<p>Here is what I need to know:</p>
<p>NUMBER ONE. What the heck are they looking for in films? I don't really have access to actors and crew and equipment. I'm kind of a one-man show. I film real life and string things together and do all the editing and creative aspects on my own. Is that okay? Or do NYU and USC expect more than that? </p>
<p>Let me be more direct - What do they expect in the first place?</p>
<p>NUMBER TWO. Do these schools expect you to have participated in numerous competitions and have won numerous competitions, because, in all honesty, I haven't found squat.</p>
<p>Please help me out! Seriously. That would be AWESOME.</p>
<p>And any other advice to up my chances of getting in would be MUCH appreciated.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What you’re doing sounds great. If your stuff is good, I’m sure USC and NYU will love it. </p></li>
<li><p>Competitions aren’t a big deal. When it comes down to it, it all depends on how good your portfolio is.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thank you very much!!</p>
<p>The NYU and USC programs are the two most competitive programs in the nation. They require both a high academic record and some demonstration of passion and talent. The academics are straight forward: they look at your GPA and SAT/ACT scores. The creative aspect will vary from one individual to the next. At these places many of your fellow applicants will have some awards for their work, either in competitions or in other venues like from schools or from community service projects. You do not necessarily need a lot of cameras, actors etc… to make a film that can win awards. But… it does help to have recognition that your work is of high quality. Since the programs won’t see much or any of your actual work, what they will see is your resume. If there are awards, that says something about what others thought of your work. I recently posted a list of competitions that accept high school films: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/1161113-film-festivals-high-school-students.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/1161113-film-festivals-high-school-students.html</a>. Check it out. Also read Digmedias advice at the top of this forum. He makes excellent suggestions on how to get noticed. </p>
<p>The bottom line: You don’t need to get fancy to show you are talented. But you DO need to get some recognition so the most selective schools will know that you have some talent and a passion. For less selective schools this may not matter as much, but it certainly can’t hurt!</p>
<p>Film schools are not looking for people who are accomplished filmmakers before they even start as freshmen. That’s what film schools are supposed to teach you to become. In general, schools are not simply looking at filmmaking skills in their applicants. MaddenMD said it right (above) when she said that the first requirement is strong academics and passion combined with talent. So many schools have told us that the talent they are looking for is the ability to tell a story. A strong writing sample will be just as influential as a film for admissions. Even if a film shows incredible production values, if the story ain’t there, it’s not going to help, admissions-wise.</p>
<p>You may want to add Chapman University to your list of most competitive film programs in the nation as well. From what I’ve heard the past few months through the Chapman admissions thread, some applicants got accepted to USC, but got rejected to Chapman for film production. They are very selective so you’ll need to be academically and creatively competitive regardless of school. Send in all of your sample work that you have done including any art work in any of your classes whether is a school project or something you did independently.</p>