Film School Time - USC vs. AFI vs. Los Angeles Film School

I talked to my dad today, he was on the faculty for a while at SC. He was also on the admissions committee. This info is about 8 years old. He's not there any more. I'd be surprised though if things are much different now.

-Legacies. Only about 1-3 per year. A credible legacy, Hasselhoff kids need not apply...
-Letters of rec. Unless is from a Speilberg, forget it. A Senator? They'll laugh.
-AA. Not Alcoholics Anonymous, Affirmative Action. Still with us. If you're Black you get slack. I'll leave it at that.
-GRE's usually 1300-1400 but there are lots of exceptions.
-Exceptions? Have you spent 87 days drifting in the Arctic Sea on a lifeboat? That would impress them. Have you overthrown a warlord in Darfur? could help. Now it gets dicey, have you created something artistically compelling? A short story? A poem, a documentary? Are you the real deal? Despite an inclination for high grades and GRE's, they know that it's only one piece of the puzzle and often a misleading piece.

He also said, "Tell him don't waste his money on film school unless he's rich. Not worth it."
 
Here's my perspective, having looked at lot at film schools:

If you want to be a film maker and want to experience college, you might as well try to get into a film school. If the college experience isn't as important to you as the education, skip film school. Waste of time and money.
 
USC - Don't forget if your going for Directing, by the time you are a senior and it comes time to make a thesis film. Barely anyone gets to make one, and the rest are stuck working on everyone else's. Consider which school you might get more actual experience and be more ready for a job when you leave.

Thats my problem with USC. Its not universal but I've heard/read too many stories from people who learned a lot of info but didn't get a lot of hands on. Hence they graduate and unless they met someone who gets them a job they have no idea how to go about getting one....

- Kyle
 
Greggl said:
I regret not going to one of the majors.. or AT THE LEAST - doing my
education in Los Angeles.

I did attend UW:Milwaukee for a spell as well as FSU. In the end its working
out ok, but I not only had to do the same things everyone needs to do, coming
out of school, I didn't have any 'go getter' network to speak of.
Click to expand...
The school you went to is only important while you are actually attending it, IMO. I have friends/co-workers that did graduate and/or post graduate work at FSU, AFI, USC, etc., and it didn't give them a magic star that allowed them to skip over the entry level, paying-your-dues grunt work that everyone has to do. My friend that did post-grad at USC graduate 8 or 9 years ago w/a class size of 30 people I think. Today only one or two classmates besides him still work in the industry and most of the people don't even live in LA any more.

Unless you are extremely gifted and/or extremely lucky no one is going to walk out of college into a fast track for their dream job. And if you are that gifted/lucky then your place of higher educate is irrelevant anyway.

Everyone is different and should do what feels right to them, but no one should feel pressured to attend a certain school because they think that's the only, or the best, way to get into the industry.


-A
 
I think the "fight for a thesis film" only happens in undergrad. I'm applying for graduate school. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think everybody gets to make a thesis film in graduate school. If not, I might reconsider.
 
I'll say a few thing...

I go to Cal State - Northridge, now it's not one of the big main film schools, but the main film schools are all hype in my eyes. I remember one studio executive was saying they liked Cal State-Northridge kids because they are more of the working class school and a willing to do what is needed for a project, while the major film programs create the pretty big egos that alot of people don't even want to mess with.

Besides the reputation...My school costs about $4000 a year... and some of our professors teach the same classes at our school and USC, and tell us its no different, just better facilities

As for AFI, you have to go to film school or have a pretty nice reel of work before you can get in... It's considered more of a masters program. And as for the LA Film school, I have mixed feelings about it, I like the idea of a 1 or 1 1/2 year program, but coming from my school experience, I can't see how you could learn what you should learn in that short amount of time...

anyway... done babbling. At the end of the day, its about the education you receive not the piece of paper AT ALL.
 
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