various SCA programs and the dreaded portfolio

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>I just have a few questions about applying to the different SCA programs and what the SCA looks for in a portfolio. As a film student, I would like to pursue my interests in cinematography and screenwriting. I'm interested in photography and intend to work hard to put together a beautiful portfolio this summer. However, writing has always been my strong point (the subject I've always excelled in) and I would really like to pursue it as well.</p>

<p>Anyway, here are my questions.</p>

<ul>
<li>The website isn't letting me view the SCA supplement... are you only allowed to apply for one program? Or can you rank multiple ones in order of interest? I still haven't decided between Critical Studies, Production, and Writing (though I'm leaning towards Production).</li>
<li>If you apply to one program (Production) but get rejected, can they place you in a different one (Critical Studies) that you might not have applied for?</li>
<li>For the visual samples in the Production application, is it better to choose the video option or the photo option? I'm interested in photography but since I want to be a cinematography student, would USC prefer to see this interest translated onto film?</li>
<li>For the Production written portfolio, what types of projects can/should you include? I'm VERY involved in my school's theater program, so can I include all of the plays/musicals I've been a part of? If I want to discuss photography, should I include any freelance pieces I've done or just ones for school/contests? Should I include drawing/painting/computer graphics projects I've done for art classes? Should I talk about any musical achievements I've earned? </li>
<li>For the Writing written portfolio, what types of "creative material and experience" should you include? Do they have to be essays from school or just freelance things?</li>
<li>How long should the analysis/review be for the Critical Studies writing sample?</li>
<li>Do the three application letters required for SCA include the one needed for USC? Or are they completely separate? Can you send the same three letters to two different SCA programs?</li>
<li>If one of the writing prompts on the programs' pages is vague, is it safe to assume that they really don't care HOW you describe something (like the emotional moment essay for Writing) as long as you get your point across? How much creative license do you have?</li>
</ul>

<p>Sorry that there are so many, I'm just so paranoid I'll do something terribly wrong.</p>

2

<p>A few more (sorry!):</p>

<ul>
<li>Is there any sort of format that my portfolio list should follow? Should I group creative projects by genres such as plays/musicals, short stories, photography, etc?</li>
<li>How far back should I go? Should I include musical achievements from the 4th grade?</li>
<li>Any general guidelines for portfolio lists? Should it be pretty or completely unadorned? Do I need a cover page? HAAAALP :(</li>
</ul>

3

<p>dreamups–</p>

<p>I can help with some but not all of your questions because it sounds as if the application procedure for production has changed recently. A couple of years ago, production applicants were not permitted to submit a visual sample. No films or videos were considered. I may be mistaken, but I think this is the first year with the new application requirements. Also, there was no written production portfolio in the past other than the assigned writing samples and the portfolio list. There may be other changes as well, so be sure to check and make sure that the rest of my info isn’t outdated.</p>

<p>In the past, applicants could apply to two areas, which they ranked in order of preference. This means filling out two completely separate SCA applications and fulfilling the application requirements of both areas. The essays and writing samples were completely different. Rest assured that the area that you designate as your second choice will not automatically reject you because they aren’t your first love. Quite a few students are accepted to both.</p>

<p>All of the areas you are considering – production, critical studies, and writing (of course) – care a lot about the quality of your writing. Be sure that provide the best samples you can in both areas to which you apply. I think there were suggested lengths for the production and critical studies essays last year, and it would probably be best to stay pretty close to those limits.</p>

<p>All areas seem to be interested in your creativity across non-film arts fields. Do not leave any area of creative accomplishments off your portfolio list. (This includes flamenco dancing, designing shoes, and composing hop-hop music. It all counts.) In terms of how far back to go, I don’t think I’d list every tap dance performance in which you’ve participated since 4th grade (unless some of them were on Broadway), but with areas in which you’ve been involved for a long time, you might start the section with a statement on the order of: Violin performance – 9 years, specifying the years that you’ve played in your state’s youth orchestra, even if those years precede 9th grade, and adding that you now play electric violin in a jazz quartet. Absolutely list every play and musical with your contribution and do not leave out any aspect of your music. For writing, the things you list or include do not have to be school-related. </p>

<p>I would recommend grouping by genre on the portfolio list, and my preference would be for something detailed, readable, and unadorned, although others may disagree. I hope current SCA students will tell you if their lists were plain or fancy, so you’ll get a sense of the range of formats used by accepted students. </p>

<p>You might also post with a heading specifically for current SCA writing students to get an idea of how much license they took with their samples. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

4

<p>Nester’s answers are pretty comprehensive. I was really surprised to learn that USC now looks at actual film or photos for the production major. Like the application wasn’t hard enough already!!</p>

<p>For the portfolio, this may sound really cheesy, but I’ve read suggestions that you should try to get your creative works published or displayed - even if this means asking your local bank to display your photos or getting your essay published in even the most modest literary magazine.</p>

