<p>USC is the hardest to get into, but will leave you with the most opportunities after graduation.</p>
<p>[link]<a href="http://www-cntv.usc.edu/%5B/link%5D">http://www-cntv.usc.edu/[/link]</a></p>
<p>This is one case where choosing a generally excellent school isn't a bad approach, particularly since some schools may not accept first-year applicants into film school. Choosing a college where the film school is the only thing you like about it could be risky if there's some chance that after a year or two of attending the school you may not be accepted into the film program.</p>
<p>Lots of good schools have been suggested - I think it would be a good idea to determine at each school of interest what their policy is for film school admission, and how competitive the process is. That will guide your application process.</p>
<p>A note I might add,</p>
<p>Undergraduate film education is not really that important when compared to graduate film education. IMO, undergrad is important in giving you background, experience, and a solid liberal arts education while graduate is where you do your serious work and study (along with developing connections).</p>
<p>Many prominent film makers did not even have a film major as an undergrad (Ang Lee, Scorsese, etc), much less attend a good film school. But as grads, many go to the top-notch ones (both NYU in this case).</p>
<p>"choosing a generally excellent school"</p>
<p>What do you mean by this? Certainly choosing Stanford will be a bad choice since they offer minimal film education.</p>
<p>DirectorsCut why ask our opinions about good film schools, only to later say that film schools aren't important at undergraduate level and instead insisting on Ivies? </p>
<p>Are you a troll?</p>
<p>anyone notice those entering these film programs dont even have the grades to get excepted into other parts of the universities that they are applying. 2.8 at a ccc getting into UCLA film. Find it interesting, yet cool at the same time. 3.0 and 1200 on SAT getting into USC. </p>
<p>Do they stress the portfolios that much?</p>
<p>Dont forget Emerson OP.</p>
<p>The MK:</p>
<p>I'm not insisiting on ivy, just ivy-league caliber. That goes with my idea that whatever undergrad institute I go to does not really influence my career. I want to go to a school that offers rich oppurtunities in all fields that I can study (including film). I want to learn film (and english and history and philosophy...) as an undergrad and then focus on my career as a grad.</p>
<p>
[quote]
anyone notice those entering these film programs dont even have the grades to get excepted into other parts of the universities that they are applying. 2.8 at a ccc getting into UCLA film. Find it interesting, yet cool at the same time. 3.0 and 1200 on SAT getting into USC. </p>
<p>Do they stress the portfolios that much?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Although portfolios are important, those stats don't even seem to be in the ballpark for either USC/UCLA. where are you getting your information?</p>
<p>dc, your last two posts show that you are in the right frame of mind and will make the right choice. best of luck!</p>
<p>My son went through the admissions process to film school several years ago. FSU is extremely hard to get into because of its small size. Rick Tyler is right about UCLA. You can only get into the film program after two years. NYU, from what I hear, and I'm willing to be corrected, builds a wall between their critical studies and production students. USC allows overlap, and in fact requires it, among students in script writing, production, and critical studies. UCB is strong in critical studies but weak in production. </p>
<p>Directors Cut your list is pretty good, but I wouldn't waste your time at ivy. I'd definitely add Syracuse and FSU, and perhaps Emerson and Ithaca. Now if you don't really care about a typical college experience, and if you want to do film 24-7, consider the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. Can't say though that I think that learning film in art school is a wise choice for an undergraduate.</p>
<p>Wesleyan (ten char)</p>
<p>Have to agree with john wesley...Wesleyan in CT has a great program...</p>
<p>biocostal, i am getting those stats from a friend i met at community college who i had to help considerably so he could pass bio on his third try. And the second came from someone i worked with this summer who was in between her first/second year of USC's film school. Noted, the second student got in but is recieving no aid what so ever even though she trully has no means to pay. 160k or so in debt is her price</p>
<p>I talked to my guidance counselor and my family. </p>
<p>I am going to go to the best liberal arts program I can get into that also offers decent film classes (theory and production). This will include Yale, Columbia, Brown, Northwestern, UCB, and Harvard.</p>
<p>I will take classes in other subjects.</p>
<p>If I really get into it, I will apply for the more prestigious film schools for graduate such as NYU, USC, Columbia, etc</p>
<p>You made up your mind in 24 hours based on a days worth of CC posts? That's got to be a record.</p>
<p>I have been also talking to my guidance counselor, talking to my immediate family, and calling two of my friends (one is at tisch right now and the other is in the industry as a screenwriter). I have also been surfing through the internet.</p>
<p>And the CC posts helped too :)</p>
<p>Graduating from USC doesn't necessarily gives lots of opportunities. My coworker's bf was a USC cinema/film grad and he works in marketing for some entertainment company just to pay the bill. He wants to do real film stuff but apparently it's difficult to get your foot into the door. My coworker told me his bf is simply one of the many USC film grads out there and is therefore not all that special, at least not as many outsiders would think.</p>
<p>UT-Austin also has a very-well respected film school (among many other highly ranked departments.) - especially considering its not a traditional "coastal" program. UT is the first (and still only?) film school to create and parter with an independent commercial production company to let students participate hands-on in all aspects of production. And Austin has certainly garnered the "Third Coast" reputation with Hollywood types. </p>
<p>From a 2003 article:
The films will be produced through Burnt Orange Productions LLC, led by President and CEO Carolyn Pfeiffer. Pfeiffer is a veteran film producer who most recently served as vice chair, master filmmaker-in-residence and head of the producing discipline at the American Film Institute Conservatory, which has centers in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
...
