After a week of adaptation and welcome, Ronald officially began his academic career at New York University Tisch School of the Arts.
Roger Corman mentored director Martin Scorsese to shoot a film in Los Angeles. The film and television appreciation class taught by Roger Corman at Tisch was delayed, but Ronald still enrolled in the class.
The other courses are film theory, picture editing, and sound editing. Ronald signed up for these three courses based on his own preferences and previous jobs in New World.
The reason why I chose sound editing is because I plan to go to the San Francisco Peep Show Company next summer to study with Walter Mersey. Ronald wants to lay a foundation and learn more knowledge and skills when he goes to San Francisco to study.
The first class of school is film and television theory. All undergraduate students majoring in film and television arts came to attend the class. Ronald chose a seat near the front, and an old man with gray hair walked in.
He is the lecturer, a Greek professor. The old man threw the information on the table and sighed "Alas".
"This year there are dozens of fools coming to study film and television. Two weeks before the start of the semester, you can ask for a refund. This way you can get back all the tuition fees, and then quickly apply to transfer departments or schools to study some profitable majors. Right. If two weeks pass, this year’s tuition will be in vain.”
"Huh?" Ronald was a little confused. Is this a stand-up comedy talk show? How can any teacher persuade you to quit the first class?
Dozens of students didn't dare to believe the professor who persuaded him to quit. Everyone remained silent, waiting for the old man's next reversal.
"I know it's hard for you to accept, but the film industry is almost dead. Although there are job opportunities in television, they are all occupied by affiliates. What can you do? Studio assistants and camera assistants can do it with a high school degree. If you know the industry If you are a star, you can also become an actor, so don’t waste your time here."
No reversal! It is really to persuade him to quit.
"Coax..." The students finally couldn't help it and began to discuss loudly.
A student stood up and questioned the old man's statement: "Sir, why do you belittle film so much? As the fifth art, it was America who promoted it. We all have a movie dream, so we came to Tisch Art College to study film and television. , what’s the benefit of saying that?”
The old man was very pleased and nodded:
"It is a very good thing that you have dreams. But film and television should not be taught in universities, but should be learned on the set. In the 1960s, New York University and Columbia University on the East Coast, Southern California and Los Angeles on the West Coast UC has started to offer film majors, but this is nonsense. It is enough for undergraduates to be taught film and television appreciation in universities, so what kind of film and television major should they offer?"
The old man sounded angry and inappropriate. He continued:
"Did you know that in 1929, more than 95 million people in the United States went to movie theaters every week? That was the golden age of the film industry. Four-fifths of the country's population went to movie theaters at least once a week."
The students' expressions softened slightly. This is what a professor from a film and television school should say. Film is undoubtedly a great art.
"Do you know what that number is today?"
The students looked at each other, not knowing the exact number.
A nerdy-looking student raised his hand and asked to speak.
"No, don't raise your hand. Do you have an answer?" the old man asked the student.
"The population of America is about 220 million now. Not so many people go to the movies now. Everyone watches TV at home. If we divide the population ratio by 2 and then multiply it by the total population, it should still be around 90 million."
"Ha, you should be a scientist, not learn filmmaking." The old man started to speak venomously again.
"Your observation is actually very accurate. Among teenagers, especially male teenagers, the number of people who watch movies every week remains at a high proportion, so your observation is relatively accurate and your reasoning is very powerful. But you forgot one important thing The problem."
"You have forgotten that adults rarely watch movies now. Especially your mothers. There are no movies made for them in the cinema. Now housewives watch soap operas at home."
The old man glanced around the students, then cut off his hand and made a strong gesture.
"Now there are only more than 20 million people in the United States going to movie theaters every week, which is equivalent to one-tenth of the population. In a rapidly shrinking market, even if you do your best, what's the use? Just like cars replacing horse-drawn carriages, the last one Companies that make carriage wheels, their market share is getting higher and higher, and their products are very good, but in the end they are dead.”
"What about TV? You just said that a lot of people watch TV." The nerdy student asked another question.
"What skills are needed for television? It's just a few cameras shooting, and then the director switches. Protagonist A's perspective, protagonist B's perspective, panoramic view, do you need to learn it? No one is making movies as carefully as Hollywood did back then. It’s all sharks, spacemen, and selling toys.”
The old man shook his head again.
"For those of you who are not from millionaire families, you should change your major to make money. There are only three ways to study film and television, making TV commercials, making factory teaching films, and making documentaries. None of them are easy to do and the income is not good. If it’s too high, you might as well go into real estate sales.”
The old man was talking to himself, and the students below were all heartbroken. Ronald was also a little discouraged. Did he come to university wrong? Why not work hard with Cameron at New World Productions? Maybe now I can become an assistant director and advance in the industry.
"You remember my words, there are still two weeks before you can regret it and get a refund. After two weeks, you can only refund part of it. Of course, unless your father is a millionaire or a Hollywood movie star."
The old man finally stepped onto the podium and began to lecture.
"Film is an art that is about to die. What we are starting to take now is the archeology course of film. You can also listen to talk about those great films to know what heights the past films have reached. Then watch it now It’s up to you to decide whether you want to quit or not.”
The old man began to give a formal lecture, film archeology... no, it was film theory.
"We have all heard the word - Auteur. The New Wave Chinese people proposed that only a director who controls all aspects of the film, especially the final decision on editing, can be called a creator - Auteur... But before that, were there no classic movies in Hollywood? Of course not..."
Ronald didn't pay much attention to the old man's lecture. Like everyone else, he was thinking about something. Although it was a bit strange for the teacher to persuade him to quit, what he said did make sense. When an industry is booming, everyone rises, but when the industry declines, only a few people can have enough to eat.
The key is, are you one of the few?
The decline of the industry also means fewer opportunities for newcomers. Do you still have a chance to get ahead?
Joining a trade union has become a difficult task now. I think back when the film industry was booming, the rules for joining a union may not have been so strict at that time.
After class, two or three students immediately rushed to the college office to apply for department transfer and refund. The rest are also discussing whether to change majors.
Ronald sat alone for a while and decided to ask more experienced seniors to learn more about it before talking.
