Where Are Two Art Degrees Going to Get You in Life?
‘Where is a filmmaking degree going to get you?’, ‘what…you’re doing a masters now?’. Two questions that I have heard far too many times to even mention. The path to becoming a professional content writer was one I honestly wasn’t entirely aware I was on until I began my job hunt.
But nevertheless, here I am speaking to you guys and telling you how I managed to end up working for Blue Whale Media as Head of Content Creation. So I guess I had better start from the beginning.
Not So Sunny Blackpool
When people hear the word Blackpool, connotations of a sandy shore, theme park packed days and summer holidays spring to mind right? For someone who was born and raised in the once nation’s favourite holiday destination, Blackpool evokes very different feelings.
School in Blackpool
I attended Roseacre Primary School before making my way to Highfield Humanities College where I achieved 13 GCSE’s in total. At school I enjoyed art (despite not being able to draw or paint), History and I.T.
From a young age I enjoyed being creative and had a deep love for the silver screen spending hours parked in front of the television watching classics with my Nana. Because of this, studying film and media seemed like a natural progression.
The Sixth Form Days
Upon attending Blackpool Sixth Form College, I chose to study Film studies, Media studies, Law and Psychology. Originally, I had in mind what I felt was the safer option of being a solicitor for my future career path and at first I was pretty knowledgeable and capable when it came to Law.
What I quickly found however, was that with subjects such as Law and Psychology, achieving and succeeding lied in sitting down and learning endless amounts of case studies- something I’m not too good at.
Having a lot of energy with a forever tapping restless foot means that when it comes to revising and learn fact after fact, I struggle to engage my brain. What I found was that in Film and Media where there was a better balance of fact learning and practical, creative application- I was beginning to excel.
Applying for University
The time to apply for UCAS came around and I by that point had decided I was going to apply for various film related courses. This was the first time that I really encountered negative opinions from people regarding my field of study.
Funnily enough, the first encounter I had was with one of my fellow film studies classmates. Upon telling him that I intended to study film at university seemed bemused at the prospect. To him study film was just a filler for his timetable at Sixth Form and study an art subject just was not a realistic idea.
This was the first time I heard the phrase ‘where is a filmmaking degree going to get you in life’ and believe me it was not my last.
