Unfortunately, the film industry doesn't work in such a way that skill = job. It's really all about networking and who you know. Just because you have a lot of education and talent doesn't mean that you're destined to be a filmmaker. Of course, there are exceptions, but they're like airplane crashes - if they happened that often, you'd never hear about it.

I think it might be a better thing not to have a "plan" or "back up plan". The problem with a "plan" is that it often turns into a case of all eggs in one basket. The problem with a "back up plan" is that employers will sense the fact that you are doing something that you dont want to do. I personally don't think of it in terms of plans. My life is what it is. I have a passion for filmmaking (specifically cinematography), film theory, music and history. I might go into any of those fields, I just don't know. At the moment, I am pursuing everything I can (Shooting every format of still film I can, I have 2 film internships, reading as much as possible, gigging with my jazz combo, and starting a film workshop for high school kids), and I think I'm approaching my potential. Therefore, rather than having all eggs in one basket (or most in one and a few rotten ones in the other), I cracked them open and am cooking a huge omelette of all my interests. I mean, a lot of filmmakers pursued various interests and settled on filmmaking a lot later in the game then the thousands of film school drop outs that make it no where. Oh yeah, a college degree is VERY important, IMO.

Great soapbox lecture, but we have to remember that life is dynamic and subjective. If you live such a life that is devoid of any other distractions such as parental pressure / other interests, then all the power to you - fire those afterburners towards your dreams of becoming a master filmmaker!

But as some have already reminded you, we all need perspective. Life is not tv, I mean, life is not an obsessive fixation on one thing, life is an obsessive fixation on life itself. We have to follow our intuition and be ourselves. If you've excelled in the arts all your life and then decide to major in Graphic Design, for example, and then minor in Accounting (as a back-up), you should have logical reasons for choosing such a "back-up plan". If you got stellar grades in calculus class, and can do somebody's taxes while baking a cake - go for it! But ask yourself, what are your True Ambitions in life. Do you want to sit in a cubicle, crunching the numbers and making the big bucks, or do you want to let your creative fires inside flourish and ignite into the skies?

What do you want out of life? This is a question that will elicit a unique answer from all of you. For some of you, the answer will not be concrete, because you're still trying to find the answer. For others, you will have built such a desire, such a burning conviction to bring X dream to fruition. If that fire is inside, are you going to blow it out? Sorry, that's not how fire works, you can deny it as much as you want but the fire will relentlessly try to stay alive. Is somebody trying to put out your fire? Yes? Do they have a good reason??? No, they don't? Now is that you or your fire talking? Learn to know the difference and don't let the fire blind you.

Continuing with the cheesy fire metaphor, you need a good environment for the fire to burn. If you live in a third world country and your parents work in the rice fields, and you want to be the next Spielberg - that's great, but not realistic. An extreme example, but it could be similar for some of you. I read about a guy on here who had all the goods: a bunch of short films, great portfolio, etc. but he didn't have the cash for college. It's a sad truth, but we can't always get what we want. If you've run into nothing but green lights so far in your quest towards the end of the tunnel, good on ya'. Unfortunately, many will hit red lights, and some will even try to run through the red lights and crash. That's life for you and that's fate. Is there such a thing as free will? Of course not, otherwise we'd have 8.6 billion Spielbergs walking around (including the kid from the rice fields).

Good luck to everyone trying to make it in the industry, but remember to hold on to your perspective and realize your success in life is not contingent on what you want, but on what you have.

Nicely said.

I can see how what I said can be seen as arrogant and naive. Reading it again now, several days later, I understand that much better. I often say things without really thinking through the repercussions or the reactions that I'll get from other people (something I need to work on, I know). However, I will say that, even if I am being arrogant, I don't think that's necessarily a completely negative thing. I realize it's not an attractive trait in the grand scheme of human interaction, but in many ways I think it's (unfortunately) necessary in order to be noticed and given a chance. It's the "nice guys finish last" mentality. It's certainly not a good thing but may be necessary.

I hate arrogance with a passion. I'm a very confident person and I'm aware of the fine line between arrogance and confidence. The problem is that the two go hand in hand most of the time, so it's very easy to confuse them. I still haven't figured out what to do with this, but I'm trying real hard.

I've always thought of myself as a holistic thinker, and I don't think doing other things necessarily detracts from filmmaking. Sure, you'll spend less time on it, but I don't think it's a ridiculous notion that some other interest may make you a better filmmaker. I mean, the real thing we're all trying to do is express ourselves. Sometimes pursuing one dream singleminded will simply blind you to wondrous ideas you could have had.

I consider that eventually, if no-one offers you the chance, you must give it to you yourself. Have projects in different stages of progress and put your personality in game.