<p>When you say “in the biz” and “indie,” do you mean the school’s approach to film funding/distribution or the school’s approach to style and film as a whole? Basically, this the main thing holding up my decision on NYU VS. USC (other than the fact that I think I like NYC more than LA, but I’ve never even been to LA, and I haven’t spent any large amount of time in NYC, so I can’t really say this with any confidence: just a gut reaction). To be honest, I do not like the majority of films coming out of Hollywood today, and I find that independant and foreign (of course, I realize that I’m seeing the cream of the crop from around the world and basically everything out of Hollywood) films are much more to my tastes. That being said, the close proximity to Hollywood and a knowledge of the Hollywood business seem like they would be beneficial even to a “indie” advocate. I’m just worried that I’m going to get all business from USC, while I’d like to be focusing on the art. Is the difference between NYU and USC really that large when it comes to business VS. art? It’s annoying, because I like everything about USC (well, not everything, but you know what I mean) except for this, but it’s something that’s important to me.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the information, mad-toast. I assume you had to choose between NYU and USC as well… Were you Cinema Studies or Film & Television at NYU? Did any other things influence your decision? Also, what kind of films do you like (same question to any other prospective CNTV students)? Someone posed the idea to me that perhaps it isn’t USC that’s all about the Hollywood style, but rather it’s the USC students, so I’m curious where their tastes lie.</p>