it's that time!

Michael Summers

Michael Summers

Well-known member
Hello fellow DVXusers, i am about to open a can of worms i think but i would appreciate it if all comments left were intelligent and thoughtful, for this topic may help me and many others.

College.

I am now a senior and am vigorously looking into colleges that offer great liberal studies as well as a cinematography major, or photojournalism major/minor. what colleges have any of the successfull people here or in the business been to, or what do you reccomend?
 
What is your situation academically? Are you in a position to go 'virtually' anywhere for a higher education? Are we on loans here? Scholarship? Parent's taking of care of it? Before people start throwing out UCLA or USC are able to make that happen? How are your grades? Your G.P.A.? Have any schools expressed any interest in you? Will you be able to got school full-time? Will you be required to work for a living?
 
well im in a good position. i have a 25 act and a 3.1 gpa... so i could pretty much go to 80% of schools, but nothing like nyu or prestigeous places like that. parents say they'll take care of school, but i need financial aid for rooming or loans. school is my #1 priority but i would like a small job outside of school so i can make money, just like i work as a pharmacy cashier at a local drugstore right now.

edit
i would like to consider usc, but i doubt the academic rating i have now will get me in... will they consider a film student moreso than another major? do i still have a chance?
 
I'm not sure exactly what areas you want to get into, but you might want to look into the Art Institutes. They seem to offer a pretty good program. I can't say for sure, as I'm still in my first year there. I guess they sort of have a soft spot with me because they have DVX's...
 
Why film? or should I say 'FILM'?

Why do you want to do that? Especially in your bachelors program? How many shorts have you made already? If you say lots then maybe you should consider film, if you say few or none, or just messing around shooting my friends in cars, then don’t turn your nose up at video. Storytelling is where it’s at, and if it costs big $$ every time you want to shoot something you will be less inclined to practice and take crazy risks.

Of course you can work in whatever format you want, its just an odd attitude in one so young, it sounds like a film snob got to you, I just hope your not parroting an opinion without actually understanding the reasons for choosing one over the other.

Incidentally the reduced range of video means that once you learn to light for video, film will be a snap.
 
Mythfit said:
Why film? or should I say 'FILM'?

Why do you want to do that? Especially in your bachelors program? How many shorts have you made already? If you say lots then maybe you should consider film, if you say few or none, or just messing around shooting my friends in cars, then don’t turn your nose up at video. Storytelling is where it’s at, and if it costs big $$ every time you want to shoot something you will be less inclined to practice and take crazy risks.

Of course you can work in whatever format you want, its just an odd attitude in one so young, it sounds like a film snob got to you, I just hope your not parroting an opinion without actually understanding the reasons for choosing one over the other.

Incidentally the reduced range of video means that once you learn to light for video, film will be a snap.
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LOL.......

michael has the correct approach in mind. "an odd attitude in one so young"....bad attitude there Mythfit

It's actually, learn film, then video is a "snap" (LOL)....
 
ummm no... i do know basic things about film, i dont just want to use it more often because DATS WHAT ALL THE COOL PPL LIKE STEVEN SPILBERG USE!! i shoot 8mm and 16mm currently... i am very serious about a career in film. i know how much it costs, i develope it in 100 ft rolls that cost a fortune but i love doing it.
 
Mythfit said:
Why film? or should I say 'FILM'?

Why do you want to do that? Especially in your bachelors program? How many shorts have you made already? If you say lots then maybe you should consider film, if you say few or none, or just messing around shooting my friends in cars, then don’t turn your nose up at video. Storytelling is where it’s at, and if it costs big $$ every time you want to shoot something you will be less inclined to practice and take crazy risks.

Of course you can work in whatever format you want, its just an odd attitude in one so young, it sounds like a film snob got to you, I just hope your not parroting an opinion without actually understanding the reasons for choosing one over the other.

Incidentally the reduced range of video means that once you learn to light for video, film will be a snap.
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take it easy kiddo... ive spent a lot of time learning the basic craft of filmmaking and i want college to ease me into the business part as much as further advancing my understanding of the directing process. hopefully i can throw my dvx away some day... and maybe my canon 8mm for those costly rented panavisions... it all starts somewhere, i think college is the first step
 
Like I say, he can work in any format he wants, I just think it’s easier to learn when you can pick up your camera and shoot anytime you want as much as you want.

