Pathway
Film, Media & Digital Storytelling
Making things people watch and listen to, film, video, podcasts, social content. Extremely portfolio-driven and unusually open to people who just start making things.
Majors
- Film & Television
- Media Production
- Journalism
- Communications
- Animation
Jobs people do
- Video editor
- Cinematographer
- Producer
- Content creator / social media manager
- Podcast producer
- Motion graphics artist
Watch out
The choices that quietly close a door here
Choosing an expensive film school without checking outcomes.
This field hires on reel and connections. Large debt in a freelance-heavy industry is a serious risk, and it isn't discussed enough.
Instead Compare a state school with a strong program, a two-year production degree, and the expensive option side by side, including what each costs and who hires from it.
Waiting for good equipment.
Years of not making anything. Nobody watching your reel knows what you shot it on.
Instead Shoot on a phone this month. Invest in sound before camera.
Course ladder
Grade by grade
Course names differ at every school, and graduation requirements differ by state. Take this list to your counselor so the two of you are working from the same page.
Grade 8
- Any media, video, or art electiveWorth doing
Grade 9
- English 9Load-bearing
Storytelling is the actual craft. Writing class is film class.
- Intro video production or broadcast journalismLoad-bearing
- GeometryLoad-bearing
Grade 10
- Advanced video / broadcastLoad-bearing
- PhotographyWorth doing
- Algebra IILoad-bearing
Grade 11
- Film studies or creative writingWorth doing
- Audio production, if offeredWorth doing
Bad audio ruins good video. Sound skills are scarce and hireable.
- Business or marketing electiveWorth doing
Grade 12
- Capstone film / media productionLoad-bearing
- Dual-enrollment media coursesWorth doing
- AP English Literature or LanguageWorth doing
Outside class
Run the school's broadcast, film club, or livestreams
Weekly output beats one perfect short. Volume is how you get good.
From grade 9
Film festivals for students
All American High School Film Festival and regional ones. Deadlines force finishing.
From grade 10
Freelance video for local businesses and events
Weddings, sports, small businesses. It pays and it builds a reel fast.
From grade 10
Work on someone else's set in any role
PA work teaches you the whole pipeline, which is hard to learn any other way.
From grade 11
Things to build
Finish twelve short pieces before you finish twelve ideas
One a month for a year. The gap between your taste and your skill closes by shipping.
From grade 9
Cut a two-minute reel of your best work
This is what actually gets looked at. Update it every semester.
From grade 10
Is this actually a fit for you?
Ten minutes of questions, and Bearing turns this into a plan that starts from the grade you're in.
Take the survey