Graduates From Film School in Hollywood
vA film graduate in Hollywood often suffers a rude awakening. In a span of two or three years, these students have undergone a principally academic process of studying with instructors and professors, who are respected and admired in the academic film community and who’re also gratifying and stimulating these students’ creative urges and artistic impulses.
It comes as a surprise to these students as soon as they arrive in Hollywood only to find themselves jobless with no movie studio or production company wanting to sign them up for just an entry level administrative job. This is because Hollywood always places a larger emphasis on experience in the working world than it does on academic achievement, be it in film school or just about any other school (if you want to work in a talent agency you would likely benefit from a law degree or a master’s in business administration, but that’s because talent agencies have almost nothing to do with really getting film made and possess an enormous amount to do with generating business and protecting themselves legally).
A film graduate meets the same predicament that everyone aspiring for success in the film world faces: they cannot get a first job in film without experience, and they cannot get the experience without first having worked in film. This is where a lot of film schools let down their students, having supported them as they head for creative heights without taking into consideration more practical realities. If you want to be a film maker and opts to enroll at a film school first, be sure that it is a school that will give you a chance to experience one-on-one mentoring and that after you graduate, they will be able to assist you to become an intern or carry on with an actual work study program, in order for you to succeed in the world of film making and not just turn out to be one of the many with nothing in hand but a diploma and a few reels of student films subsequently.
That should be enough if you are the next Steven Spielberg, but otherwise, it is vital to find a program that sets you out in the trenches for you to acquire the skills to nail that first job and get your foot in the door as well as give you the opportunity to make connections with key people within the industry who can guide you and boost your career path. A film graduate in Hollywood often does ultimately rise to successful positions, but in most cases, they would have risen much more quickly had they only already gotten some experience under their belts before they came to the dream factory.
