Film school is a great idea if you can get into USC and daddy is already a producer in LA. The most talent young person I am presently working with in film got an undergraduate degree in history, started as a PA. In less than a decade he worked his way up to editor and just finished very successful series. The most inept person I encountered went to one of New York's fanciest school of fancy things, majored in pretension, and makes "important" but howlingly historically inaccurate films. I got a PhD, wrote 6 books and for every publication out there, and am now directing my first film. I decided to go into film out of frustration. My book Thai Stick has been optioned 6 times by Hollywood's good, bad and ugly. The good, Jose Padilha, studied physics and got an Oxford MBA, the bad went to Stanford but did not know when the Vietnam War started or ended, and the ugly went to USC and you guessed it, daddy was a studio head. Some of the best people I have encountered went to film school, others did not go to school at all. What they all had in common was grit, they never quit, they were willing to do any job to get an opportunity, and they had a sense of humor. This especially important when things went bad as they inevitably do from time to time..
Taking in this piece by piece, stopped by this for a moment: “the margins of society that the academic world is scared to touch…” Interesting observation.
I didn’t study film and have no knowledge of the industry so this article was like eavesdropping on a really interesting conversation between two people about the realities of studying it. I did study journalism and I’d say there are some similarities here with whether or not that’s always worth it. Thanks for the article!
I was glad I studied at university as I learnt about technical things like camera operating and media law but there are lots of successful journalists who learn on the job
It’s interesting to know you would’ve preferred to extend over 6 years, when all I wanted was to finish mine as soon as possible and never used my degree for anything (honors in Politics, Philosophy and Economics). I overlapped courses to finish a 4 year degree in 2 years and it felt like a waste of money as nothing of what I learnt at uni helped me build a business and make my own way through the arts (i also never applied for a job after so never got to show my degree either). I think for me it felt more like the bachelors was for people to have an excuse to not start life yet and extend their indecisive in a socially accepted (and encouraged) way. Naturally if you want to work within certain professions a degree is required. I guess it’s also a question of whether one prefers to discuss about theories or be out there testing them. For example, today I’d rather take the money I had worked years to save for my degree on starting a business and traveling to learn as much as possible from life as opposed to being stuck with homework. Now that you’ve travelled and studied “real life” to a greater extent would you ever consider such a route or still preferred the uni road?
“Uni is an excuse not to start life yet,” haha. That’s a quote to keep. Honestly, I really like university. I experienced after and during being self-employed and working, so for me, it was refreshing. I spent more time forming relationships with the profs than the students. I wouldn’t suggest it to people whose goal is to start a business and to make money, but I enjoyed it in the old definition of scholarship related to leisure. I could have learned what I studied in literature classes here on Substack with the right group of writers, but the psychology courses I took in uni really changed the way I think and approach life. Also, since I worked during university and Canadian universities have four-month summer breaks to work and travel, I could blend it all.
Yeah makes sense! I worked in the same time too (went to an American university which I believe is a similar structure as to Canada or?), i think for me, being in Paris at the time, I truly just wanted to be out in the city than inside a classroom haha the best experience was the scholarship I got for a masters class in rural India despite being a Bachelor student. Much more diverse and interesting group of people (similar to your film school account) whereas the bachelor was mostly teenage Americans discovering Europe for the first time.
I've not been to art school but I've been to university, and got a degree. I would suggest university to anyone who loves learning, I learned how to learn when I was there. I am still using my degree to some extent, but most things got to be learn on the job anyway. I've earned a lot of money in return with this golden ticket.
I will still go back to uni in a heartbeat if given the choice again, but that's also cause I got a scholarship for it - so no debts - and I was honestly too young anyway to do anything on my own (18 then) and I was way too broke to do any traveling on my own too, well to be fair I haven't learn the secrets of backpacking yet back then, too. I could in theory hitchhike my way around the world....
These are some excellent points, Peter. Thanks for sharing this with me. Also, I haven’t heard “Majored in pretension” before, but that is a perfect description.
I graduated from film school many years ago and call it my "degree in unemployment" but I learned a lot and had fun! Nothing is a waste!
