If my son doesn’t get into RTF at UT Austin, can you recommend other film production programs in Texas? Schools we’ve looked at:
Thoughts on these film programs (or others)?
HS Junior, 4.0, 1300-1350 SAT, low income household
‘Need based aid’ and ‘number of films worked on’ are our biggest determining factors.
@romns116 UT Austin is seen as top tier and the remaining ones are all second tier (but still quality schools so we’re clear). If he doesn’t get into UT Austin, I would say go with the school that is the most affordable which is likely UT Arlington or UNT.
I would definitely stay away from Baylor b/c its location isn’t ideal for film majors. Film majors should attend schools in major cities b/c there’s simply more opportunities for them to learn outside the classroom. Austin and DFW are very popular for filming shows and movies.
@NuScholar thank you! Big city makes sense.
Any thoughts on SMU? It isn’t known for film production, but it may be a financial safety (almost full need met for us, EFC 0). I tried to contact alumni, but no responses yet. I haven’t seen much in the way of festival submissions, but I’m probably not searching correctly.
A film professor from another film school (NY) said Bart Weiss at UTA is one of the best film professors in the entire country, specifically that his students consistently produce quality work. Again, I haven’t seen much from UTA in terms of festival awards.
Is quality of student work a good measure when comparing film schools?
Personally, I’m not a fan of SMU. I hate the culture there but if your son loves it he’ll definitely strive. Most of the people I’ve met from SMU are very snobby, have unsophisticated world views, and are obsessed with greek life or in other words they live in a small-minded bubble … it’s just very off putting as a progressive/liberal.
I don’t think it’s fair to gauge the quality of a film program solely on festival awards. I think it’s best to take a holistic approach (cost, alumni, awards, curriculum, quality of professors, internship opportunities, student-teacher ratio, resources, organizations on campus). I’ve also heard great things about UTA’s art department.
The best thing in my opinion is to visit all schools of interest and directly speak with each department before making a decision. People sometimes forget the importance of actually talking to the people who are actually in and leading these programs.
Good luck to you and your son! I’m very excited for him
@NuScholar Thanks again! We’ll be visiting both schools later this month. Film professors from both schools have made themselves available for one-on-one meetings. We may even sit in on a production class at SMU.
On a related note (about speaking to people in-person): We enjoyed our first NPD experience in Austin this past weekend. Didn’t seem like many film portfolios were being critiqued, but every school we met with gave great feedback (SAIC, Ringling, MICA/JHU, RIT). Syracuse VPA reviewed my son’s demo, liked it, but admitted she wasn’t from the film dept. I’d suggest attending an NPD event, simply for the opportunity to speak to experts about your work.
Please judge SMU and the culture for yourself. There are many down to earth people there.