i make twice what i made in film (in a key below the line position) working a third as much
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Jun 2, 2017 08:09
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Not to be negative and echo the rest of the thread but I majored in film and I regret it. Almost every day I look at my pile of debt and regret it. There are so many reasons for this regret. Almost everything I learned you can learn off of the Internet or practical experience. I have friends who got into the industry off of a high school diploma alone. Hell, halfway through the program I wanted out but I figured I was already too much in debt so I kept going and god I regret that on a daily basis. Basically if you are looking for a solid stable job then you don't want film, and if you want film then there are better ways to break in than a film degree.
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Jun 7, 2017 11:01
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Go with Nutrition. You can use that to become a personal trainer. The film business is terrible right now and only looking to get worse. You want sane hours? Go somewhere else. You want to own a house someday? Go somewhere else. 89 posted:And it seems that in Film, a degree isn't exactly NEEDED. But, I figure the invaluable amount of networking, working with professional equipment, and running on deadlines/grades might make it worth the tuition. In central Arkansas you will not meet a person worth networking with. 89 posted:I'm not necessarily trying to be The Director. I just enjoy the production part of everything. Now, there was a commercial I shot wayyy back when I was in high school where I came up with the commercial, the script, I picked the actors, had them read my lines, I filmed it personally. And then edited it myself and the power was perhaps a little...intoxicating, it did make me feel good. You will not have any project where you do this that pays you anything reasonable. 89 posted:But, the production part sounds soooooo much better than slinging $1 vodka cranberries until 3AM. 3AM last call and $1 drinks? My God. My God. 89 posted:But even from a production stand point, I've always been interested in being the lighting guy for concerts and events. That's always fascinated me. This is a good job. Pursue this.
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Jun 11, 2017 06:13
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I will apparently be the lone dissenting voice. I majored in journalism, did TV news for a long time, I now run a small video production company. We do mostly corporate stuff but some TV and some narrative ("film") stuff. I make decent money and get to do my hobby 8 hours a day and people pay me for it. Instead of spending my money on expensive video gear I want to play with, it's a business expense and we get to make money with it. Move to a place that does film/video (this has been discussed before I got here, but LA/NY are the big places, and I frankly thing a n00b's chances are better in some of the tier-2 cities, Denver, Atlanta, ABQ, etc, etc - the places with TV/film tax subsidies). Get on as a PA or 3rd AC or something. Keep your trap shut and your head on a swivel and become a mind reader for whomever is directly above you. Once you get the feel of it, try and get on some smaller productions where you can get your hands dirty. Once you're there, start shooting your own stuff with the friends and colleagues you've met. Focus heavily on gigs that make money - not film festival films. A year or two in (you can get a bartender/waiter/"joe" job to get you through this time), you should be able to a) freelance in whatever you've gotten good at, b) hang your shingle as a production company, and hire dayrate guys at whatever you're not good at. Charge more than you spend. It ain't rocket science. Do you notice that viral content is always video? Do you notice ads that get clicks are video? Do you notice that every bar/restaurant you go into has ten zillion TVs in it? Do you notice that cable still has a thousand channels and that the advent of Netflix/Hulu/whatever are adding more and more and more options to this? Do you notice less TV news on the airwaves or is every show doubling down on hours and adding more subcarrier channels? There is more video created every year than the year before. They are paying people to create that video. There are ups and downs to this business as there are to every business. If you want to clock in at 9 and have an office that's 72F and take an hour lunch at precisely noon, you should be an accountant. If you like making video, I don't see what you have to lose by trying it for a year or two.
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Jun 11, 2017 06:30
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