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What would say if you gave a commencement address to film school grads?
It’s that time of year and I’ve been listening to a lot of commencement addresses, both serious and farcical. I fantasize as to what I would say to those wanting to enter the biz in 2014 without parents in the biz. I suppose I would have to sound optimistic when I know the truth. Hmmmm….
My view is from the trenches. Since I hire a lot of Millenials as freelance, and I’m not sure if today’s cohort are even called such, I am privy to their trials and tribulations and for the most part: They aren’t making it. I see this in the dozens of instances where I call a “kid” and they’ve been swept out of the biz due to the problem of having to make a real living, usually by their late twenties. I see them having to cobble together a bunch of other ways to pay the rent: Uber driving, bar tending, dog walking, whatever…so many times they aren’t available or have to get “permission” to work my days.
When you back out the staff, sit in front of a computer all day jobs, what is there available to them? Internships are for the nepotistically connected. There is just too much competition now for them: everyone wants to be in a cool/fun profession and the masses have chosen Video. I’m not sure how much they thought through how to make a living once their parents cut them off? The last few years I witness young people in our biz not being able to “make a living” as the previous waves of newcomers, at least from what I can see of their personal lives.
WiIth video services now being a commodity, like nail salons everywhere, and rates depressed due to oversupply causing a buyer’s market, I don’t see how young people entering the biz now can buy a decent car, not have a roommate(s), save up for an engagement ring, pay for some of the wedding, accumulate 20% down for a house, afford a baby, save for their kids college, take nice vacations, put money away for retirement. All the “normal” things my generation in the biz was able to do because in the Good Old Days video was so damn profitable. If they aren’t from a wealthy family, marry into one or have a high salary spouse, I just don’t see how young people can attain a solid middle class lifestyle in this biz, and eating ramen noodles gets old by one’s late twenties. It seems that it can be a cool thing to do from graduation to about 28…As someone who regularly puts crews together I see a decline in young people being able to survive financially into their late twenties/early thirties, when they get past the ramen noodles phase. Perhaps in LA or NY their chances of survival would be better, or in post where there’s more sit down staff jobs? But then you have to spend your day in front of a computer…
Many young crew ask my advice but it’s really too late, they needed someone to steer them towards a profitable future when they were picking their major, not at graduation. Going for your passion isn’t going to pay the rent. If the passion thing doesn’t work out you’re kind of screwed from what I’ve seen. This is a very Darwinian field of endeavor. Of course they can all find some form of video work, but will they make enough regular money to survive into their thirties in this biz? Not from what I’ve been seeing, especially since The Crash.
So that’s my take. Fortunately, no film school administration has asked me to give their commencement address! I would set them straight. Go back for a biz, engineering or healthcare related degree. If you have 20-30 years experience in the biz what would your commencement address be? (Not including staff post jobs.) Don’t write this instant, think about it for a couple of days
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
www,bizvideo.com -
19 Replies
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Millennials have a slightly different value set than say, boomers do. Take cars, for example: For Boomers, owning a car was a right of passage, it was where you did all your teenage canoodling, how you got to the workplace if you didn’t have good mass transportation, it was where you slept if you were out of a job, etc. Your first 2-3 part time jobs pretty much went to buying and keeping a car fed and watered and insured, so that that “symbol of freedom” actually kept a lot of kids stuck in their parent’s homes an extra year or two, until they raised a nest egg to move out. We didn’t have instant continuous and asynchronous communication with friends, peers, social networks, if we wanted to hang out, we had to physically travel to some place like the mall or driving laps down at the “strip” area of downtown
We also had a lot of unstructured, unscheduled time, we weren’t ferried to appointments for playdates, judo classes, pilates, etc.
Polls of today’s high schoolers show they don’t own a lot of cars, and they don’t care to: many of them skipped it and depended on ride sharing, taxis/uber, or Mom and dad, putting the car money — somewhere else. Investments or the bank, if they were squares. Into buying a lot of electronics if they were trendy. Telepresence means they may not roam as far and wide physically as my generation might have, but might have hundreds more in their social circles.
This car thing is just one dimension of the differences in the class of 2015. They graduate in a world where the economy lacks a lot of the minimum wage openings we could have chosen from in our youth. They’re not competing just against other teens for that summer work, but against retired seniors, the disabled, working moms, newly arrived immigrants, and middle-aged people who’ve been laid off.
All this to say that they look thru a different lens than we older types do. Their values and choices may seem strange, out of context.
