 What's happening guys? It's Nick Chay. I'm sorry. It's been a little bit of a while since I've uploaded my last video Things have been super hectic the past few weeks. My mom came in town. My friends came in town I've been traveling. I just got back from Nice, Monaco, Amsterdam and Brussels the past two weekends I have a ton of vlog footage coming for you guys I just haven't had the time to edit it But today I just wanted to make a quick video talking about whether or not you need to go to film school And I think that it's a big question I get asked a lot because even though I am at Princeton I'm majoring in economics with certificates in entrepreneurship and maybe visual arts. And so as a photographer and film maker I think a common question is like why aren't you majoring in that when it's your passion? So today let's just dive into that topic and I'll give you guys my insights If you do want to see more of my travel pictures and photography make sure to check me out on Instagram It's at Nicholas Chay. I'll be doing a lot of content posting over the next few days Also, please make sure to give this video a like and subscribe for more travel vlogs because I promise they are coming All right, so first off a little bit of a backstory of how I got into this creative industry And then from there I can kind of explain why I am deciding not to major in that Essentially, I've been a photographer ever since like middle school 6 or 7th grade I just started picking up a camera started taking photos for fun and then realized I was getting pretty good at it So I would do, you know, really cheap senior portraits for my friends Events, banquets, headshots, anything that could help me get my name out there in the local Dallas area And from there I started to build my reputation, build my brand And now I'm able to make a sufficient amount of income where I don't have to find a real job After photography, I eventually started getting into filmmaking when I would travel and from there It's just kind of spiraled into what I'm doing today Now the question of whether or not you need to go to film school is very dependent on your own needs And what you want to achieve in life now for me personally I don't think that making a huge investment in film school is necessarily the right choice for whatever I want to be doing in life now at a very young age While we're still 18, 19, in our early 20s It's hard for us to really decide on what we want to do as a career and what we want to become I think growing up there were thoughts of me wanting to become a huge movie director or a film director Or producer or editor or something in the film industry But I think now I'm starting to realize that film directing isn't necessarily the route that I want to be going personally Because with the content that I'm making, it's very YouTube and Instagram heavy And with social media and marketing like blowing up the past few months and years I think that being a content creator and being a YouTuber is sufficient enough to make an income and make a living off of that So I think for now how I see it is that that's kind of the route that I want to be going So that was just kind of a little bit of backstory in my own thoughts on film school and things like that But let's just kind of jump into the technicalities of it Now going to a film school regardless of where you want to end up The top ones are obviously like USC, NYU, RISD, Parsons The big arts and visual arts school have the better film programs in the country Applying to colleges, I did look into a few of those not knowing whether or not I wanted to be pursuing that as a major But luckily I ended up getting into Princeton And for us we don't have a specific film degree or a photography degree We have this very broad category named visual arts Where within that you can have this kind of specialty track of doing photography or film or whatever it is So I've taken a few film classes and photography classes over my first year And I realized that those aren't the types of courses that I need to be majoring in Or be taking in order for me to learn more about film I think what's very common with a lot of filmmakers and photographers nowadays is that everyone's self taught Everyone learns things from YouTube or online and they don't have to have a degree or go to school And take four years of classes to become sufficient in whatever field that is And I think personally for me that the classes that offered at Princeton are very traditional based The very orthodox is what I think the term is It's more about like film history and not so much about the technicalities of it Of directing and editing, it's very theoretical is how I would call it This may not be the case that every school you're at Some schools have really great visual arts or film or radio TV programs And I highly recommend you to just take classes in that and check out whether or not That's the best avenue for your interest As far as the technicalities of it, let's say you do decide to go to RISD or Parsons or NYU or whatever Just the tuition alone is roughly $50,000 a year times $200,000 a year Just to get a degree in film when in reality I think a lot of opportunities are Number one by luck, by knowing the right people, having right connections Whether it's in Hollywood or New York And two, just hard work, how much you're willing to put into your art form And develop it to become the best filmmaker you can And none of that requires having a professor or having strict classes and projects And assignments that you don't have to be doing to become a better filmmaker If you're ambitious enough and want to be someone really talented like Spike Jonze Or Wes Anderson or Quentin Tarantino or my favorite director, Damien Chazelle Obviously a lot of those people did go to film school and ended up doing fantastic But at the same time there are dozens of YouTube filmmakers that I look up to Who have never gone to film school, never got a degree, AC9 staff, people like that Who just learned via YouTube or online courses like Skillshare Which is why they're a great