Obsessive Parents - help me!

Student615
Wed, 26 Dec 2007 20:20:34 +0000

Are you able to start a club at your school, or even casually with a group of friends? My high school had a pretty weak film club…not much interest, students occasionally got together and watched a classic film after school. My sister got in touch with the moderator and revamped it so that the emphasis was on film production. They ended up filming some shorts and she taught members how to do basic editing using Final Cut. President for two or three years. This allowed some teachers to really see what she could do with a camera, so she ended up being made the school’s official (but previously non-existent) videographer, putting together major videos for various events (if you live in CA, perhaps you’ve experienced “Every 15 Minutes”…her “Memorial Service” video ended up being so popular that the school distributed it). Voila, instant resume. She did later participate in a few summer programs (both in SoCal), some of which have financial aid available, but that’s far from your only real option (and for the record, it wasn’t a “wants to go - done” issue…it involved months of petitioning to parents, contributing funds, and proving real interest).

The point is, even if the exact opportunities that I mention above aren’t available to you, you can still springboard yourself into involvement (and you say that you do “nothing,” so if you don’t get involved with film, get involved with something, at least for your own sake…youth group, a local choir, service projects, club sports, a job, a regular volunteer position). For the record, my sister worked and bought her own video camera. She started out using her cousin and her friend’s versions of Final Cut and taught herself the program from scratch. Easy? No way. Low commitment? Definitely not. But cost or readily available resources were not issues.

It can be tough not having “ready made” opportunities–a Film Club, Film Production course, and father with the last name of Spielberg or Lucas–but don’t let that stop you from pursuing your interests (especially when it comes to film, where yes, your creative resume will be important). In the end, forging your own path will probably look more impressive than having followed someone else’s.

As a future film student, creativity and resourcefulness will be two of your most valuable assets. May as well exercise them early on :)

ETA: Are you definitely interested in Film Production, or are you also considering Film Studies? If the latter, a creative resume will generally be unnecessary (or at least less heavily emphasized) and your choice of schools will be greater. If the former, it’s common not to actually start your major courses until soph or junior (USC) year. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing…it could give you a year or two of increased resources and a good way to build up your creative resume. It could also give you good opportunities as a transfer student.