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Hi! Im a 19 year old guy whos studying a small course of cinematography.Im planning to enter a university of filmmaking.The thing is I dont know which career to apply,because I dont know exactly what I want to be (Screen writer, Director, Photography director, etc), so im asking How could I decide or know, or who could I ask what field to choose???

Thank you very much.

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As far as I've seen in film programs, they basically teach you everything. While you are in the program, you'll automatically come to know what you want to do. I've some friends in the film program in my college who wanted to be directors when they enrolled in the course; however, after a year or two, they realized that they were happier while performing the duties of an AD or a DoP.

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There is something to be said about saving the money and just going out to LA or NY and working as a PA to figure if you like it. School can always come later on. Also, and I'll plug it here, there is a good book by a forum member here, Brian Dzyak, called "What I Really Want To Do On Set In Hollywood" which has nice overviews of the major positions on sets and how they'll work and what they'll do and how to get there. Quite worth it.

Now, my disclaimer, I went to film school and quite enjoyed it, but at the same time, had I not going to film school I'd not be dealing with student loans etc. which can put quite a crimp on one's ability to take film work when first starting out.

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As far as I've seen in film programs, they basically teach you everything. While you are in the program, you'll automatically come to know what you want to do. I've some friends in the film program in my college who wanted to be directors when they enrolled in the course; however, after a year or two, they realized that they were happier while performing the duties of an AD or a DoP.

 

Thank you very much!!!

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There is something to be said about saving the money and just going out to LA or NY and working as a PA to figure if you like it. School can always come later on. Also, and I'll plug it here, there is a good book by a forum member here, Brian Dzyak, called "What I Really Want To Do On Set In Hollywood" which has nice overviews of the major positions on sets and how they'll work and what they'll do and how to get there. Quite worth it.

Now, my disclaimer, I went to film school and quite enjoyed it, but at the same time, had I not going to film school I'd not be dealing with student loans etc. which can put quite a crimp on one's ability to take film work when first starting out.

 

Than you very much!!!

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There is something to be said about saving the money and just going out to LA or NY and working as a PA to figure if you like it. School can always come later on. Also, and I'll plug it here, there is a good book by a forum member here, Brian Dzyak, called "What I Really Want To Do On Set In Hollywood" which has nice overviews of the major positions on sets and how they'll work and what they'll do and how to get there. Quite worth it.

Now, my disclaimer, I went to film school and quite enjoyed it, but at the same time, had I not going to film school I'd not be dealing with student loans etc. which can put quite a crimp on one's ability to take film work when first starting out.

 

 

Thank you for the recommendation, Adrian! :)

 

Aside from everything else that an aspiring "filmmaker" should know, I agree that one of the most important things anyone can do is to keep their financial overhead LOW. When you're not forced into having to take jobs just to pay the bills, then you have freedom to take the "free" and low-paying jobs that are essential to building a viable career. Very few people start out making enough money to live on, so having the freedom to take ANYTHING, paid or not, is almost a requirement.

 

For that reason, "film school" shouldn't be approached as just a generic learning opportunity. Unless it is intended to be a very real stepping stone toward a career (ie, you make a movie in school that buys you a job or a three-picture deal), then you'll just leave with a diploma (that nobody cares about), some experience (that may or may not be applicable to the real world), some friends (who may or may not be helpful in building a viable career), and a whole lot of debt (which creates the need to get ANY job at all just to pay it off).

 

Having said that, I think that whenever possible, EVERYONE should go to a university for a higher education because there are so many positives one can get from the experience. Again, I don't recommend filmschool as a major for all the reasons stated above. However, majoring in almost anything else and minoring in "film" can give an aspiring "filmmaker" the education and curriculum he/she needs to build opportunities toward success.

 

How so? For example, an aspiring Screenwriter can and should learn how to write a screenplay (formatting, structure). But if he/she MAJORS in screenwriting, then what is he really learning? How to do a screenplay? Watching other movies for four years? However, if an aspiring Screenwriter (or Director) study Literature and History and Sociology and Political Science and Art History and etc.... then that person has something to write ABOUT instead of just studying other movies and being derivative.

 

Here's a fantastic "article" that I think everyone who is interested in movie making should read and keep in mind: http://realfilmcareer.com/forum/index.php?topic=1834.0

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No problem Brian, nice book that I just picked up so figured I'd share.

To go off a bit of what Brian's saying, I want to be (am?) a Director of Photography, and I did major in that in university. But, at the same time, I also majored in Visual Anthropology, and I have to tell you I learned a lot more about how to think "visually," from those classes -vs- what I was exposed to in my film courses (not that they too weren't helpful). So, if you do go to college, I try to tell people to keep this in mind; learn what you love, it's one of your few chances to really enjoy what you're doing, while at the same time you need to start to mature and learn how to later market yourself.

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Thank you for the recommendation, Adrian! :)

 

Aside from everything else that an aspiring "filmmaker" should know, I agree that one of the most important things anyone can do is to keep their financial overhead LOW. When you're not forced into having to take jobs just to pay the bills, then you have freedom to take the "free" and low-paying jobs that are essential to building a viable career. Very few people start out making enough money to live on, so having the freedom to take ANYTHING, paid or not, is almost a requirement.

 

For that reason, "film school" shouldn't be approached as just a generic learning opportunity. Unless it is intended to be a very real stepping stone toward a career (ie, you make a movie in school that buys you a job or a three-picture deal), then you'll just leave with a diploma (that nobody cares about), some experience (that may or may not be applicable to the real world), some friends (who may or may not be helpful in building a viable career), and a whole lot of debt (which creates the need to get ANY job at all just to pay it off).

 

Having said that, I think that whenever possible, EVERYONE should go to a university for a higher education because there are so many positives one can get from the experience. Again, I don't recommend filmschool as a major for all the reasons stated above. However, majoring in almost anything else and minoring in "film" can give an aspiring "filmmaker" the education and curriculum he/she needs to build opportunities toward success.

 

How so? For example, an aspiring Screenwriter can and should learn how to write a screenplay (formatting, structure). But if he/she MAJORS in screenwriting, then what is he really learning? How to do a screenplay? Watching other movies for four years? However, if an aspiring Screenwriter (or Director) study Literature and History and Sociology and Political Science and Art History and etc.... then that person has something to write ABOUT instead of just studying other movies and being derivative.

 

Here's a fantastic "article" that I think everyone who is interested in movie making should read and keep in mind: http://realfilmcareer.com/forum/index.php?topic=1834.0

 

THANK YOU ALL SOMUCH!! YOUR COMMENTS ARE VERY HELPFUL!!

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No problem Brian, nice book that I just picked up so figured I'd share.

To go off a bit of what Brian's saying, I want to be (am?) a Director of Photography, and I did major in that in university. But, at the same time, I also majored in Visual Anthropology, and I have to tell you I learned a lot more about how to think "visually," from those classes -vs- what I was exposed to in my film courses (not that they too weren't helpful). So, if you do go to college, I try to tell people to keep this in mind; learn what you love, it's one of your few chances to really enjoy what you're doing, while at the same time you need to start to mature and learn how to later market yourself.

 

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!! YOUR COMMENTS ARE VERY HELPFUL!!

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Enroll in a summer camp focused on all areas of Filmmaking.

 

 

Why would anyone want to do that? Typically, people have some type of awareness regarding which part of "filmmaking" interests them most. So why spend/waste money on a workshop that "sells the dream" and professes to teach a person "EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW AND YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL" when the reality is vastly different?

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