杀入好莱坞：学习电影吧！
Hooray for Hollywood: Studying for a Careerin the Movies
打从我能记事开始，美国电影就迷住了我。
For as long as I can remember, American movies have always enthralled me.
我最早的童年记忆是在四岁那年跟我父亲在圣诞节那天一同看了电视上的《超人2》。一年之后，我在电影院看到了让我大大出乎意料的《捉鬼敢死队2》，那是我第一次进电影院。
My earliest childhood memory is of watching Superman II on TV on Christmas Day with my father when I was just 4 years old. A year later I had my first cinema experience when I went to see the vastly under-rated Ghostbusters II.
好像经历了一次轮回，我今年最近两次进电影院看到的电影，正好就是《超人大战蝙蝠侠》，以及《捉鬼敢死队2》的女性班底重启版《超能敢死队》。
Things seem to have come full circle now as my last two trips to the cinema this year were to see Batman vs Superman, and then more recently the all-female reboot of Ghostbusters.
这两部电影我都喜欢，先不论褒贬不一的评论以及粉丝们的反应，翻拍是好莱坞常有的现象，尽管翻拍的作品往往远不及原版的好。
I enjoyed both movies, despite the mixed critical and fan reaction, however as is often the case in Hollywood, they both pale in comparison to their originals.
那么，我们今天为什么要说电影呢？我的文章不是应该谈教育吗？亲爱的读者不用担心，我们即将要进入正题了。
So, why are we talking movies today? Isn’t this supposed to be a blog about education issues. Well, have no fear dear readers, normal service is about to be resumed.
这个怀旧序言出现的原因是设置一个场景。今天我要做的是，就是揭示电影产业是如何被打造出来的。
The reason behind this nostalgic preamble was to set the scene. For today I am going to reveal what it takes to forge a career in the movie business.
当我说到“电影产业”时，很多人第一时间想到的可能是表演，毕竟，得到喝彩的不都是演员吗？
When I say working in “the movie business” one immediately tends to think about acting, after all isn’t it the actors who get all the plaudits?
那也是电影的一部分，但情况正在发生变化。随着21世纪电影体验的不断发展，大众对电影产业的需求也越来越多。
That may still be the case to some extent but this is changing. As the movie-going experience continues to evolve in the 21st century so too do the demands of the movie industry.
因而也导致了全球范围内诞生了各种关于电影的新课程以及学习机会。
As a result, all sorts of new degree programs and study opportunities are emerging across the world for those with a passion for the movies.
一个很明显变化就是《视觉效果》和《动画制作》等专业的出现。
One obvious new entrant is the field of visual effects and animation.
我们生活在一个追捧超级英雄的年代。因此，把漫画书里面的英雄人物搬到我们的生活（译者注：作者指屏幕）当中就需要电脑特技来实现了。当许多低成本的电影开始依赖大量的电脑特技，当电视与电影之间的界限越来越模糊（我觉得美国CW电视台的《闪电侠》电视剧系列中的一些电脑特技都可以媲美任何好莱坞电影的特技效果），再也没有比现在更适合投身于视觉效果产业的时机了。
We live now in the age of the superhero genre. As such, bringing this larger than life comic book characters to life has lead to an increasing reliance on computer-generated effects. With even relatively lower budget movies tending to rely heavily on effects, and the line between television and movies becoming increasingly blurred (I think some of the visual effects in the CW TV series “The Flash” can stand alongside any Hollywood movie), there has never been a better time to enter the visual effects industry.
事实上，《视觉效果》专业所涵盖的领域相当广阔，包含了不同的技能，从动画分镜师到电脑程序员都有大量的需求。
And the field of visual effects is so diverse, and covers such a wide sweep of different skills, that everything from storyboard artists to computer programmers are finding their talents are highly in demand.