Usually the kids today love the digital stuff, shoot edit and burn to DVD all on the same system. But each to their own.

But having a bad attitude is nothing new for me, after all I'm a rebel with a bouncy tail.
 
your response just sort of embarassed me and my intelligence, thats why i stated this earlier.

michael_summers said:
i would appreciate it if all comments left were intelligent and thoughtful, for this topic may help me and many others.
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michael_summers said:
ve spent a lot of time learning the basic craft of filmmaking
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We'll there you go, if thats your experiance level then your right, go for the film.
 
michael_summers said:
your response just sort of embarassed me and my intelligence, thats why i stated this earlier.
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My apologies then, I was not familiar with your level of experience you can take it any way you want.
 
I don't have a judgement of how other schools deal with their film students... but purdue (although film isn't a very large focus of the university) is still a really good school for learning the craft. Although, the university focuses more on events/games/concerts and tv broadcasts, rather than film, but is still a good ground basis if you are willing to work independently on your own stuff, which is what I am doing.

My cousin goes to Wisconsin State, he says the film dept. there is really good. They let you work with the film medium, rather than doing digital. I can't really vouch for it, though.

Ball State, is also a good school for communication/telecomm but is kind of dumpy.

I don't know how much they focus on film, because most of my friends going there are more interested in the broadcasting aspect, rather than filmmaking.

I believe there are schools in the chicago area that have film as an option of study... names don't come to mind, but I know a friend of mine went to one near schaumberg (because that's where he lives), but felt it wasn't benneficial, so he dropped out and moved to hollywood. lol

I honestly think that if you go into college as a film student, you HAVE to, absolutely HAVE to work independelty from classes because classes teach you fundamentals, but most of the time, don't give you very much hands on experience. So make your own movies, get involved in clubs.... that sort of thing.

College helps keep you motivated, that's for sure. A lot of opportunities will land in your lap if you're good (which I am sure you are), but most of them will require you to be enrolled in the university (namely internships and post-grad work.)
 
michael_summers said:
[looking for]...colleges that offer great liberal studies as well as a cinematography major, or photojournalism major/minor.
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It's hard to imagine a better photojournalism program than the Brooks Institute.
Film may be the preferred medium for fine art, but I don't think you'll find it being used much in photojournalism anymore.
 
yeah i do expect to work in digital if i minor in photojournalism, but i have some experience with it but really need to learn the ropes... most of what i know in photography is darkroom not ps.

dj2004, i agree with you completely. working independently from classes i what made me want to become a better filmmaker, all i have at school is a broadcasting class which i know couldnt teach me nearly the begining of basic storytelling, so for the past four years ive just been so interested in film that this summer i took up 16mm and 8mm, it's a blast. i like digital, but all i do with it is shoot bar mitzvahs/concert which pays for my film. im going to my schools college center thursday, i'll ask about purdue and look at some videos that they probably have... ive got a list of about 7 schools right now but am really open for opinions. i do live in chicago but i can go out of state if i really want to.. id have to pay difference but with a job i expect i could do it in four years, maybe a little longer
 
awwright, well im going in to visit a few of these schools sometimes in the next month after i retake act, i was thinking u of illinois, academy of art san fran, u of iowa, emerson (boston, i dont know about la), ithaca, and brooklyn college of cuny, ill add purdue as a college to look into
 
thisiswells said:
Film may be the preferred medium for fine art, but I don't think you'll find it being used much in photojournalism anymore.
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Actually, it's (film) best for learning the "craft" of filmmaking, you learn to think and plan your shoots carefully. There's no better way to develop your eye than to use film. The time and expense of having to re-shoot with film will teach you quickly to "see", your angles, lighting etc, and serve you very well throughout your career. Learning video does tend to introduce the "lets try that again" approach, something of a hit-and-miss technique, that in the professional realm, doesn't go over well.

But no, film isn't used in photojournalism (much) anymore.
 
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