Posted on 11/11/2023 11:12:07 PM PST by Pocketdoor
Looking for Freeper advice. My son is applying to colleges that have a Film major. He wants to be a producer. He wants to start his own business. We are in California, and you wouldn't think that CA is veteran friendly, but California does grant tuition waivers for all California public colleges for 0%+ disabled Vets. I'm afraid that some more liberal colleges will require the Covid VAX. I'm adamant about my kids not getting that vax. Any Freepers in the Film industry? Is there such a thing as a conservative or semi-conservative public college in California?
Take a look at Chapman University.
Let me now offer some serious advice:
(Full disclosure: My adult daughter wanted to pursue a very similar trajectory. We reside in Europe.)
I don't know to what extent getting tuition waived is of importance to you. If you're strapped for cash and/or want only the cheapest option, feel free to ignore my suggestion, but: Have you considered that your son might be able to study abroad? There are good film institutes here in Germany - also in Switzerland (where my daughter applied). There might be special scholarships for foreign students. People in that industry freq. pursue a very zig-zagged course - starting off studying screenwriting, then shifting to camera work / lighting, then dabbling in a little actual stage work / acting. So while waiting for a spot to open up for his preferred choice, he could at least be working / studying in an adjacent area.
Regards,
Filmmakers make films. Not sit in college classes. Check out tarrintini quote about film schools... my son wanted to go to NYU TIL the tarrintino quote. In CA there are a lot of indie films looking for producers... they pay little oe nothing but he will learn more than the drivel taught in class.
Good luck...
I agree with this post. My son is in the biz as a freelancer (not a producer). He has a related degree. But he said that he really didn’t need that and it’s all about experience and mostly CONNECTIONS. Once you get the experience, you make the connections, and if you have the talent you can go far.
Think Ron Howard.
Yes, the state of Alabama offers free college tuition to 100% disabled veterans. In addition, the state of Alabama will waive up to $250 per semester hour and $1,000 for books each semester at any Alabama institution of higher learning including two-year and four-year technical colleges, community colleges, and junior colleges.
Anyway a buddy of mine sent his son to the U of NM to get a degree in film production. He came out maybe not totally quite as indoctrinated as the kiddos in "American Studies" or whatever.
My $.02
Good luck with it.
Believe it or not, there is a good film program at University of Missouri Kansas City that won’t break the bank and Kansas City has a thriving art/theater community.
Also, like the other poster said, a lot of the schools in Europe have free college. One of my friends sent her daughter to school in France and another friend went to school in Scotland.
My daughter goes to California State University Northridge (CSUN) looking to get into marketing.
She had scholarships offered to her all around the country but it was cheaper to go to CSUN and she could still live at home.
She is all into the digital arts.
I have already told her to refuse the Jab and they do have online classes.
She gets straight A’s and is always on the dean’s list.
Her grandfather has 5 Emmys for arranging music. He is paying her tuition.
It is a very liberal university, they had a mural of the border patrol and illegal aliens and they had Hillary Clinton’s friend Muslim Brotherhood Mohamed Morsi teaching there before he was appointed president of Egypt.
My wife worked there for 15 years until a black man was made her boss.
He eliminated her position because my wife wouldn’t pay his relocation costs without the proper paperwork he refused to do. And she refused to pay for his illegal alcohol fused meetings.
My wife’s boss and her boss were reassigned and eventually quit.
My wife and her bosses are all still friends and the black guy is gone.
Ever heard of Berry College in beautiful NW GA? https://catalog.berry.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=14&poid=1079 ... 26,000 ac., largest campus in the world. Very conservative. Iirc every student works on or off campus. Our granddaughter’s student job involves the “ropes course” where she hooks climbers into “harnesses” so they don’t kill themselves. GA is #1 world-wide in film production.
This right here is excellent advice.
TY.
I’m a Lumberjack. Humboldt is among the most liberal colleges anywhere. Back in pre mid 70’s it was conservative.
That's great! What city is he working in?
Good advice. O/T, if I could have a do over, I would have gone to a college that offered a degree in viticulture. However, I doubt it would out earn my accounting degree.
