<p>S-2 is a brand new graduate of Dodge/Chapman, with a double major in Screenwriting and History.</p>
<p>S-1 is a working actor in NYC who, in the past 5 years has been in a long list of independent and student films in NYC, as well as stage theater.</p>
<p>Last summer, S-1 flew out to act in one of his brother’s independent films and had only this to say about Dodge film students: the level of professionalism of the 20-person crew on that film (produced, written, directed, and crewed ENTIRELY by Chapman recent alumni/network as well as current seniors and juniors…) was so professional that it shouldn’t even be called “a student film.” It was a 4-day shoot in some homes in nearby Santa Ana; fully in 1940’s period costume with period cars, beautiful cinemetography, about a serious subject…</p>
<p>FWIW. And that comment has nothing to do with the parents who live 3,000 miles away from Chapman U. </p>
<p>Just cut the last check for Chapman; very satisfied with S-2’s experience because he is very satisfied. The mentorship from faculty is particularly important, along with the network of dedicated and talented friends who remain in the area to produce films together.</p>
<p>Let’s keep exchanging comments respectfully on this thread!</p>
<p>bow to P3T!!!
and let me add (guess)
kids turned out so well because P3T chaperoned and baked when needed and stopped when needed
parents matter (and pay) but should not rule
easy said than done</p>
<p>haha, you should taste my bad baking; sometimes I just bought from a bakery to compensate</p>
<p>Yes, pulling back from young adult children is a journey. After a while, they let you know that they’re on their feet! They start handling their own affairs more and more. You have to realize when that’s happening, applaud them for it, and not second-guess them. If they make a mistake, it’s theirs. They’ll deal.</p>
<p>A general comment here (yes, I am new on this thread) but here goes: As a MOTHER who has numerous relatives in the business (music/television/animation), one child who graduated from USC film, another at USC and a third who is an industry executive and other relatives in the business a few insights:</p>
<p>No school will “make” you successful. You’ve got to earn it by working…hard…establishing connections…and being innovative. My kids know lots of grads in the industry…CalArts, USC, U of San Francisco, Chapman, Wesleyan, RSID…the common thread? They are talented and they work hard. There are grads at some schools that they don’t see. Is that serendipity or something else? I’m not hazarding a guess. </p>
<p>To say definitively that X school isn’t worth it because you don’t touch a camera for the first two years bespeaks someone who either doesn’t go to the school, read something somewhere or goes to the school and doesn’t have the guts or talent to be working on any projects.</p>
<p>You need to intern. That breeds connections. Ergo, NYU/USC/UCLA/LMU would, geographically be more desirable. Will that define the rest of your life? Not necessarily.</p>
<p>Parents, whether they bake or buy, are instrumental if they are positive in getting their kids started. And they (we) are there as backup when needed later on. But when I read know it all kids saying back off, I know better because I read somewhere, and go back a proverbial cake…Good luck sweetie. We are in this position of assisting our kids because we have been successful enough at life to have some other insights and strategies.</p>
<p>…Good luck to all the kids who are applying with open hearts and minds. Make your dreams come true. Make us parents proud.</p>
<p>And if I’ve insulted “your” school or devalued a comment…Sorry, but I’m going to go and polish the gold records and the Emmy now.</p>
<p>elle is definitely right about one thing, location and internships matter! </p>
<p>Most of the students that took internships were already from LA so they lived in the area or the ones who had cars and did the hours of commuting to and from Orange. But, many had to forgo doing internships at all because there was no way to get to them. That’s something you really have to consider about Chapman. It’s NOT in LA and students that aren’t from LA and who don’t understand distances or commute traffic, need to realize this.</p>
<p>^ That’s my worry. There’s no way my parents could afford to buy me a car, and I really am interested in internships. If I can’t get to them, then I realize this would not be ideal.</p>
<p>Don’t forget, even if you are going to school in L.A., you’ll likely need a car to get to any local internships. This is a big spread out city (Warner Bros and Disney are in Burbank; Sony Studios is in Culver City) with meh-to-horrible public transportation. But with a car, your 20-30 minute drive to your internship from USC, LMU or UCLA is a lot easier than 60-90 minutes to/from Orange County.</p>
