what should i major in?

[Debe]

….and I apologize for the typos!

I DID learn how to proofread in college, too! Apparently, however, as I get older, I need more coffee in the mornings to be good at that…

debe

[Chi-ho Lee]

I agree and disagree with the previous comments here. Getting a college education is utterly important no matter what you study. You said your emphasis is on running a big post house then you should consider at least a minor in business with perhaps a major in film or television productions. I disagree with Graeme’s comment that most college level profs are failures in the real world. It depends on where you go to school, USC and NYC will have Spielberg, Spike Lee, James Schamus and other real world successful people teach classes as visiting professors. It depends where you end up.

I transfered into my film school at Boston University after studying one year of history. I think film/TV school lets you make all the bad films and get it out of your system. I think everyone goes thru the bad film period in their life. Most people from 18-21 want to make a comedy with Jesus (what would jesus do now, he’d be a pot smoking hippie film), their own horror movie, their own tarintino/john woo knock off, their own serious rape/incest/abuse drama. These are consistent themes I’ve seen in student film festivals. Most of them are bad but you know what? That’s ok! They’re supposed to be bad! You’re new to this, you’re practicing. And the best thing about film school is that you get 4 years (maybe less depending on requiremnts and such) to learn and practice and get the bad films out of your system before you get into the real world and spend your own hard earned money to make these bad films.

And after all, it’s college. You’ll have a great time in those four years regarding of what you study.

Good luck and let us know where you end up.

Chi-Ho Lee
Film & Video Editor
Apple Certified Final Cut Pro Trainer

[Bret Williams]

You really had no idea how deep a question you asked, did you? Some fell into production, and for others it was a focused goal. We all got here a different way. One could argue that if you really know what to, college it poetntially a big waste of time and money. In fact, if you could wisely invest the money, you could double it in 5 years instead of being in debt. But college was such great fun (UGA) that I could never really recommend not going. If I’ve learned one thing, it was that I really know nothing. Especially 18 years ago before I began college.

As a little kid, I used to love computer programming on an Atari an PC. But by highschool, I wanted to play guitar for a living. But I knew I had to go to college. I wasn’t much on reading music or studying it, so I figured I’d major in radio/tv/film at UGA and be a DJ or something. In the first production course I discovered that I loved editing and shooting. I then took some photography classes and loved those. After college my goal was the same, to work my way up through the editing and production ranks and start my own produciton house. But by the time I bought my first house, I realized I had a love for home renovation. Now my goal is to try and fix up homes on the side until I can retire as early as possible and enjoy life with my wife and any hopefully a family.

The biggest thing I’ve learned is that I like to create stuff. I think my brain wants to leave behind tangible things. It doesn’t really matter what. A computer program, a crappy song, a corporate video, a renovated house, and someday children. I really had know idea that’s what my brain was telling me when I wanted to play rock n roll. But I was open to all the changes that came my way.

If you’re already adept at business, maybe you need to learn about the art. If the art comes naturally, maybe you should send yourself to business school. You may find that your desire to open a produciton house is your brain actually telling you to open a “business.” And in business school you may learn that other ventures of business are more fullfilling.

Hmmm, all that said, I think I’d go to a general college. In state. Save the money. Invest the money.

Here’s something I wish someone had told me when I was 18… 10,000 invested now will double roughly every 10 years. If you do the math, you’ll see that you can retire a millionaire. And that’s only 1 investment of 10,000! Every 7 years you wait to get started, costs you half on the retirement end. Basically, invest 10,000 now and retire a millionaire. Start in 7 years and you only get $500,000. Start in 14 years (like many of us) and you’ll retire with $250,000. I’m still hoping someone started me an account and still hasn’t told me about it! People wonder how old folks got so rich. That’s how. You sure don’t get rich on salary alone.

Oh, and read the millionaire next door.

Good luck!

[Debe]

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from having 2 grandmothers, one that’s 93 and the other that’s 97 years old…you’re NEVER too young to save for your retirement.

It’s really easy in this day and age to outlive your money. The sooner you start contributing to your retirement, the better off you’ll be. Even in the lean years, I’ve usually maxed out my retirement contributions. The only years I didn’t was when I bought my first house a decade ago. I dropped my 401(k) contributions to 5% so I could pay the mortgage. I think I did that for two years, and then maxed out my contributions again when my raise allowed me to pay the mortgage and fully fund my 401(k).