为电影产业而工作，正如连姆·尼森（译者注：英国演员，Liam Neeson）所说，“这是一系列技能的独特组合。”
However, working specifically in the movie industry requires, as Liam Neeson would put it, “A unique set of skills.”
因而，培训这些专业技能的学校在美国乃至全球都如雨后春笋般出现。
To that end, specialist schools are springing up all over the US and indeed across the world offering excellent training in these fields.
其中一个学校就是美国数字动画与视觉效果学校（DAVE School），该校位于佛罗里达州，这个学校不仅擅长于把学生打造成电影产业需要的人才，还擅于把学生打造成迅猛发展的电脑游戏所需要的人才。亲可知道，一部销量冠军的电脑游戏所需要的投资可是堪比一些好莱坞电影的啊！
One such school is the Digital Animation and Visual Effects (DAVE) School. Based in Florida, the school specializes in preparing students for careers not just in the movie industry but also the burgeoning video game market, where the budgets of high-selling titles are fast becoming as bulbous as the budgets of some Hollywood movies!
然而，不仅学习《视觉效果》和《动画制作》的学生可以把本专业做成一项事业，最近，市场营销和推广也成了每部电影的重要组成部分，几乎可以直接影响这部电影的成败。
It’s not just visual effects and animation however where students can make a new career for themselves. These days marketing and promotion of a movie plays almost as big a part in its eventual success or failure as the actual making of the movie itself.
这意味着，媒体、市场营销、销售和推广等专家有着越来越多的机会。再者，营销和推广电影要求一整套非常细致的销售技巧，美国西海岸有许多学校提供的相关都课程能让你踏上进入好莱坞各种工作室的捷径。
To that end, there are growing opportunities for specialists in media, marketing, sales and promotions. Again selling and promoting movies requires a very specific skill set and there are numerous schools across the west coast of the US that offer courses which provide pathways into the various marketing departments of the Hollywood studios.
当然，你很容易被好莱坞的浮华和魅力所诱惑，以致于影响你的判断。因此，在你就读任何专业之前作好研究和调查就显得非常重要。以下是你需要考虑的因素：
Of course it is easy to be seduced by the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and this can, at times impair ones judgment. So, it is important to thoroughly research and investigate the place where you intend to study before signing up. Here are some important points to consider:
学生就业率：换句话说，就是该专业有多少毕业生能够进入相关的高薪行业。如果这个比率比较低，那么在这个专业学习就可能是一个很大的冒险了。
Student placement rates: In other words, just how many of the students in the school’s graduating class went on to achieve gainful employment in the industry. If this rate is low, then studying there is probably too big a gamble for you to take on.
报读该专业的性价比：有些学校的学费貌似合理，但其中不乏一些名气不高的院校会利用你追逐梦想的心理，用过度包装或者一些漂亮的幌子诱惑你入学。
Also, it pays to shop around. Some schools are competitively priced, but there are also a number of less reputable institutions who, banking on the fact that you are chasing your lifelong dream, may seek to seduce you with false promises and ill-conceived optimism.
毕竟，好莱坞已经见证过太多失败的故事了。
Hollywood, after all, has seen more than its fair share of stories of glorious failure and loss.
把它放到电影里说，那就是，你要确保自己成为洛奇，而不是克拉伯！（译者注：“洛奇”是电影《洛奇3》当中的主角，是一位拳击手，“克拉伯”是该电影当中的原本把洛奇打败，后又被洛奇反败为胜的角色。）
To put it into movie parlance, you want to make sure you become a Rocky Balboa, not a Clubber Lang!
在好莱坞一蹴而就到达事业巅峰显然并不现实。这是艰难的、充满挑战的，亦是昂贵的，但如果你不改初心，并且坚持不懈，那么你终会有一天实现梦想！
The pathway to a career in Hollywood certainly isn’t smooth. It’s tough, it’s challenging, and most of all its expensive, but if you keep your wits about you and you really have that drive and that desire, then you have as good a chance as anyone of making the dream come true!
