kattatatt asked: Hey Karen. My name is Katt, and I'm a film major (with special interest in production design) at U of M going into my junior year this fall. I suppose this is kind of a random question, but I've been feeling especially confused/lost vocationally. I've only taken film theory and history classes thus far, and I begin production classes this fall. This inexperience, plus a brief stint as a PA on a set last summer, make me anxious about my future. Seeing from Tumblr that you're definitely experienced, I just wanted to ask, from one film junkie to another, whether you had any advice for how I can get a firmer grip on this career path (besides purusing Craigslist for gigs to no avail), i.e. where can you find sets to work on? And is a masters degree pertinent to this field? Again, I know this was a jumble of thoughts on my part, so if you do decide to answer me, you can reply to me via email instead of Tumblr at kattqian@umich.edu. Any and all advice is appreciated. :]
I can tell you right now that feeling lost is pretty normal…even after you graduate. Just remember that you have to keep doing things that make YOU happy. When I did undergrad, I had mostly taken film theory courses. My degrees were in Psychology, Media Studies, and Film Studies (theory, not production). I had taken most of the production courses at my school, but even then they weren’t great. When I graduated, I moved back to California, feeling like I had just spend $100,000 and have now acquired three useless degrees and a worthless piece of paper. I decided to go to grad school to learn but also get more experience. You should network with student filmmakers and work on their shoots..that may prove to be more successful than craigslist gigs. I found sets to work on while I was in grad school through instructors who recommended me or word of mouth. The more you do it, the more present you are in the (lack of a better word) film scene in your area. Go in with a good attitude, be very humbling, because the work WILL suck and you WILL have to work for free.
But it doesn’t always have to be that way….you just start somewhere.
People always say film school isn’t for them…that may be the case but what I’ve found is that it’s a great fuel for motivation and networking. <3
