Stanford Art Scene

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>Hey guys!</p>

<p>So I'm in a bit of a quandary, and I was wondering if you Stanford kids could help me out. I got accepted at Stanford (hurrah!) but also to USC's film school. I'm a little worried about the film program, which is amazing but highly into the whole "film is your liiiiiife" thing, because I know USC isn't anywhere near Stanford academics-wise, and hey, I like academics.</p>

<p>Yet Stanford, which is pretty brilliant academically speaking, seems to be somewhat tech-driven. Is there an "alive" art scene at Stanford? If I want artistic resources, will they be there? Is there any innovation in the humanities and the arts like there is in the sciences? I know a little about the English department, which is marvelous, but almost nothing about the art departments or the film society.</p>

<p>Any input would be really helpful. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>ok, so i really don't know much about this, although i do agree that the english dept here is AWESOME and has some pretty amazing profs. i can say that maybe 3 out of 50 people in my dorm are interested in the film major (it's a fairly new major) and 2 are interested in art, which isn't a shabby percentage...i know there are some really interesting film classes, but are hard to get into if you aren't a major...i also know someone who got a research grant to do overseas documentary film...the cantor art center is a museum on campus with some pretty cool exhibits and a monthly night with free food, a cultural event like a performance from an outside musician, and you can go through the exhibits...sorry all these thoughts are pretty disjointed, but i'll think about it/ask around and post if i come up with anything else (i'm obvi not an art major).</p>

<p>you might want to check these out:
<a href="http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2005/sepoct/farm/news/film.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2005/sepoct/farm/news/film.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://art.stanford.edu/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://art.stanford.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.stanford.edu/home/arts/index.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.stanford.edu/home/arts/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

3

<p>Thank you so much!</p>

4

<p>no problem! this is a good way for me to procrastinate and feel like i am doing good deeds...</p>

<p>so, i was thinking that one good thing about choosing stanford, which is pretty strong all around, is that you can do some interesting inter-disciplinary things with film. i know someone doing stuff with synesthesia and film, as well as generally looking at the intersection of psychology and film. she is also interested in the propagandic nature of film and how much it really influences a society, if i remember correctly. basically, i'm saying that different opportunities could open up for you if you have other interests you want to look at in conjunction with film, and stanford is pretty free with research money so you really could do something awesome with that.</p>

<p>these are the film classes currently offered:
introduction to film study, introduction to media study, comics: a lively art, history of world cinema I, II, and III, film theory, science fiction cinema, the body in american genre film from chaplin to the matrix, hollywood musicals 1927-1944, hollywood musicals 1945-1971, studies in authorship, the films of howard hawks, the films of vincente minnelli, italian cinema, aesthetics and politics in east european cinema, film aesthetics: editing, cinematic spectacle, film and perceptual experience, cinema and the city, cyborgs and synthetic humans, movies and methods, screenwriting, intro to the moving image. </p>

<p>a few of those were hands on, practical courses, the rest weren't. you might be able to find reviews of the courses at courseguide.stanford.edu
i think you can also search for courses at axess.stanford.edu</p>

5

<p>Thanks! I'm definitely leaning towards Stanford now. What your friend is doing sounds so cool. Oh my goodness. And the overseas documentary? That's amazing. USC's program doesn't let students go abroad, because of time constraints and stuff. But I guess I see it as....you're a junior in college, you haven't been abroad, you've only taken your core courses...what are you going to make meaningful films about? I'd probably do better if I went to Stanford and then grad school for film if I was still interested.</p>

<p>I've been looking at the programs, and it looks like USC is more hands on equipement based, and Stanford is more intellectual/theoretical/historical. Do you know if there's any basic equipment available for students to rent or anything?</p>

<p>Anyway, thanks so much. I've definitely been floundering, so this was really helpful.</p>

6

<p>There is definitely basic equipment for use.</p>

<p>My RA was able to get a 1920's-era camera for a photography project.</p>

7

<p>Daaaaay-um. That's awesome. What was the project?</p>