<p>My 2 cents’ worth, but if you are going to film school ANYWHERE in LA or greater LA, you will need a car if you intend to get to any internship. Whether it’s LMU, USC, UCLA, or Chapman. So I would not pick a school based on location when considering LA schools, because there is no right location. Just FYI, hardly anything gets produced in Hollywood. The companies are ALL OVER the greater LA area that is connected by miles of freeways that are always jammed. And public transportation in LA stinks. Just reiterating what someone else said, I know, but I think people don’t realize it’s not just a Chapman problem, it’s a problem with any school in LA.</p>
<p>Ah, madbean, you beat me to the same post! But good point about the comparatively shorter commutes, although there are companies south of LA too, I am sure.</p>
<p>This is kind of frightening. There’s no way my parents can afford to send me to school with a car - and internships are kind of what’s been drawing me to some of these West coast schools…yikes. I do have family in LA, so maybe I can rely on them but who knows?</p>
<p>@bigmamabear When you say “hardly anything gets produced in Hollywood” - are you still talking about public transportation? Because, if so, you may have lost me a little haha.</p>
<p>JLR, my D is in the same boat - she’s applying to LA film schools knowing that not having a car may be a problem where internships are concerned, but she will deal with it when it happens. </p>
<p>“hardly anything gets produced in Hollywood” - I was maybe a little concerned that people were under the impression that being in LA meant being close to Hollywood, film capital of the world, when in fact hardly any major production companies are located in Hollywood. So being at UCLA, LMU, or USC doesn’t mean being at a better location where internships are concerned, other than perhaps having a shorter commute than Chapman.</p>
<p>actually, at larger schools, it can mean not needed a car. I have friends at both USC and LMU that managed to get internships in the same places and could carpool together. At LMU it was at Warner Bros and 3 of them went together. Public transit isn’t too easy, but it’s possible if you’re only going 20-30 minutes away. It’s just a deal breaker coming in from Orange where it can take 2 hours even if you have a car.</p>
<p>@bigmamabear Yeah, regardless of my car situation, I’ve already to applied to a bunch so I’m kind of playing everything by ear at this point. It’s moot until I get accepted, so I guess it’s a bit early to start worrying about.</p>
<p>And I understand your meaning now. I have pretty realistic expectations about internships, for the most part haha. I’ve got a few schools on the East coast (Emerson, BU) that I’m really interested in, so I know that location in LA is not necessarily the end all when it comes to film schools.</p>
<p>@hollyca, that is a great option for interns that don’t have their own cars. BTW, can you share what kinds of internships you and/or your film school friends have - what you do, if you get paid, how many hours a week, etc.</p>
<p>Here is the latest success story for people who are seeking information about Dodge. Congratulations to Chapman University alumnus Ben York Jones for his co-written new film “Like Crazy” wowing audiences at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and has reportedly been bought by Paramount Pictures for $4 million! That is an amazing accomplishment! Endurance and commitment will go a long way. Thanks Ben for making Chapman proud! :)</p>
<p>Sources: Chapman News and Dodge College Blog, EW.com, OC Weekly, and Los Angeles Times</p>
<p>bigmambear, about internships (these were from LMU) - only 1 was at Warner’s, but the other 2 are at MTV in Santa Monica which is a super easy commute from LMU and 1 totally takes public transit there and back. Californians don’t do public transit, but I find a lot more east coasters at LMU manage with it just fine because they’re more used to using it, I think. Also LMU has zip car rental on campus and she used them a couple times when she got called in to do something special at the last minute. My friend has had 2 internships at MTV. One was in production and the other was in artist relations. During school she worked 2 days a week, but it was full time over the summer. I’m pretty sure they were all unpaid.</p>
<p>@hollyca, thanks for the information. Regarding zip cars, i should do my hw here, but my D says you have to be 21 to rent them? We saw that zip cars will be at Chapman soon, if they’re not there already.</p>
<p>Here’s what one Chapman student wrote on www student films com:</p>
<p>"Also, the faculty is great. I know some people might not think Chapman is as prestigious as UCLA or USC, but I have an acting professor who also teaches at UCLA, and my Visual Storytelling professor also teaches at LMU and USC. They are both working in the business as well. "</p>
<p>He makes a good point. I had suspected that adjunct faculty in film/arts type programs in the greater LA area would teach at more than one college. Dodge lists all their adjunct faculty, the class(es) they teach, and their bio info.</p>