Which school for film major

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
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<p>I am 16 and in my junior year of hs and want to major in film but am not sure which are the good schools as many of the good art schools are known for their id and design programs and there are no rankings for film schools.</p>

<p>I am not particularly great in drawing but find it easy to work with a camera..i saw that most schools require you to submit a portfolio of sketches ie bicycle etc etc.how important is your drawing and sketching skills if you are more interested in film as a major.</p>

<p>being an international female student one of the criteria would be to also look for a school which has in campus housing so that eliminates some of the smaller private art schools.</p>

<p>i have applied to risd to attend their summer pre college with film as the chosen major.but i am not sure if risd and pratt are really known for their film departments</p>

<p>any and all advise would be greatly appreciated</p>

2

<p>See the websites of these schools to see if their departments of film sound like a closer match to what interests you. This isn't a ranking. I'm picking a geographic variety here:</p>

<p>Chapman University - Dodge College of Film and Media Arts (near Los Angeles)</p>

<p>University of Southern California's undergraduate film department (in Los Angeles)</p>

<p>Emerson College (Boston)</p>

<p>Florida State University</p>

<p>New York University - Tisch School of the arts (in New York City)</p>

<p>State University of New York - Purchase campus (suburb of NYC)</p>

<p>Ithaca College (rural community, in Ithaca, New York)</p>

<p>University of Michigan in Ann Arbor</p>

<p>I figure you're interested in film production, but if it is more like a critical, analytical study of films already made by others, see Wesleyan in Connecticut, New York University, and many other schools that have such departments where you study (rather than make your own) films as the primary focus.</p>

<p>Many of these schools are extremely competitive, so check the statistics. In some cases, 8-15 percent of applicants are admitted if the declared major is film. Therefore, you need a back-up plan. This could be different universities or colleges that have some courses in film, but perhaps not a major.</p>

<p>The ones I listed above are more famous for very concentrated offerings in film production. In some cases, you need to submit a portfolio of work, but they describe their expectations on the website. That's good, so you can get an idea of what to work upon in the meantime. If you apply to these, that's great, but ALSO I can't emphasize enough how important it is to also appply to some safety schools on your list that year. It is just very competitive.</p>

<p>In the meantime, you probably should try to get your hands on a movie camera and make some films. Even if you just do some classroom assignments through film, that's good practice. Are there competitions for amateur films where you are now? See if you can enter a short piece in a competition locally. It's good practice and you might place with an award. All of these will strengthen your application. Perhaps there is a mentor in your country to teach you how to edit films, so you can try it out. You can also learn to write screenplays of ideas you could film "someday." That's relevant practice, too. </p>

<p>All the schools I've mentioned in this posting have residential communities of students, dormitories, and so on.</p>

<p>I'm wondering if you can translate your skill with art into a different form of film. You know a lot of people want to make and direct their own films, but there are also new forms of film craft, such as digital animation, 3-dimensional special effects and so on.
Can you research this? Perhaps your artistic hand will make you someone able to work in other areas than directing, for example: special effects, film editing, or graphic animation. I don't know about those kinds of programs, but I think RISD has some things along this line, as well as Pratt.</p>

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<p>much appreciate the input, i did see the sites of emerson,tisch & chapman.any inputs on the gpa and the sat for these schools..also are they all looking for a portfolio of rawings and sketches</p>

4

<p>For data on their testing averages, I think you look up Petersons.com but be aware these are not absolute mathematical restrictions or guarantees. Rather, look to see if you fit in the average (median? mean? forgot my math, sorry..) range/ but they also admit people with scores above and below the average, obviously.
That's how you figure out, in part, whether it's a reach, match or safety for you ACADEMICALLY speaking. Artistically there's another level of review, but you want to be sure you can fit in academically also.</p>

<p>I think you need to look closely at the admissions websites for their programs about exactly which kind of portfolio they require. It's been more than a year, but I recall very specific descriptions of what they want in a portfolio, once you dig into the actual department and major. You might look for a chance to add your drawings and sketches, or if they ask for "any" evidence of your visual or artistic capability, then submit those. But don't substitute them for the exact portfolio requirements of each school! For example, as I recall, Chapman wanted a short film (5 minutes? 2 minutes? can't remember, but it's all spelled out on the website) OR a written screenplay for a film you "would" produce. In other words, see if you can add the sketches but don't send only sketches if they're asking for a different kind of portfolio. Be precise to carry out their specific requirements. Maybe that helps answer your last question? Hope so. </p>

