Best Colleges for Film & Television

Degree Overview: Film and Television

The behind-the-scenes film and television world is made of creative people, many of whom also possess technical knowledge. That's because telling a story involves both creative and technical parts. This section explores the courses that students could take in degree programs in film and television, as well as the skills that can be helpful to develop for a career in the field.

Online Film & Television Courses

Online programs for film and television cover numerous topics in the curriculum, which can vary by degree level and specific focus of a program. Examples of courses that could be found in an online education for film and television program are included below, but there can be others too, such as courses in motion graphics, sound design and lighting.

• Script-writing development: Script-writing involves the basics of developing characters, building a plot, introducing conflict and using scenes to tell a story. The opportunity to use industry-standard software and to learn about formatting may help learners to build foundational film and television skills in the bargain.
• Production planning: In a course focused on production and planning, students can learn the importance of pre-production for a project and begin to understand the entire production workflow. Included topics might cover logistics, planning and scheduling as well as set etiquette, safety and teamwork during the production phase.
• Story-telling: A professional in the film and television world needs to understand the various components of a story. Rather than focusing on the written aspects of a story, as a script-writing course does, story-telling involves how art, directing, cinematography and producing also contribute to a story.
• Post production: The process of creating film and television doesn't end once the cameras stop rolling. The processes of editing, sound and music, computer-generated special effects and focus group testing are collectively known as post production, and they are the subject of classes with the same name.

Career-Related Skills to Develop

Students who put in the hard work toward earning a degree in the field are usually doing so because they want to develop skills that will be useful for them in the industry. Here are some of the skills that may be helpful for aspiring film and television professionals to improve as they progress through their degree program.

• Computer skills: A story can be changed entirely with the application of computer skills. Simply adding a cold blue sheen to a movie's lighting can completely change the movie's atmosphere and effect, to say nothing of creating whole characters or worlds out of computer generated imagery (CGI). Even if you're not intending to be the person manning the keyboard for these effects, understanding what can be done with programs such as Brightcove, Apple Final Cut Pro or Adobe After Effects is vital for fully comprehending what you can bring to your projects as a writer, director, producer, etc.
• Creativity: Without a creative vision in mind, a story may come across as dull or unexciting on film. It is easy to fall into the trap of believing that creativity is for the writers alone, but professionals in film production need to keep their creative juices flowing whether they are designing a set, filming behind a camera or helping in the editing phase. Brilliant cuts between shots, the imaginative use of color, or sudden inspiration with the placement of a prop can elevate a piece to the level of genius; meanwhile, repetitive usage of shot-reverse shot, consistently samey lighting, or generic sets and costumes can sink the strongest script.
• Time management: Nearly every film has to operate on deadlines in order to be produced. Professional films, in particular, are notorious for the strictness and severity of their schedules. You may resent the assignment deadlines for your film classes, but consider them practice for the deadlines you'll be scrambling to meet as you film your next blockbuster someday!
• Production and processing knowledge: Professionals in film and television must know the processes for putting a film together, but also how costs, quality and distribution can come into play. As with computer skills, this whole-picture perspective is most important for the producers and directors who directly work with these aspects on a daily basis, but it is also important for fully understanding your role on any section of a film, from special effects to lighting to script-writing. Taking classes on all aspects of film-making, whether they are direct responsibilities of your intended career or not, can be extremely advantageous for this reason.

Film & Television Career Outlook

Film and television students have a wide variety of occupations available to them. From work in broadcast news to speaking to the public across the radio waves or internet to directing actors on a stage, there is no shortage of opportunity for those with a creative slant and flair for entertainment. Here are some of the most popular paths.