sponsor of this video They offer literally thousands of courses in such a variety of topics Ranging from photography, videography, graphic design, illustration The great thing is they have dozens of instructors teaching a wide variety of topics Within that specific category So I personally use it to learn more about Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator Because those are such complicated programs that I'm not going to be able to figure it out by myself So with the help of Skillshare I'm able to go through course by course And have a teacher guide me through every step of the way What tools to use, what the layout looks like And how I'm able to use this specific program for whatever my specific need is So personally, Skillshare has been a huge resource for me when it comes to developing my own photography and videography career They've hooked up with a really awesome deal, the first 500 people to sign up Get two months free, so definitely check out the link down below if you're interested I can't emphasize how important self-teaching is Especially if you're trying to get into this creative industry in 2018 So thank you to Skillshare for sponsoring this video And definitely check out the link below for more information Now aside from self-teaching, I think there's a bigger category within whether or not you need to go to film school And that's essentially what your aspirations are I don't see myself being a big Hollywood director or trying to be one Because not only is it so competitive, but it's so oversaturated And I don't want it to seem like I'm not doing it because I don't think I can work hard enough or that I couldn't make it It's more so the fact that since I'm not 100% passionate about it Since I'm not fully sure with every ounce of my body that that's what I want to be doing That I don't think I should be competing against so many other talented individuals When perhaps my energy could be better focused elsewhere while doing photography and videography on the side I think the best advice is to compare the pros and the cons Essentially the opportunity cost It's an economics turn for what is the cost of a lost opportunity Like if I go to film school, what am I losing by getting a degree in business at UT Austin or whatever If you think that the $200,000 investment to live in New York and get a film degree So you can become the next big movie director that might all mean But from my experience is what I've learned and have been taught is that With hard work and a lot of luck that you can make it regardless of whether or not you have a film degree I also think that within the creative industry the more important aspect is your portfolio and your work The actual films and projects you've been able to create with the resources that have been at your disposal Now obviously at a film school you are going to be able to have a budget A lot more equipment, a lot more production team to help you make that film come into reality But even at a school like Princeton I made a short film with a budget of maybe like $150 I asked my two friends to be actors, filmed it in New York Obviously a very low budget production and it may not be the greatest short film in the world But compared to some of the other short films at NYU or USC it's somewhat up to par Like I'm not going to try and boost myself up because it was still my first short film And I'm still an amateur and I'm still learning a lot of things But like I said you don't have to be at those schools to make your own projects And work on your own films and foster that creativity I think the last thing I want to touch on is that film school is a very niche school To be applying to and pursuing a degree in I say that because going into a school like USC and majoring in their film department is First of all very competitive and very hard to get into So if you do get accepted then congratulations definitely check out what that school has to offer But it kind of almost locks you into that one school It doesn't give you the flexibility to explore different options Whether if you wanted to do business or look into chemistry It's hard to double major with two things you're really passionate about Because film is such a specific major that there's not a lot of classes that can overlap To help you fulfill your second degree So if you are someone who has a variety of interests Then maybe majoring in film might not be the best option But something like a minor or a certificate could be the better option for you It's very important to be practical There are literally hundreds if not thousands of people with the same dreams and aspirations Of wanting to become the next huge movie director And that's great like I never want to stop someone from chasing their dreams And pursuing what they're passionate about But if you've picked up a camera and tried to make a few short films And realized that this isn't working out for you Then I think it's very important to make the practical decision Before you make that huge investment and realize Okay maybe this isn't the right thing for me I should look into something new Now obviously with hard work and a lot of patience and a lot of practice Things can get better But within such a competitive industry Like film and movie production If you're not the best it's hard to shine Be very practical like I said And don't rush into the decision of choosing a specific school Just because you want to major in film Have a backup plan just in case that doesn't work out And look into other schools with really great majors And other categories you might be interested in Okay that about wraps it up for my thoughts On whether or not you need to go to film school Nothing too technical in this I think these are just my own perspectives From what I've learned and from what I've seen And I hope that you're able to take something away from it And that it's been helpful to you In making your decisions of whether or not This is the right decision for you Alright that's it for this video Make sure you guys like comment and subscribe And I'll see you guys next time