Ned’s right about our industry tightening. When I got in, it was still more or less a techno-priesthood, like the early computer industry. You needed a college degree and internship or practicum work experience to get in at most places and that weeded out a lot of casual applicants. The gear was expensive and so the number of places to work was small as well. The betacam and later the DV revolution blew that model apart and democratized a lot of production, created a bigger market but at the same time lowered the bar for entry, just like the digital publishing revolution did for people in graphic design and print. My brother used to make a living servicing and operating huge Heidelberg 4-color web presses: those are all now feedstock for making Japanese car parts. The printed inserts they used to make for newspapers are now… well, newspapers hardly exist now. I feel lucky about the ride I got out of this industry, hitting it at a peak when my skills best matched what the industry needed and wanted at the time, and now I’m closer to retirement age, I feel like the last part of this movie scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7m5Int1hAA
And yet, the business is certainly not DEAD, in many ways it’s brighter than ever. There’s money and fame to be made, still, and there is the potential for expansion and inclusion and invention and innovation as never before… but like the car thing, it isn’t going to look anything like what we’re used to.
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Hey Mark
This is off the commencement topic but I avoid crew who don’t have their OWN car. Many of our gigs are in the suburbs and if someone doesn’t drive Chicago a lot, they don’t know where the construction is, how rush hour, snow or rain will slow them down. Based on my many years of experience with people renting or borrowing cars they are invariably late. Even when I tell them to leave really early…
As to what you say about: “There’s money and fame to be made, still, and there is the potential for expansion and inclusion and invention and innovation as never before… ”
Where? How? Who? That’s too general to tell a grad. That sounds like a commencement address for a growing field like IT. The growth of video is like a hockey stick but income is way down. Us older types are more insulated since we have connections and relationships. These kids don’t.Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
www,bizvideo.com -
Yeah, I remember your transportation rant from before, and you have a point, however, I would counter that in the depths of a big city like Chicago, if you wanted to time it door to door, often it CAN be faster using public transportation or a cab, than owning a vehicle, if you also take into consideration parking and loading/loadout times. I remember using cabs to haul a umatic beck between two different hotels in the loop one time, and it would have been twice as much time and four times as expensive to use my own car that time. Need to get to the airport fast? The CTA “el” train Blue Line gets you there for about five bucks in 30 or so minutes, about twice as fast as taking the expressway, and no parking hassles.
As to specificity of my beliefs about the future of the industry, I DID say the old farts like us might not be able to recognize it from here. We’re like Moses at the top of the cliff, unable to follow his tribes into the Promised land.
Some 6 year old makes over a million dollars a year on Youtube unwrapping toy packages – I never would have thought of that on my own, but someone did. Kahn Academy is an amazing resource nobody really thought of before in terms of scale, but it single-handedly revolutionized college and university online teaching. A lot of the future video business may be peer to peer, or use other models we’re only just now beginning to think of.
Think about Neils Bohr the physicist, responding to a radical new theory on atomic structure. He said: “Your theory sounds crazy. But is it crazy enough to be true?” From where you and I sit, the stuff that is coming is all going to look completely crazy. That’s one way to know it will work.
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Well, most gigs are not downtown, nowhere near mass transit. I’ve developed my crewing preferences based on experience, which can not be denied. Those who do not drive a lot are chronically late. Can’t argue with facts.
I have two kids in their late twenties in similar over saturated fields: Environmentalism and Adventure Travel, so I see them going through what the young folks in our biz are experiencing. Similar to video in that it is heavy on unpaid internships and volunteering, no money except for those who majored in engineering or science. Most others are still hungry in their late twenties. If you aren’t making it by then you need to reboot in something else.
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com
www,bizvideo.com -
[Ned Miller] “they needed someone to steer them towards a profitable future when they were picking their major, not at graduation”
Which brings me to the fundamental amorality of the growing number of for profit schools teaching “valuable skills” needed to get a job in the field. Or in animation. Or game design. (In particular “Partially Put To Sea,” to name one of the bigger ones without using their name.)
REALLY? I’d like to see the numbers on just how many of the kids going through this so they can work in a “cool” field actually GET to work in the field. These schools are only to happy to take Mom and Dad’s money, the state’s subsidies or far worse the student’s personal debt.
As I said. I find this area to be amoral, generating a large number of broken dreams.
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This used to be the deal with “Radio schools” that taught you how to be a D.J. and make Big Money, but that was long ago.
FS is I think more legit than most. They have prerequisites and fundamentals and a core curriculum at least. No university OR trade school can 100 percent guarantee you get hired immediately, of course. Ultimately, it rests on each individual to apply themselves and work as hard as they can to land that job.
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[Mark Suszko] “This used to be the deal with “Radio schools””
Remember “Ted Baxter’s Famous Broadcaster’s School” on one episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show? Good stuff.
[Mark Suszko] “FS is I think more legit than most.”
Ehhh… I just don’t know. Maybe, maybe not… varying opinions there. I’ve known quite a large number of people who went through FS. They fall into two camps…. one group (I’d say about 15-20%, in my observation) that thought it was the greatest thing since sliced cheese, and the rest who think it was a giant load of crappola. There’s almost no gray area in between, based on the people I’ve talked with. One guy who I know who is probably FS’s biggest fanboy imaginable, well I’ve seen a good bit of his work and it’s… it’s… what’s the word?… “not good.” Of course he’s just one example.