This model closely matches film industry practices where experts in collaborate to produce a final product, according to UT.
...
Burnt Orange Productions will produce two types of films: $1 million to $3 million productions involving third-party financing and outside talent or $500,000 to $1 million in-house productions featuring students and faculty in key creative roles. The first film projects will be announced in the coming months. </p>
<p>"The University of Texas is revolutionizing the shape and form of a film school with a boldness worthy of a modern day D.W. Griffith," says Jack Valenti, president and CEO of the Los Angeles-based Motion Picture Association of America and one of many entertainment industry executives serving on the UT Film Institute advisory board. "Burnt Orange Productions is burning bright." </p>
<p>University of Texas Film Institute:
<a href="http://utfi.utexas.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://utfi.utexas.edu/</a></p>
<p>Established in 2003, The University of Texas Film Institute (UTFI) is committed to a new model of film education. UTFI provides hands-on specialized skill training, fosters individual and collaborative creative growth, and serves as a testing ground for the application of emerging film technologies. Based in the College of Communication and operating in close association with the Department of Radio-Television-Film (RTF) at the University of Texas at Austin , UTFI enables students to become skilled professionals, artistic visionaries, and pioneers of an ever-changing medium.</p>
<p>UTFI, with its commercial partner, Burnt Orange Productions, provides the opportunity for UT students to participate directly in the creation of independent feature films. The UTFI skill-training program is composed of internships, apprenticeships, guest lectures, workshops, and advanced semester-long classes in specific filmmaking topics. The Institute produces students effectively trained in industry practices who are prepared to transition into industry positions immediately upon graduation.</p>
<p>UTFI also fosters the creative development of those pursuing their own cinematic visions. The Institute creates a conservatory environment for students to develop their creative and collaborative skills in a feature film lab. Through a multi-semester process advanced UT writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, composers, and designers work together to develop feature projects for production.</p>
<p>UTFI serves as a testing and training ground for the practical application of emerging digital and film technologies. By investigating and implementing cutting-edge hardware, software, and digital filmmaking techniques in the production process, UTFI fosters innovation and experimentation in the creation of feature films. Ultimately our research, training, and production endeavors expose students to rapidly changing film techniques. UTFI students exit our program trained in the latest technology and ready to apply their experience and professionalism in the industry</p>
<p>UTFI is the educational partner of Burnt Orange Productions, LLC, a commercial production company based in Austin. This innovative public-private partnership provides professional opportunities that are not available in any other film school or training program in the US. To find out more about Burnt Orange Productions, visit their web site: <a href="http://www.burntorangeproductions.com%5B/url%5D">www.burntorangeproductions.com</a></p>
<p>'The Quiet', the first film produced by Burnt Orange Productions screened at the Toronto Film Festival and opened nationwide this past year.</p>
<p>In addition to UT's very strong film school, UT-Austin is home to the Ransom Humanities Research Center, one of the world's greatest libraries and cultural archives. Although the Ransom Center is primarily a primary source archive for 18th-20th century British, French, and American literature, it also has a renowned film and photography collection.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/</a></p>
<p>overall collection:
"... the Harry Ransom Center houses 36 million literary manuscripts, one million rare books, five million photographs, and over 100,000 works of art. Highlights include the Gutenberg Bible (c. 1455), the World's First Photograph (c. 1826), important paintings by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, and major manuscript collections of James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, T.S. Eliot, D.H. Lawrence, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and Tennessee Williams, to name but a few. The Center is used extensively for research by scholars from around the world and presents numerous exhibitions and events showcasing its collections." </p>
<p>Film collection:
The Ransom Center Film Collection provides opportunities for scholars working in history, music, popular culture, and textual criticism, as well as film history and criticism. The Collection is extensive. It includes more than 10,000 scripts for film, television and radio; more than 15,000 posters, lobby cards and other advertising materials; more than 1,000,000 photographs including film stills, portrait and publicity photographs, set and location reference stills, makeup and wardrobe stills, and candid, behind the scenes photographs. The bulk of the Collection covers Hollywood's Golden Age (1930-1950), but many of the archives include materials from the Silent Era, the Texas film industry, and television and radio.</p>