The Path To Directing Film

The entertainment industry has always had great appeal, and continues to. There are literally scores of people every day who attempt to establish careers in entertainment, with many coming from the performance side. Actors and other performers try sometimes for years on end to break into show business. While performance may be the most highly coveted entry way into entertainment, it's certainly not the only one. There are various entertainment occupations that many people would like fill.

Film director is a position that is highly sought after. Film directors essentially determine how a movie or television show is going to be filmed. The level of autonomy a film director may have varies greatly: film directors who are industry established have extensive autonomy. Directors who aren't established take orders on what the final filmed product will look like. A director also typically faces a very tight work deadline: the costs of filming either a movie or a television show are enormous, and directors who don't get projects completed in a timely manner will either be fired or won't get further assignments.

It's not set in stone, but to become a director typically means attending film school. Film schools have gone from a specialized department found in only a handful of universities to being quite typical. Some film schools however hold significant prestige: the film schools at New York University and the University of Southern California come to mind. Many film schools, prestigious film schools certainly, have many applicants and are quite competitive and difficult to get in to.

Don't make the mistake of believing that graduation from film school will mean a director's job in the film or television industry. What's more likely to occur is getting work in a low level entertainment industry position. There's an expression in the entertainment industry that everyone must pay his or her dues. This statement may be an exaggeration, but it's not much of one. The overwhelming majority of people who work in the entertainment industry start off in lower positions and if they're fortunate, eventually find success in positions of autonomy. Difficult though it may be to believe, there are many individuals with film degrees from prestigious and expensive universities who are working as waiters or in some similar capacity. The lesson in this is clear: Before committing to film school, be completely certain it's really what you want to do, and be prepared to potentially wait a long time for the opportunity to put your training to use in a professional entertainment industry setting.

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