<p>I looked up my son’s critical studies application. The personal statement was 750 words, and the analysis of a film/tv show was about 1200 words. I can’t remember what else he had to write, but those two were where the major work happened. I just remember him saying “I think I need a degree in critical studies in order to write this paper!”.</p>

<p>You can use the same recommendation letters for both main USC admissions and SCA.</p>

<p>Trying searching for posts by Tordazzle, who was admitted to the writing program last year. I think there might be some helpful info concerning your questions about that program.</p>

5

<p>Thank you SO MUCH for all of these answers. </p>

<p>A few other questions for everyone:</p>

<ul>
<li>If I’m grouping creative activities by genre, what do I do if one activity crosses over two genres? For example, as part of my school’s theater program, we are allowed to help with band/orchestra/choir/etc concerts in our performance space. I have been a spotlight operator for several band concerts. Should I include this under theatre (the hours I earned for these concerts contributed to my International Thespian Society membership) or music?</li>
<li>Should I include art projects (like pencil sketches) I’ve done for school? Or is that excessive?</li>
</ul>

6

<p>Absolutely include your art projects. All of them, with brief descriptions of what they were. This is not excessive. Applicants get brainwashed that colleges will only look at one page of EC’s yadda yadda. Well, as far as I can tell, this is not the case with your SCA creative portfolio. Once you’ve listed everything, you can go through and eliminate superfluous words and make sure the text is punchy, but do not leave out anything in terms of the items you list. </p>

<p>Given that you’re interested in cinematography, I’m thinking that your experience with theatrical lighting is relevant and might warrant its own heading if you’ve lit a bunch or different things. If there’s not a ton of variety, maybe make a subheading in the theater section. For example, let’s say you’ve been an actor, a lighting designer, and a scenery painter, then go ahead and have a subheading for each of these activities under theater even if the lighting was for choir concerts and not plays (Just make it clear that this was the case).</p>

<p>I agree with FauxNom’s “cheesy” suggestion, not just for SCA but in general. Also, if you’ve got shorts that you think are ready, submit to festivals. There are lots of festivals for hs and college students, and many are free or very inexpensive to enter. But I do think that now that SCA will actually look at applicants’ art and films, it might (?) remove some of the pressure to have outside validation that the work is, in fact, good. My guess is that now that the admissions committee can look and make its own determination about the works’ quality, it may be less dependent on what teachers and outside adjudicators say.</p>

7

<p>Thank you all so much. :)</p>

<p>Am I doing this right so far? Here are a couple of the items on my list (I’m posting the more prestigious ones because I think those should have the longest descriptions and I want to make sure I’m saying the right things):</p>

<p>March 2009-May 2009, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, musical. Position: set construction/front of house assistant stage manager. The original musical that inspired the 2007 movie musical. Featured fake blood and a four-sided revolving set piece with a trap door on the ceiling. The trap door (which was designed and tested by a small group of people including myself) was used to quickly drop actors from a chair to the floor eight feet below. The role of assistant stage manager involved aiding the stage manager in organizing lighting and sound cues. The role also required knowledge of lighting and sound equipment in order to replace any absent operators, such as the lighting designer, at any given moment.</p>

<p>September 2008-January 2009, The Wedding Singer, musical. Position: set construction/run crew. Musical based off of the popular comedy movie. First performance of the musical by any high school in Illinois. Performed in (my high school) Performing Arts Center before a series of sold out audiences. Was selected in late November 2008 to participate in the 2009 Illinois High School Theatre Festival. The entire set was taken down and put back together several times in order to be performed in front of two completely full audiences, receiving standing ovations from both.</p>

<p>September-November 2007, Metamorphoses, play. Position: set construction/lighting crew. A play based on the famous work by Ovid; featured a 20 by 30 foot pool that was 3 feet deep and constructed by an all-student technical crew. Performed in (my high school)’s Performing Arts Center.</p>

<p>And these are some of the smaller ones (am I including too much information or anything?):</p>

<p>May 2009, Spring Orchestra Concert, concert. Position: musician. First Violinist in (my high school) Concert Orchestra.</p>

<p>June 2008, Picture This!, photo contest. Named “Honorable Mention” in contest held by the Village of (nearby village) that called for photos pertaining to the theme of “Friendly, Clean, & Green: Caring for our Environment.” </p>

<p>February 2006, 007: A Fight Against Evil, silent digital film, 6 minutes. Position: actor/writer/director/cinematographer. A James Bond spoof created for 8th grade improvisation class, (my middle school, my town, my state).</p>

<p>May 2005, Full Moon, short story. Position: writer. Fictional short story that was honored by the District (my district) Young Authors program.</p>

<p>Is this a good format to use? I tried to follow the one provided on the USC Production website as best as I could…</p>