Film school is a great idea if you can get into USC and daddy is already a producer in LA. The most talent young person I am presently working with in film got an undergraduate degree in history, started as a PA. In less than a decade he worked his way up to editor and just finished very successful series. The most inept person I encountered went to one of New York's fanciest school of fancy things, majored in pretension, and makes "important" but howlingly historically inaccurate films. I got a PhD, wrote 6 books and for every publication out there, and am now directing my first film. I decided to go into film out of frustration. My book Thai Stick has been optioned 6 times by Hollywood's good, bad and ugly. The good, Jose Padilha, studied physics and got an Oxford MBA, the bad went to Stanford but did not know when the Vietnam War started or ended, and the ugly went to USC and you guessed it, daddy was a studio head. Some of the best people I have encountered went to film school, others did not go to school at all. What they all had in common was grit, they never quit, they were willing to do any job to get an opportunity, and they had a sense of humor. This especially important when things went bad as they inevitably do from time to time..
Taking in this piece by piece, stopped by this for a moment: “the margins of society that the academic world is scared to touch…” Interesting observation.
Back to reading again…
I didn’t study film and have no knowledge of the industry so this article was like eavesdropping on a really interesting conversation between two people about the realities of studying it. I did study journalism and I’d say there are some similarities here with whether or not that’s always worth it. Thanks for the article!
Thanks, Matthew! Would you recommend studying journalism at university, or do you think it’s better to learn it as you work in the field?
I was glad I studied at university as I learnt about technical things like camera operating and media law but there are lots of successful journalists who learn on the job
It’s interesting to know you would’ve preferred to extend over 6 years, when all I wanted was to finish mine as soon as possible and never used my degree for anything (honors in Politics, Philosophy and Economics). I overlapped courses to finish a 4 year degree in 2 years and it felt like a waste of money as nothing of what I learnt at uni helped me build a business and make my own way through the arts (i also never applied for a job after so never got to show my degree either). I think for me it felt more like the bachelors was for people to have an excuse to not start life yet and extend their indecisive in a socially accepted (and encouraged) way. Naturally if you want to work within certain professions a degree is required. I guess it’s also a question of whether one prefers to discuss about theories or be out there testing them. For example, today I’d rather take the money I had worked years to save for my degree on starting a business and traveling to learn as much as possible from life as opposed to being stuck with homework. Now that you’ve travelled and studied “real life” to a greater extent would you ever consider such a route or still preferred the uni road?
“Uni is an excuse not to start life yet,” haha. That’s a quote to keep. Honestly, I really like university. I experienced after and during being self-employed and working, so for me, it was refreshing. I spent more time forming relationships with the profs than the students. I wouldn’t suggest it to people whose goal is to start a business and to make money, but I enjoyed it in the old definition of scholarship related to leisure. I could have learned what I studied in literature classes here on Substack with the right group of writers, but the psychology courses I took in uni really changed the way I think and approach life. Also, since I worked during university and Canadian universities have four-month summer breaks to work and travel, I could blend it all.
Haha yes it’s keeper 🤣
Yeah makes sense! I worked in the same time too (went to an American university which I believe is a similar structure as to Canada or?), i think for me, being in Paris at the time, I truly just wanted to be out in the city than inside a classroom haha the best experience was the scholarship I got for a masters class in rural India despite being a Bachelor student. Much more diverse and interesting group of people (similar to your film school account) whereas the bachelor was mostly teenage Americans discovering Europe for the first time.
I believe the structure is similar, but Canada is way less expensive!
I've not been to art school but I've been to university, and got a degree. I would suggest university to anyone who loves learning, I learned how to learn when I was there. I am still using my degree to some extent, but most things got to be learn on the job anyway. I've earned a lot of money in return with this golden ticket.
I will still go back to uni in a heartbeat if given the choice again, but that's also cause I got a scholarship for it - so no debts - and I was honestly too young anyway to do anything on my own (18 then) and I was way too broke to do any traveling on my own too, well to be fair I haven't learn the secrets of backpacking yet back then, too. I could in theory hitchhike my way around the world....
Those are good points. And when university doesn’t put people in debt, it also changes the perspective quite a bit, I think.
That's for sure. That's why it's so refreshing here that education is free in Germany! It should be.
These are some excellent points, Peter. Thanks for sharing this with me. Also, I haven’t heard “Majored in pretension” before, but that is a perfect description.