I’m a 16 year old, who’s been trying to figure out where I belong in the creative industry for a while. Scriptwriting, directing, art design, animation, gaming– I’ll take whatever I can get.
Next year I have to apply to college. The problem is I have no idea what degree I’d need to actually get there. My parents say I need a degree and I don’t know if I can afford to be without one.
But I know that a lot of people it’s more important to have presentable work to prove your skills. Is that enough?
I mean, I can’t just walk out of high school once I’m 18, and hand over a screenplay of mine to a producer, can I?
–name withheld
The folks who say “just prove your skills” for a career in film are correct. Film is a “portfolio” business.
Your film portfolio– the stuff you’ve done– gets you jobs in two ways: First, the finished work shows people what you’re capable of– your skill and artistry. Second, your experience creating is what lets you talk with authority about the set, about your creative work– things people need to know to hire you.
Sorry, parents, but a college degree is not required for a career in film. It may help you get in the door, but so will your work, or people you’ve met.
Now let me go into dad-giving-advice mode (sorry, I am one):
The real question for you at 16 is how to maximize your growth for your first four years after high school. The answer to that lies in what you need to learn, and how you learn best. Try these questions to help you make your decision:
1) Where am I going to be pushed/inspired/managed to do my best work? You actually can just hand in a script to a producer and get work– if it’s brilliant. But how do you get to be brilliant? How will you know what “brilliant” actually looks like for you? Some people learn best in a classroom. Others learn experientially– they just need to put their hands on a camera (or keyboard) and figure it out all by themselves. Still others work best as apprentices, and will thrive starting as a production assistant for a great boss in the camera department.
What’s your style of learning? How will you excel?
2) Where am I going to do the most film work? It might be college or art school– someplace with a great film program or a great film club. Or maybe a great school that happens to have a free equipment rental program for students. But it might also be freelancing on set as a PA or working a job while you write and shoot in your spare time, or bumming rides from coast to coast and documenting all your travels.
3) How will I meet other people who will grow with me? If you go to a school that excels in a creative, artistic environment, you can meet a lot of people who share your interests. But given the choice between working as a PA in LA or taking Film 101 at Podunkberg Community College, you’ll probably meet more people, and more motivated people in Los Angeles.
4) Do you like to take courses? Some people thrive on the reading and writing and classroom discussion. But if not, why go? If you do go to college, you don’t have to major in film (I majored in psychology.) Just be sure there are opportunities to work on film and writing in electives or extracurriculars.
5) What sounds like it will be the most fun? Do you want to explore topics of interest in addition to film? Go out with friends? Not worry about a job for a bit? Then if you can swing it, go to college. It’s a great place to grow up. Do you want to move to LA and just immerse yourself in the biz? People do it all the time. What you want to avoid is the choice that will make you anxious and miserable for 4 years when you should be spreading your wings.
Finally, I know these are anxious times, and this advice can sound a bit optimistic.
But the film and television industry is huge. The video content creation industry is huge. The gaming industry is huge. Writing, shooting, producing, selling, production accounting, assisting– those jobs exist in all of these multi-multi-billion dollar businesses all over the world. And somebody needs to have those jobs. Why not you?
Give it your best shot. What you learn will be usable in a whole bunch of different fields, for the rest of your life.
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Steve Stockman is a writer/ producer/ director in Los Angeles. How to Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck, available in 9 languages, is the best selling video how-to book in the world. You can find the updated edition from Workman Publishing wherever you get books, ebooks or audiobooks. 