Then again my own film school education is not worth the parchment it’s printed on.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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[Mark Suszko] “This used to be the deal with “Radio schools”
Yea, I remember an “Institute of Broadcasting” that was around here in the 1970s. I’m certain that the vast majority of its graduates got high paying jobs at gas stations and convenience stores.
Some of us however went to the six week crash course for passing the test for the FCC’s First Class license – a requirement for working at many stations. It was taught by an ex-military instructor as if the entire class was in the military. Not sure how much of the education in 1930s and 40s radio technology has (or even had at the time) much relevance, but we sure as hell could pass the test and get the license.
As to “Partially Put To Sea,” not being among the worst still does not forgive the pretense that there are lots of jobs in exciting fields if only one has the degree that they offer.
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Without commenting on the specifics of Full Sail — I’ve been there and been impressed as hell. Phenomenal facilities, the best of everything you can imagine. Did you know that they require painting and drawing before they let you touch a computer for art? Exactly what you’d HOPE for from a program that takes the ART of this field seriously. And from what I hear from our Orlando-based friend Bob Zelin, FS grads are taken very seriously indeed, at least in FS’s home town.
FS is also a long, long way from its reputation as a trade-school degree mill. They actually have 49 degree programs, including some graduate degree tracks.
However….
[Nick Griffin] “As to “Partially Put To Sea,” not being among the worst still does not forgive the pretense that there are lots of jobs in exciting fields if only one has the degree that they offer.”
This is no different than USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. Or Harvard Law School.
Remarkably, the unemployment rate for graduates from a 4-year undergrad program is only 10%! That’s pretty freaking fantastic. Law school grads are a percentage point less employed, 11%.
But the thing for lawyers is that only 63% of the jobs they find within 9 months of graduation require passing the bar, ie, ANYBODY could theoretically be hired for those jobs, no law degree required.
The larger issue for lawyers and others is finding a job that will cover their debt service. Did you know that student debt is the ONLY debt that can NOT be waived through bankruptcy proceedings? What we do to students in the US really is criminal.
I happen to know this number because I just looked it up — 84% of FS students graduate with debt. This is considerably higher than average, which hovers around 70% nationally. THAT part is BAD, plain and simple. It creates a drain on our economy that will exacerbate our slide down the economic standard of our peers — but it doesn’t speak at all to the lure of this industry, except to the extent that people are willing to roll the dice on their future on that scale.
And that’s the thing. These programs are driven by student demand, and not just at Full Sail. I had intimate experience with this at Avid. I saw first-hand that media programs were growing by leaps and bounds, often the fastest-growing programs in these colleges, virtually NONE of whom you’ve ever heard of. They aren’t beating the bushes for these kids. Those kids are beating down a path to THEM.
That kind of demand turns into new buildings, dorms, student activities, and all the other things that enrich the lives of colleges and universities. And when you pursue the support for your top programs, it leads to new fundraising opportunities — which is GOOD. This is how it’s SUPPOSED to work.
There are NO programs that promise anything less than a bright future. And the fact is, the future’s pretty bright for most graduates of most programs in any field. It’s hard to imagine that we’d live in a world where the success rate is much better than 9 out of 10.
So really, as we evaluate the current or future state of our industry, Full Sail has little to do with anything, imo, except to the extent that they burden students with debt at such a higher rate than normal…which is already high enough to pose a potentially insurmountable obstacle to our national economy’s future soundness.
Let’s beat Full Sail up for THAT.
But not for painting a bright future for our industry, which has in fact never been brighter. Which will be the topic of the commencement address I’m working on. 🙂
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Glad to hear that there are some positive things about the school that I did not mention by name. I especially like the idea of taking art classes before attempting art on a computer.
[Tim Wilson] “but it doesn’t speak at all to the lure of this industry, except to the extent that people are willing to roll the dice on their future on that scale.”
But it doesn’t seem to be an informed roll of the dice. Where are the guidance counselors and college advisers who should be discussing reality with these young innocents? One of my daughters would like a career in journalism and she was advised by multiple working news professionals to pursue a degree in almost anything BUT journalism. Their argument was that, as long as she is a good writer, learning about other subjects that she can bring to a journalism career is far more valuable.
[Tim Wilson] “But the thing for lawyers is that only 63% of the jobs they find within 9 months of graduation require passing the bar”
Tim has, as usual, researched the stats so it’s hard to disagree on his specifics. BUT, even today, having a JD after your name means a lot to long term success even if one hasn’t passed the bar. I’ve seen multiple JDs over the years doing quite well in business because they are able to deal with levels of complexity that many others are not.
I too agree that the current state of student loan debt will be damaging for the country as well as the individuals. Hopefully people will start listening to Elizabeth Warren and do something about this. Speaking of which, has anyone noticed that some of the most interesting ideas in the current pre-election run up are coming from the extremes of both political sides? Maybe we should have a Bernie Sanders/Rand Paul co-presidency. (Sorry to get all political.)
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