<p>k so i'm applying to screenwriting major and it says you gotta put this:</p>
<ol>
<li>Portfolio List
A list of all available creative material and experience with a concise description of each item listed. Items need not be film related, but should give an idea of your creative ability. If your creativity has been recognized in some way, please include brief details.</li>
</ol>
<p>i don't know what they mean by "a concise description of each item". does this mean a short summary of the actual content?</p>
<p>i.e.</p>
<p>1.) novella - old man bonds with a young girl over tea.
2.) novella - teenage deals with his family problems.</p>
<p>(stupid examples, but you get what i mean.)</p>
<p>Hi,
I don’t have experience with film portfolios but I do have experience with portfolios in general. I think that both of your examples of the concise description are correct. In other words I would do it like the following:</p>
<ol>
<li>“Man and Boy”, Novella, 2009, 85 pages.</li>
</ol>
<p>I’m not sure you need to describe the plot as we can presume taht they will read it.</p>
<p>I’m basing this on the protocol for art portfolios which usually require the title, medium (materials used), date that it was created and size.</p>
<p>As far as what constitutes “creative work”. Hmmm…I’m not sure but if you are applying for film I would guess that you would want to include mostly film related content but you are not limited to that. Good luck.</p>
<p>I don’t know about Screenwriting, but for Production, the portfolio list included any creative accomplishment – not just film related. So things like paintings, acting or improv, musical compositions or scoring, all went onto the list if there was enough heft there not to seem silly. (E.g. If you made several ash trays and a lopsided bowl in 9th grade, probably a no go. If you’re pretty serious about ceramics, yes.) If the instructions for screenwriting are vague but leave room for you to think that the list could include creative activities beyond writing, you can always phone SCA admissions tomorrow and ask. The folks who answer the phone at SCA seem pretty helpful, and you don’t even have to identify yourself if you feel silly calling. But you really don’t want to leave off all of the modern dance recitals you’ve choreographed and the fact that you’re an oboe virtuoso if Screeningwriting is looking for your full range of creative expression. </p>
<p>In terms of listing the novellas, EPTR’s approach looks very professional, perhaps followed by a few word description to give SCA some sense of who you are as a writer and what subjects/themes intrigue you. </p>
<p>Aren’t there some screenwriting students on here who could offer some insight?</p>
<pre><code>* July 2008, A Day in the Life, digital video, 12 minutes. Position: writer/director. A documentary on a homeless Iraq vet who has lived on the streets since his return from the military. Created for senior-year multimedia term project, San Raphael High School, Miami, Florida.
March 2008, Doorways, a series of 5 black-and-white photographs. Position: photographer. “Second Prize Winner” in the Des Moines Sunday Journal photo contest.
February 2007, Cellomorphosis, short story. Position: writer. A variation on the novella by Franz Kafka; published in Writing, vol. IV, 2007, at Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts.
</code></pre>
<p>I don’t think you’ll go wrong if you just follow this format. :)</p>
<p>We had this same question when my son was applying for the film production major last year. I’d follow the advice from madeforusc and nester. My son wasn’t sure what to do but decided to follow the format on the SCA site, which meant he had to spend a lot more time on the portfolio than he had initially expected since he had relevant creative experience stretching back for years. I recall this was one of the last things he did and it took days. His portfolio wound up eight pages long but no one objected - and he was admitted.</p>
<p>Same experience as middleoftheroad. The portfolio list was very long, and if I remember correctly, my son separated the different arts areas rather than throwing everything together chronologically.</p>
<p>**<strong><em>, i already did it last night and did it differently. i did it how EPTR did it and i put it in the mailbox last night. </em></strong>. :(</p>
<p>however, i DID put the genres of the stuff, so maybe it’s ok? i didn’t do short summaries. damn it. i also did it from length, not chronology. well, i did all my WRITING first, then at the end did my film work and credited myself as director/or whatever i did in the particular film.</p>
<p>i’ll give you guys an example, tell me if i’m screwed or not:</p>
<p>1.) "The Last Hello”. Novella. 75 pages. 2007. Genres: Drama, Bildungsroman.
2.) Once in Two Lifetimes. Play. 2006. 100 pages. Genres: Dramedy, musical.
3.) Cognizant. Independent film. Position: Director/writer/cinematographer. 70 minutes. Genres: Crime, drama. </p>
<p>etc, etc.</p>
<p>i’m probably screwed.</p>
<p>also my portfolio is only 1 page long as it stands. does this necessarily mean i don’t have enough experience? i hope not, cuz a few of my projects are really major and have taken up most my time but i’ve still written a ton of other stuff, just not 8 pages worth of portfolio list. :-/</p>
<p>Given that they asked for succinct, this is probably exactly what they had in mind. And given that each entry is a single line, with the single lines including things like 100 page long plays and 70 minute long films in which you had key roles, it’s hard to imagine that you don’t have enough experience! Some of the length in the older portfolio lists may stem from the fact that until very recently, production applicants weren’t allowed to submit visual samples or reels, so that the written descriptions probably had (or at least were perceived to have) a different significance. Very good luck with your application!</p>
<p>How long should the portfolio list be for transfer students and incoming freshman to the undergrad program? Mine is barely a page and a half long, and I’m a transfer student. I’m kinda worried that USC won’t think I have enough experience to be admitted.</p>
<p>But isn’t that kinda the whole point of USC? To build even more experience to get out into the real world? Do they want people with a hundred page long portfolio list who already know a ton?</p>
<p>Uh-oh; now I’m worried. Mine was quite a bit longer than whitecadillac’s. Mine had about 3 sentences of summary for each work (some shorter [1-2 sentences], some longer [~5 sentences]). Is this okay? Or is this not concise enough?</p>
<p>I’d go back to what Nester said - be as concise as possible but also be sure you communicate your full range of relevant creative expression. Some people will have longer portfolios and more experience, some will be shorter. I don’t see any problem with one page or a page and a half as long as you’re clearly communicating your work and accomplishments. And certainly a long portfolio won’t make up for a lackluster writing submission.</p>
<p>I don’t think there is any one right way to do this. Clearly, students get in with all sorts of portfolio lists. Middleoftheroad’s son had a very long one. My kid had one that was a lot longer than he’d anticipated, but nowhere nearly middleoftheroad’s S’s 8 pages. Some people list every play that they’ve been in separately while others list all of the plays in a single entry. Some people have attended high schools and lived in cities where they’ve had access to excellent opportunites in film; others haven’t but are clearly loaded with excitement and talent as story tellers. </p>
<p>You have writing samples, visual samples, letters of recommendations, personal essays that will give the admissions committee a clear sense of who you are and what you’re about. Assuming your porfolio list isn’t a slap dash mess and you left out the fact that you’ve been designing the costumes for your school plays or that you wrote all the songs that your band has been performing for the past three years, you’re fine! (This is not to say that kids who don’t write songs and design costumes aren’t fine; I’m just saying that it’s good to put all of your creative activities in there.) It makes no sense for those of you who have short portfolio lists to beat yourselves up because your lists weren’t longer and for those of you with longer lists to second guess yourselves because your lists weren’t short. </p>