<p>So I'm a Junior in High School looking for any colleges with a strong cinema/film/video production, but without the Art School atmosphere. I'm not sure if Film is the only thing I want to study, and I want to have the option of second, non-art related, major.
Any ideas?
Anything works. Particularly smaller schools, but anything you could offer would be great :)</p>
<p>The only one I can think of off the top of my head is NYU.</p>
<p>UCLA in California, RIT in NY, Univ of Iowa, and I’ll throw Hampshire in there because they gave us Ken Burns.</p>
<p>Chapman in CA.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t really consider NYU to be an option on this list since Tisch is about as art school as it gets. The school also has an obnoxious amount of red tape. One of my best friends went to NYU for film changed his mind and ended up having to transfer out because it was easier than changing majors (to business). It may have been one experience though so take it with a grain of salt but from what I’ve heard, there is little interaction between the professional schools at NYU. </p>
<p>Other than NYU I would say that most of the large schools would be good options, with very traditional college atmospheres. USC, UCLA, Chapman, Florida State, LMU, UT:Austin are good examples. USC, UCLA, and Florida State don’t start their full fledged production programs until around your second year (third for UCLA). That gives you a lot of time to try different courses in other fields and really get a feel for studying in film in college. I know a lot of people who have gotten out of production because it wasn’t what they wanted and they are doing just fine in other fields. </p>
<p>The big school also have the benefit of very strong general education programs. They will guarantee you a very well rounded education.</p>
<p>USC encourages double majors and minors unrelated to the major.</p>
<p>My son was looking for the same thing, so I can tell you what schools he has applied to for next year – Emerson, Hampshire (just built a new film facility last spring), Ithaca, Champlain College in Burlington, VT (brand new film program – not sure if that is a good or bad thing!), SUNY Purchase, Quinnipiac (probably at the bottom of his list – he didn’t love it when he visited), and Keene State College in NH. Oh, and Columbia College in Chicago. Most of these schools are in New England because that’s where he wants to be, for now anyway (within a few hours of home).</p>
<p>Syracuse has a film major in both VPA and Newhouse/ actually know someone doubling up in film in VPA and Newhouse…and if Newhouse is your primary school, a minor or major in another school is mandatory.</p>
<p>The best school you never heard of: [Video</a> Production Sequence | The School of Media Arts and Studies](<a href=“http://www.tcomschool.ohiou.edu/undergraduate/seq_video.html]Video”>http://www.tcomschool.ohiou.edu/undergraduate/seq_video.html)</p>
<p>People may turn up their noses at a Video Production major, but if you think about it, the entire industry has gone digital. My son graduated this year. His gang’s last film at the school is here: <a href=“http://mediaschool.ohio.edu/outube/shootout2009/second.mov[/url]”>http://mediaschool.ohio.edu/outube/shootout2009/second.mov</a> and last year’s Shootout film from his group is here: <a href=“http://www.tcomschool.ohiou.edu/outube/shootout2008/first.mov[/url]”>http://www.tcomschool.ohiou.edu/outube/shootout2008/first.mov</a> </p>
<p>He is now working as a visual effects artist. Others in his small team now work in the industry: one at Digital Domain, two others at Dreamworks and others in various jobs.</p>
<p>OU is a great place if you want to make films right from the very beginning. My son worked on over 50 productions in various roles (producer, director, editor, visual effects supervisor, etc). It is a very collaborative atmosphere.</p>
<p>The very first film the group did (“How to Have Fun With Alcohol”) as freshmen can be seen at [Arasian</a> | mediaplayer](<a href=“Untitled Document”>Untitled Document) </p>
<p>But the more interesting film to see is the “Behind-The-Scenes” on the making of How to Have Fun With Alcohol" at [Arasian</a> | mediaplayer](<a href=“Untitled Document”>Untitled Document) This will show you how the students worked together to make a film like this happen in 48 hours (language alert).</p>
<p>Some other possibilities:
[ul]
[<em>]American University
[</em>]Boston University
[<em>]Ithaca College
[</em>]Sarah Lawrence
[<em>]University of Miami
[</em>]Wesleyan
[li]Tufts in association with the MFA’s Museum School[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>NORTHWESTERN.</p>
<p>completely non-artsy atmosphere in my opinion, and I spent 2 summers at art schools so I do know what that is like. people are not really hipsters here, it’s more chill and less pretentious in my opinion. there are TONS of RTVF (radio/television/film which is really just film) majors here, but very few extremely weird ones. some great films come out of here. & I believe we are ranked in the top 10 for film majors. </p>
<p>plus- what some people don’t know: in many of the other top 10 schools, you will not touch a camera until junior year. that’s completely not true here. freshmen get a chance coming in to be involved because the university has enough cameras. there are 2 grants I believe that are just for freshmen to shoot a short. great stuff.</p>
