Discussion Thread = Companion to Swissbeauty's List

[Alliesmom]

Which of these (colleges and university film programs from Swissbeauty's List)*** are worth looking into for a kid who is a very good student but is also quite passionate about film?

*** Moderator Note - view the other Featured Thread for Swissbeauty's List. Use Alliesmom's thread here to POST DISCUSSION about those schools.

[NEValu]

All I want to know is where were you guys last year when we were looking for all this?
My son wanted a liberal arts college with a decent film program that has a combination of production and film study for its emphases.
After a long somewhat agonizing process he will go to Denison University in Ohio. We are hoping that it has the combinations that he is seeking. The tipping point here was also the excellent merit scholarships that Denison awards. This was a tough year to be a college applicant since there were record numbers of them. He was rejected at Vassar and Carleton College, which by the way is not on "the list". (Carleton's is a newer major for them.) I think that Vassar was really his first choice and if you can gain admission, might be well worth looking into.
We can try to post after the first semester or feel free to PM us then or about the search.

[fendrock]

Personally I think the list is too broad -- it would be better to have separate lists for good film studies programs and another for film production (that is, film making) programs.

[Nester]

I have a kid like the one described by the OP who is extremely happy intellectually and artistically at USC in film production. USC has small honors programs in science (about which I don't know a lot) and in the humanities (Thematic Option, amazing program) in which all gen ed requirements are offered in small, multi-disciplinary seminars by top professors with writing seminars that involve regular 1:1 tutorials. On top of this, so far the film classes live up to their reputation. The school encourages minors and double majors, although the double major would, IMHO, be a bit of a stretch with the rigors of the production program. Both the TO and the film students seem very bright and energetic, and there seems to be a good deal of interaction across artistic disciplines. S has also taken courses in film studies (Critial Studies) and these have been very stimulating. Students in film studies (Crit Studies) also have the opportunity/requirement to become involved in hands-on filmmaking, so their background is not merely theoretical. Also note that USC is often quite generous with merit-based scholarships.

[Alliesmom]

My So is very interested in USC's program but heard how difficult it is to get in. Do you think it is easier to get into the critical studies program at USC than the production program? Would a film buff still get the same stimulating film environment? Would he still be able to make movies and work a camera? What was your son's film experience when he applied? My S has taken film classes for years and has made several of his own. He won one film festival. Mainly he has done lots of filming for things for his high school.

[Nester]

First, look for posts by tsdad, whose son graduated from Critical Studies a year or two ago. He had a lot to say about the program, and greatly prefers it to Production with very intelligent reasoning. For my kid, who is a film buff/film technology junkie, Production was a better choice, but he is still taking a lot of Critical Studies classes. Crit Studies students do take the beginning filmmaking sequence in which they learn all aspects of filmmaking and are responsible for making several films. They can also take classes in cinematography, sound, special effects, etc. that are all quite hands on. But they have to do more upper division work that involves studying films as opposed to making them (although they can still be involved in making them.) Take a look at the SCA catalog to get more of a sense of the differences.

The year S was accepted into Production, there were about 1200 apps and 40 to 50 kids entered the program. (Not sure how many were accepted and turned it down.) I think that Crit Studies had 75 entering freshmen, so it sounded easier, but I don't know how many applications they received. It could have been a huge number.

When you apply to the SCA, you can pick two possible majors, filling out the applications and doing the essays etc. for each one separately. It is possible, although not easy, to switch between majors other than Screenwriting (which is a tiny four year program, and if you transfer in, it's four years from that point until you finish. At least it used to be.)

The application process has changed radically since my son was accepted. Previously, applicants to Production and Crit Studies were not permitted to submit a reel. There was no way around this. Instead, there was a creative portfolio in which students described all of their creative accomplishments, including music, studio art, creative writing, drama, etc. (The film school seems to care a lot about all this stuff.) Now, USC looks at reels for Production (not sure about Crit Studies), which could be helpful to your son, given his film experience and festival win. When my son applied, the Production application involved a good deal of writing, and emphasis was placed on the quality of the writing samples in terms of the student's potential as a storyteller. I'm not sure of what is required in the current application. Actually, check everything I say about the application process on the website because clearly, the application process has changed significantly since my kid went through it.

[Nester]

You might want to post on the USC board as well. Several of the active participants have kids who are currently in the SCA with majors including animation, interactive media, critical studies, and production.

[timely]

Alliesmom, whatever your S decides about Critical Studies vs. Production, he should apply to several film schools. Most of the good ones are very competitive. It's definitely a don't put all your eggs in one basket thing. My S had won several awards for his films, had great recs, experience on an independent film set, etc., but he was not accepted at USC (he applied for production). He is at Chapman and is extremely happy there.

Also, it's good to have a Plan B major. If he is not accepted to any of the better film programs, would your S want to go to a lower tier college so he can study film, or would he rather major in something different and go to a "better" college? If the latter, he should decide on a 2nd choice major, and choose some schools to apply to that would fit that major.

If a student attends a college with an active film program, even if he isn't a film major, there are plenty of opportunities to work on productions. The film students are always trying to scrounge up crew members. You can learn a ton just from working as a crew member on a set.

[Nester]

^ ^ ^

What she said. Name undergraduate film programs -- and Chapman is certainly high on the list -- are very competitive and there is a winning the lottery feel to getting in for applicants who are obsessed with filmmaking. Weighing the kind and quality of the overall college experience versus the quality of the filmmaking program calls for a lot of introspection and difficult decision-making. S's plan was just to go down the list of top filmmaking programs, apply, and evaluate his choices. My sense is that, when it came down to it, the quality of the filmmaking would have trumped other facets of the colleges. There were certainly colleges he loved but wouldn't consider because their filmmaking was poor to non-existent.