Movie Director?

Question

What courses would I need to have under my belt before I enter a university or college to become a movie director?
Do I need a diploma or degree to be a director?
I am only 12, but I am looking at my future!

Answer 1

You don't need a diploma to be a director. There are many paths to becoming a film director.

The first thing you should do is go to college. You seem to feel passionate and certain that you want to make films. So when it comes time to research colleges, you'll want to find out which ones have the best film programs. UCLA, USC, and NYU are the top 3, but there are many great undergraduate filmmaking programs in Chicago, San Fransisco, Austin, and other cities.

Some colleges require you to apply specifically to their film program. They will want you to show them evidence that you're "artistic," like artwork or films that you've already made. Other colleges will just accept you to their college and let you choose whatever subject you want to major in. Either way, what you want is a college where you can get a four-year degree with a major in filmmaking. (Some schools will let you study film, but not make films. You'll probably want to do the hands-on film production stuff.)

While you are attending college, you can get unpaid internships in the film industry. You should have no trouble getting an unpaid job at a production office, or a TV show, or even on a movie production.

When you graduate, you'll have a bachelors degree and probably a small reel of your student work. Then you will have to decide what steps to take next. You might want to get a job as a production assistant on a movie. You might want to go to graduate school and get a masters degree in directing. You might want to raise a bunch of money and just make your own movie. You'll have to make those decisions when the time comes.

In the meantime, from now until you apply for college, this is what you need to do:
1. Get excellent grades in school, so you can get into any college you want to.
2. Watch a lot of movies, especially classic movies, so you can learn more about your art form.
3. Get involved in video or film production in high school as much as you can. If your junior high and high school don't offer electives in video or film production, and there's no a/v club, then find an afterschool program you can join. That way you will get a sense of whether you really like filmmaking. Also, if you decide to apply to one of the college film programs that are hard to get into, you'll have some work to show what you can do.

Good luck!!

Answer 2

I'm 13 and in the same situation. I don't know what courses to take, but my friend says that UCLA and USC have really good movie classes.

Answer 3

Many directors didn't go to film school.

Just start making short movies.