As far as college saving for your children vs. retirement savings, this is my own opinion, so if you disagree, I’d love to hear about it, but this is just my own personal observation. There are dozens of ways to get college paid for. There’s really only one way to fund a retirement. Take care of your retirement first, and the kids’ college funds second. They’ll thank you for it when they don’t have to pay your bills when you’re 97!

debe

[Alexander Gao]

Exactly! Rodriguez is my greatest idol, and I’d love to be like him, but I just think that relying on nothing but desire and talent is only going to take me so far, and that going to college WILL make me well-rounded, as you have stated Mr. Ross.

Alexander Gao

“When the revolution happens, I’ll be leading it.”

[James Sullivan]

I have just recently incorporated and now own and run my own small video business. I went to college and majored in history. College is not about learning a skill or trade it is about learning how to think and work in the world. I was very naive coming out of highschool. Going to college gave me time to mature and figure out what I wanted to do. The industry will train you in the details but unless you have a solid foundation of who you are along with strong communication skills getting a job will be difficult. That said, while in college intern at a post facility. Learn the business from the inside. (The internship is the guild system revisited and it has worked for centuries why not use it.) After college I interned at a local post house and within six months without having to pay or be payed I learned more about this industry than any book, curriculum, or online tutorial. Like all professions, its about the people, and the time spent working with them is what really makes you a professional. I am where I want to be and college was a part of it but not the only part of the equation.

James

[Kalunga Lima]

My 2 cents worth.

1. I think you need to take a good hard look at yourself and figure out how you as an individual, learn best. Look back at how well you’ve done in school and compare that to the things you learnt on your own or from reading books. Are you someone who works best by themselves, or someone who shines in a group? My impression is that some people can do very well on their own by reading books and attending festivals, others are more comfortable in a more structured environment such as a college, while some people find on-job-training more motivating. That’s why you can’t necessary look at the path others have taken to ‘make it’, they’ve simple chosen what was best for them, or what was available at the time, which takes me to my second point.

2. Going to college in the USA can be a very expensive proposition, so this is a very different choice for someone who has parents paying for their education then it is for someone who will then be in debt for a very long time. Don’t forget that there is also a lot of short one-week and two-week courses available, which may make more sense financially.

3. So much of life happens in ways that we can not entirely predict, so having a variety of experiences opens up possibilities you may not have predicted. For example, taking a course in a formal environment will give you a chance to meet individuals with similar goals, you would not meet on your own.

4. Last piece of advice, set yourself up for the long haul. What ever you do, make sure it is sustainable, it invariably takes longer than you think to get anywhere in life.

best of luck

[David Bogie]

English and law.
Anyone can make movies.

bogiesan

This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.”

[George Loch]

Here is my .002: focus and foundation are critical.

First, a post house, especially a large one, has a lot of needs and you don’t want to take a shotgun approach. You want to find the area of expertise you want to participate in and then focus on developing in that area. What you don’t want to do is focus on tools – they come and can be learned easily. What takes more time and work is fundamentals like understanding color, composition and basic design concepts. If you want to be an editor, then you will want to spend time understanding the structure of stories, cinematography, and audio. So, pick your direction and find out everything you can about it.

As far as school goes. I see it serving two important functions. First, you get time. Time to develop and explore your skills. This is really important and school is a good place to do it but don’t limit yourself to just what they assign you. There are always other projects going on and get yourself involved in those as much as time will allow you. Other student projects, indie films, etc..they seem to collect on campuses. This leads me to the other important function: contacts. This can’t be overstated how important the contacts you make are in this business and school is a great place to make them too. Not only with other students and faculty but they tend to know other people. Some schools are well-connected in the industry and will help you make important contacts. Take a school like Art Center in Pasadena, CA. They can hook you up with excellent internship opportunities if post-production with an art slant is your direction. Yep, they cost an arm and a leg but, the investment is worth it when you get a real ‘leg up’ right from the beginning.

So, don’t discount the value of the relationships you can make at school. They will be what makes or breaks your first many jobs.

-gl

[Alexander Gao]

thanks everyone so much. I still would like as much information as possible if you have it to give, but you’ve all been such great resources so far.

Alexander Gao

“When the revolution happens, I’ll be leading it.”