WARNING! This post contains optimism. If that makes you sick, this post is probably not suitable for you. Please consult your doctor before continuing.
Most people who work in film, or want to work in film have probably have heard the argument about whether or not film school is worth it to the ambitious filmmaker. The list of celebrated directors who went through film school is just as spectacular as the one for those who didn't. One of the bigger arguments against film school is often "Spielberg didn't go". Well, that is true, but Spielberg really REALLY wanted to. Steven Spielberg wanted to go to USC's film school desperately. Unfortunately for the younger Spielberg, USC's admissions officers didn't see his C average GPA as worth much to the university. He still applied THREE separate times...and each time, the person who would eventually be the most well-known man in Hollywood, was rejected. Even though he ended up going to another school, but only a short time, his love and appreciation for USC's film school refused to die. After becoming famous, Spielberg was given an "honorary degree" from USC. The talented director has since given millions of dollars to the university and now even has a building named after him there.
I also have this dream of making it to a film school, with USC being my top choice if I were able to actually get in. George Lucas(Star Wars), Ron Howard(Apollo 13), Freddie Wong(Rocket Jump Studios) and many other famous names are all alumni of their Cinematic School of Arts. All of them are women and men who are far more talented than I am and were probably still far more talented as they were applying to USC. Right now, I'm just making baby steps in producing, I feel like I might be in the adolescence of my directing abilities, but recently I've made some larger strides in my writing. I've written three short screenplays this semester, "Krampus", "The Love is Dead", and "Comedic Relief", which have all been received well by those who have read them. Also, I have this blog now! I force myself to practice my writing on a schedule each week, so that I can release a new blog post each week or hopefully have a new idea for a short/feature in my head. In order to do what I want to do at film school and for the rest of my life, I have to start making strides in other areas like I'm doing in writing. This semester of school, my serious hat has been put on and turned backwards. I'm making sure that my filmmaking abilities improve and that I sure as heck won't be kept out of USC because my GPA isn't what they're looking for. Preparing to do more of the process on my own has been a little nerve-racking. My final video for my digital film class, "The Love is Dead", is going to be exclusively directed and edited by myself so that I can improve in those areas. To be honest, I am scared to death to be doing this video all on my own. I know what to do and I think I'm capable of doing it, but that doesn't make me any less frightened of what is ahead of me. In the end though, I'm improving on my abilities and will work to produce more projects to show off what I'm capable of as I improve. All of this is about me working towards my short term dream of being good enough to be a part of the same family as people like GEORGE LUCAS. Just making it to the USC School of Cinematic Arts...and do that whole "graduating" thing too, being one of those lucky few. That is what I want for my life. That is my dream.
I don't care if you're nine years old or ninety-nine years old, you should follow your dreams. How cheesy is THAT?! Apologies for the mad cheese levels of this post, but this is all honesty. Don't worry about what anybody says. All sorts of people get to make films for a living and even a select few eventually get recognized for doing it. Why not ME? Other people have had the opportunity to be the astronaut, the chef at a five star restaurant, the hit video game designer, the Iron Man triathlete etc. Why not YOU? If somebody tries to crush your dreams, it is most likely that somebody else has crushed theirs. Keep them around when you succeed. You might just be what they needed for them to pursue their own dreams again. What are your dreams? Wanna talk about them? Or maybe there is something I can do to help you? OR even better, for you to help me?! ;) Let me know in the comments, or email me at ptucker2011@gmail.com(alternate: ptucker@cedarville.edu).
Thanks and God Bless!
- Paul Tucker
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