<p>I personaly don't know what to put in my portfolio that would "SUPER AMAZE" or "TRIPLE WOW" these admissioners!! Does anybody have any tips?!? Has anybody gone through this process and got accepted by these schools?!? or has anybody who failed to get into these school, but they know why they were unsuccessful and they know how to improve in order to retry to get in?!? Please I need a lot of advices! I've never ever applyed to these schools and programs before!! PLEASE HELP!!</p>
<p>A suggestion would be to post this question on the USC, NYU and UCLA forums. You may receive more detailed answers there.</p>
<p>First, breathe. Deeply. There is nothing to panic about; putting together those portfolios sounds far more daunting than it actually is.</p>
<p>Now, I don’t know about everybody else, but I applied to NYU-Tisch and USC last year with portfolios of writing samples. Not even screenplay writing, but a few short stories along with the personal statement and whatever else they specifically required. I hadn’t made any films, wasn’t yet into photography, and couldn’t draw, so I wrote. Didn’t even write entirely new pieces, just went through and carefully revised stories I already had composed. I picked them specifically to show that I had a creative voice and a vision for storytelling, since I figured the school itself would teach the physical craft of filmmaking.</p>
<p>I was accepted into both programs.</p>
<p>I think the most important thing is you won’t really impress them if you have really fancy shots and crazy scenes that would normally make a reel stand out. I think too many people make the mistake of making their film school reels look like professional reels… filled with eye candy shots and impressive command of film technique. For a film school, especially at the undergraduate level, what matters more is content. You are applying there to be able to learn all sorts of fancy techniques, that’s what they are there for, and as far as the film school is concerned they can teach you all the filmmaking they want… but they have a much harder time teaching creativity. </p>
<p>The biggest mistake people make when they apply to film school is they focus too much on experience and fancy film terms and don’t focus enough on potential. I got accepted to USC Production (full tuition scholarship) and FSU Production (I was given am acceptance call back the day after my interview). My statement of purpose barely talks about film. I never submitted any visual samples (I didn’t apply to NYU though and USC and FSU don’t have visual requirements, or at least didn’t when I applied). I don’t even have super spectacular stats. Two of my closest friends were rejected from both schools (and they both had more experience and better “portfolios”). Looking at some of my future classmates at USC I see people who have never picked up a camera and still got in. At first I couldn’t believe why the school would make such a decision, to pass up on a kid who has won dozens of short film competitions in lieu of someone with no film background. It wasn’t until I actually started looking at some of the writing they had done that I realized what good film makers they could become. </p>
<p>This is the key. It’s so difficult for a film school to gauge potential from awards (which vary in legitimacy) and fancy reels. But your writing will be the most important element of your application. What they care about most is a passionate devotion to story telling. If you can tell a good story, you’re going to look pretty damn good as an applicant. Film schools are also accepting individuals that can enrich their programs. You need to make your application relevant to your life and your experiences. Contrary to popular belief film schools aren’t filled with tons of little Spielbergs (he didn’t even get in). They are filled with a varied and diverse group of individuals, some with experience some without. Passion, creativity, and diversity (not just racial but in the sense of life experiences which believe it or not… we all have but can rarely properly communicate) are the keys. Let them know what you want to get out of their program but also what you can give back.</p>