Thank you for that. I just wish I had more knowledge on the current business. I became a real estate investor in 2017, and the production industry has changed dramatically in that short time, per equipment, distribution, and stylings.
However, the one constant that can help make him marketable in the short term, is to invest in a Mac with a Final Cut Pro 10.7 (or latest). Good editing skills are key to amazing story telling, and he'll be able to set himself apart from all the kids who use the free/cheapo apps. If he can afford the investment and learn to edit on that system, he'll likely always have work, when he's not on-location as a crew guy. A few sessions with a feature or commercial director in the edit suite will quickly teach him what does and doesn't work. Social media is very powerful in getting the word out about owning such a set up, and I've worked with many, many editors who have brought me into their home or condo offices to work. The best editor in Nashville brings his celebrity music clients into his crappy basement, so no studio is necessary. These days, most of it is done long distance, anyway.
By the way, what got him interested in production?
Pinging LS, who I believe is in the industry.
First, it’s late. Your son needed to be looking for this person BEFORE entering. Nevertheless, here is what I told ALL my conservative students looking to go for a higher degree when I was at the U. of Dayton:
the most important person in your son’s life will be his or her main instructor/prof. Do homework. Even if they are lib, some still have integrity and will work with anyone. (I found a flaming homosexual lib at Wright State who, for a fee, taught me screenwriting). That sponsor/main person will give advice and even entre into the film world, where about 50% of the actual people who make movies ARE CONSERVATIVE (all the set builders, many of the designers, makeup, etc.) I recall a star telling me “when I go out at lunch I’d hear Rush Limbaugh in the trucks” (this was in the late 2000s.) Once you get any break-—a first film, a first part, whatever, there is much more of a “meritocracy” at work.
MANY conservatives and Christians work in Hollywood and the number grows daily with new funders such as Angel Studios appearing. Money = movies/shows.
WOW! You and I have a very similar story! I began at CU Boulder as a music composition major - with the same vision as you. I LOVED to compose and arrange. After two years of being told (along with ALL of the other music students) that our only realistic career in music would be teaching, I quickly moved to film/TV. Thankfully, I quit - as I eventually saw every single one of my very talented musician classmates take the bait and get education degrees. My brother, on the other hand, never went to college and focused on creating Christian music. He’s now the producer of his own kids’ sibling band, that’s world famous and triple platinum. I have no regrets, because I never was that talented anyway. Just glad to see their huge success outside and apart from the restrictive and expensive undergrad system.
here is what I told ALL my conservative students
and may the rest of us do likewise. Use your outdoor voice.
I did a 2-year film program at a community college before getting my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. I’ve done and am doing some limited work in the film industry. I plan to do more in the future but have other commitments right now.
I recommend the community college approach to learn the nuts and bolts of filmmaking. I learned directing from a professor who directed major actors like Sigourney Weaver. He formerly taught at the prestigious film school at UT Austin. (Their undergrad program is average, but they only accept about a dozen applicants per year into their Master’s program.)
Keep in mind that careers in filmmaking fall into 2 major categories: business and creative. Highly successful filmmakers like Christopher Nolan are geniuses in both aspects. But if I could give any helpful advice for your son at this stage it is this:
Learn how to raise money for film projects.
This is the most essential skill that controls what doors open and shut.
If I had a son wishing to pursue a career in filmmaking and was trying to decide on college, I’d push for going to a community college first for a film program that’s focused on the nuts and bolts (most of the classes are film-related). Students get more hours, typically, on film-related studies in a 2-year film program than in a 4-year program, surprisingly.
Then I’d recommend transferring the credits to a school to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in business. There’s entrepreneurship, marketing, business management, finance, etc. Learn sales skills. Learn to network. Learn to engage in conversations with people where you ask questions, listen, and come to understand what their needs are. Then, learn to offer solutions to those needs. Ask for contact information and then follow up. This is how you identify investors and raise money.
Also, AI is the future of filmmaking. I suggest getting a good understanding of how AI can contribute to various steps of the filmmaking process from screenwriting to visual effects.
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