<p>Although slanted towards grad level experience, the above titled book states, in the Lowdown section: "nobody makes documentaries, nobody makes experimental films". I am hoping that that is not true. </p>
<p>One of Dodge's "In Production" newsletters says that they've started a documentary film program, and that there are study abroad opportunities tied to doc films.</p>
<p>I can't see my S having a school experience which may seem like a "puppy mill" for Hollywood. (I apologize in advance if this concept offends.)</p>
<p>Does anyone here have experience or an opinion on how experimental one can get at Dodge? S has a tendency to be a free-thinker, and a bit counter-culture, and I don't know if this is a fit.</p>
<p>i’m pretty sure this is not true… i read an article about a student whose senior project was a series of viral videos made into an online reality saga… it was very very experimental as far as what i was reading about it and it had a HUGE production crew (like more than a hundred people) and had the support of the school in terms of equipment and financial assistance</p>
<p>and yes, what you said about study abroad documentary filmmaking is true… the professor that spearheads that program called me to see if I had any questions about the school as I was deciding and he told me all about their program and that the abroad opportunities for film students are constantly expanding… he took a bunch of students to i think west africa or some other developing country recently to shoot a documentary, and told me about a bunch of other trips they’ve taken in the past</p>
<p>when i was looking at USC and Chapman, one of the key distinctions people i talked to made was that USC is a hollywood puppy mill and Chapman was the more independent spirited one</p>
<p>Thanks for responding head-on to my questions/issues. So are you at Chapman now? My S didn’t even apply to USC because the school’s too large (he thought). But now he thinks Orange is too backwater - loved Dodge, tho. He’s entirely conflicted, obviously. Hard to please - I guess that’s my fault - ha! ;)</p>
<p>I’m starting at Chapman this fall in film production, but I’ve done a lot of research and talked to a lot of people about it, including current students and parents of current students.</p>
<p>As for Chapman being backwater (if by backwater you mean in the middle of nowhere, nothing to do), I had also looked into this to make sure it was the right choice for me. It’s within a very short drive to the beach (like 13 miles), there’s a huge outdoor mall complex called The Block at Orange ( <a href=“http://www.anaheimdesertinn.com/img/shopping2.gif[/url]”>http://www.anaheimdesertinn.com/img/shopping2.gif</a> ) about 2 miles away, it’s 5 miles from Disneyland (a lot of kids get yearlong passes and take trips every weekend or every other weekend, and many students get jobs there), and if that’s still too backwater for S, Los Angeles isn’t that far of a drive away</p>
<p>If S is in film production, a lot of his time and social life is going to be spent working on student sets and getting his own projects together… Not to mention a gazillion student organizations, on campus activities, fraternities (which from what I hear is very different and more laid back than other schools), and sports. I really don’t think there is going to be a lack of things to do.</p>
<p>At this point, he’s taken everything else off the list and is only considering Chapman or FSU. He applied to FSU film and was declined in the film program but accepted at the university. FSU is the safe bet, closer to home, he can have a car sophomore year, less expensive so less nerve-wracking, a general program, has the Honors College which makes the huge school hopefully seem smaller & more motivating, and unfortunately more like Grade 13, probably. One of his teachers who wrote his rec (an FSU grad), suggested he “skip” the early, core requirement years by going directly into his interest - hence she recommends Chapman because he wants to do film. Her feeling was that my S should start on his path earlier than later. His other teacher who wrote a rec letter is a film maker (U Miami grad) and my S gave him the DVD of Chapman student films that we got on our visit. I’m interested to hear what he thinks, because he seems to have had a somewhat negative impression of Chapman, but I don’t think he was aware of the new facility and equipment/program.</p>
<p>When I asked my S what he’d feel like if there’s a lot of social drama or general immature behavior (which might happen at either one of these schools), he said he thinks that probably happens in most colleges and that he’ll just have to deal.</p>
<p>Orange definitely isn’t boring. There is a lot to do in the OC, like the beaches; the Block, the Irvine Spectrum, South Coast Plaza and plenty of other shopping/entertainment areas; Disneyland (of course!); plenty of great concerts, festivals or what have you nearby. Everything is practically walking distance from Chapman. And of course, there is always LA.</p>
<p>My son loves Chapman…he is in film prodcution…he looked at schools/programs out east, in the midwest where we are from and in CA and was accepted by all but one…Dodge’s hands on approach your first sememster really sold him on Chapman…so far he has taken 2 film classes his first semester along with an english class called writing for film and is now taking 3 more film classes this semester and loves them all…he likes Orange…says there is plenty to do…altho Old Towne has lots of antique stores, there are also restuarants that the kids go to for a change…his friends hang out on campus and watch lots of movies, go out to movies, ocasionally go to the beach or to sporting events, …he has a seasonal Disney pass and goes at least twice a month since it is 10 minutes away…he did join a fraternity…he wasn’t that interested in Greek life in the beginning but I encouraged him to just check it out and he found a fraternity he really liked…they do lots of activities on campus and have social exchanges with the sororities…because there are no fraternity houses in Orange, the whole greek life seems more laid back than at other campuses…they do have parties but at an off campus house or apartment…the greeks do lots of service projects too around OC…kids that are in film are pretty busy helping others on their projects or films…twice my son has done set work for 15 hours straight on someone’s film…he is not much into shopping but does get out occasionally to the various malls…overall he is plenty busy and is very impressed with the film building facilities and classes and professors…</p>
<p>If he was not accepted into FSU’s film program, I would DEFINITELY recommend going to Chapman. If he is interested in film, he will be able to jump right into it at Chapman rather than float around FSU taking gen ed’s hoping to transfer into the program. I heard many students spend many of their weekends just working on people’s sets, having fun and getting experience. He is probably not going to get this hands on at FSU, at least not till later into his four years.</p>
<p>You said FSU is the safe bet? Never go with a safe bet. Go for the risk and if it doesn’t work out, FSU is always there to fall back to.</p>
<p>Personally I agree about not going with safe bets. Safe bets get you comfort. I would think young people should go for the gusto; he’s a bit hesitant about making decisions. We laugh about his being a Libra (weighing e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g). I am telling him that if he doesn’t like Chapman, after trying it, he can transfer. But I think he should get exposure to an actual film program and he’ll know if it’s for him. He won’t know himself any better by going into a general core curriculum at a large state school. I think he knows all of this. The trick is getting him to accept making his own decision. He knows Dad’s looking at the $$$, although he was given a decent merit award to attend Chapman.</p>
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