<p>if you really want a hands on experience with film without the pretentious hipster ridiculousness, apply to NU.</p>
<p>also, it is SO EASY to double major here. triple major, even. because of the quarter system (like stanford’s only we take 4 courses per quarter rather than 3), you can fulfill many requirements easily. I’m double majoring in RTVF and art, and I plan to add another. plus, the School of Communications has really easy requirements to fulfill. so, a lot less time spent on boring distros.</p>
<p>CherryCrush,</p>
<p>Do you know anything about the Cherub summer program for film? My D went there for theater and loved the program. She is currently a sophomore at Northwestern. My S is also interested in Northwestern for film but we have not heard of anyone who did the program.</p>
<p>I do know a few people who have done it, and I know they had a good experience, however I don’t know much about that program. However, the film program in general is excellent here, so I’m sure you can learn a lot.</p>
<p>I am surprised that no one said USC! It is widely considered one of the best in the US not to mention having great facilities and great sports teams. Finally, you get the added advantage of telling folks that, “you are a Trojan” and seeing their reaction.</p>
<p>Nephew is at Champlain VT- loves has an internship with film co as a soph. Burliington is a GREAT college town.</p>
<p>Cherrycrush, check your PM</p>
<p>My son is a freshman cinema major at Denison University in OH. By the end of his freshman year, he will have had 2 film production classes and one class on film history. He probably could have had another film critique class if he really wanted to. The school is small but he gets lots of hands on time with professors, not TAs. He can also double major easily which he thinks he will do in Political Science. He also gets to play in several musical ensembles and participate in many diverse activities. Denison has a very strong internship program and relies on their alumni network in this regard. (there are many very recognizable names on that roster). They also seem to really work with their students on developing meaningful study abroad programming.
He looked at several other small LACs but chose DU for its excellent merit scholarship program and midwestern feel, and seems to be satisfied there. Think about DU, Carleton, Vassar, Muhlenberg, Pomona, Pitzer, Clark…I know there are others that I’m leaving off this list but these were some of those we considered.</p>
<p>From their web sites, I would say Pomona and Pitzer (in fact, the entire Claremont Consortium) have very little in the way of film production courses.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure the same is true of Carleton.</p>
<p>Clark University looks like it provides good opportunities to do independent work; my daughter plans to check it out.</p>
<p>I have two sons interested in film. One graduated Northwestern several years ago and loved the program; he also did a quarter internship in LA. The NW program is very hands on and also has some but not many Liberal Arts course requirements. He and many of his friends have been unable to break into the field in NYC or LA; many have gone on to professional schools or other fields. NW’s contacts in the field seem weak and the school’s alumni contacts/career office offer limited help. It is nice that NW has you making films early on but it’s also important to develop your writing and analytical skills as well. I have another son who is in Wesleyan’s Film Studies program. Seems like their curriculum is more theory and analysis based with limited filmmaking except in the senior year. He’s taken one or more Film courses each semester and was able to take 2 Film courses when he studied abroad for a semester. I also think that Wes contacts in LA and NYC are stronger and Wesleyan works harder at maintaining these contacts. Just one mom and dad’s take on film schools. Both boys have loved their college experiences.</p>
<p>I definitely second Wesleyan, if you’re willing to be a bit less production focused in your actual academics. The major is theory/history based, but it is one of the BEST theory majors in the country, and we have produced an astounding number of successful alumni who are willing to help new graduates get involved in all parts of the industry. </p>
<p>Within the major, you can take a few production classes, as well as make a thesis film. If you want more production than that (as many film majors do), there are TONS of opportunities to get involved: There are about 20 thesis films a year that need help, other production classes have people who need help, and there is a non-major related film co-op that makes about two films a semester you could get involved with.</p>
<p>I’m a film major at Wes (interested in writing and management, not production), and the major is FANTASTIC – I really think the theory classes helps you make better movies (or, in my case, screenplays). And my friends who are production oriented have never been disappointed in their ability to get involved and learn. The nice thing about helping other people with THEIR productions is that you get to try out lots of different roles; I have one friend who is super-involved with productions, and he’s been everything from a PA to a DP to a producer on other people’s films, as well as directing his own.</p>