<p>Best wishes and good luck.</p>

<p>EDIT: You can also email the admissions departments or academic departments in film and ask if you might send sketches/drawings as a "SUPPLEMENT" to your portfolio. Perhaps you take slides of them. Certainly don't send originals!</p>

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<p>thanks..have not really done much art as it was not offered in school after the middle grades..am hoping the summer program at risd will help me with my drawing skills and also will be taking some private classes till i have to send my portfolio by nov/feb..have you any feedback on summer pre college does it help with the portfolio?</p>

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<p>RISD is among the finest art schools in the nation, so in my opinion it is helpful because you'll have time to work on things, and can also write that you attended this program on your resume. It's my general impression from reading CC that all
summer pre-programs are positive, especially when the student works hard in the available time. I sure don't know specifically what occurs in the RISD pre-program. As a parallel, I know someone who attended a summer writing workshop at Bard and it helped focus her creative portfolio in that medium, gave her time to think, others who were interested, a good teacher, and added material to her portfolio as a high school student. She didn't need it directly for her college application, but it helped her writing. I think perhaps that's parallel for you if you want time to develop your art. So it's a good way to spend a summer at RISD if you love art. Can you perhaps take a photograph course while you're there? Just an idea. All art is helpful because you are developing your eye. </p>

<p>Incidentally, my D lives and works in Providence and loves the city. It also has excellent public transportation. She gets by fine without a car.</p>

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<p>thank you..i am looking forward to being in providence in the summer for 6 weeks..it will the first time i will be living away from home in a foreign country</p>

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<p>Does anyone know how UCSB's film program is?</p>

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<p>Tojolove, that is exciting and wonderful! The area of PRovidence called "East Providence" includes RISD and Brown University. It is charming and historic. There are also many small art galleries, bookstores and so on. It's a medium sized city, not enormous like NYC or LA, so you can really get familiar with it. Also Boston is only an hour away, with great historical and cultural riches, including museums and so on. I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself in Providence, and have plenty of student culture up and down Thayer Street! My D really loves it. Well in this hemisphere it's the middle of the night, so I'll sign off! Good luck!</p>

<p>PS, If you get the chance on a weekend, you might also enjoy visiting the Rhode Island coast, or Block Island, or along the beach towns, or the Town of Newport, Rhode Island to see all the old mansions from the Victorian times. These are summer tourist destinations, but if others in your program organize a side-trip there, I hope you can go.</p>

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<p>Thank you for all your input..was greatly appreciated</p>

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<p>Just one picky correction - the area of Providence where Brown and RISD are located is called the "East Side". "East Providence" is actually a separate city, as is "North Providence". "South Providence", however, refers to another section of Providence itself. There is no "West Providence", although there is a neighborhood known as the "West Side". Go figure...</p>

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<p>tojolove, writing is also very important for film school acceptance. All of them seem to put a lot of weight on their essays. Remember that filmmaking is learning to tell stories visually. Anyone can be taught to use film equipment, but not everyone has the ability to tell a story.</p>

<p>You can look at the websites for the various film schools and see what the essay topics were for this year. Sometimes they change from year to year, so keep that in mind. I think USC's for this year were "Describe your most emotional moment" and "do a 1 page character sketch". So, it's stuff like that. I would suggest spending some time late this summer working on essays for the schools to which you plan to apply. Call the school first to see if the essays for next year are the same or if they'll be different.</p>

<p>If you like photography, definitely pursuing that would be great. Can you get any photographs published in your school or local paper? Also, look for local photography contests you could enter. Those would be other things you could add to your resume.</p>

<p>The RISD summer program sounds great! That will allow you to explore your interest in film and will give you material for your resume.</p>

<p>Here is a list of film schools in the U.S.: FilmSchools.com</a> - Film School Directory - U.S. Film Schools Keep in mind that many of these are for-profit schools and are not colleges/universities. Check the websites for ones which interest you, then come here for questions not answered there.</p>

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<p>I am somewhat confused between opting for a film school i.e Chapman,Tisch etc or going for a program like Pratt/Risd wherein one has to also take credits in liberal arts and go through a common foundation year..there seems to be pros and con with both and cant seem to take a call as yet, maybe the 6 weeks at RISD will help clear my thoughts</p>

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<p>I think you are misunderstanding something. Chapman and NYU are universities. To get a degree at a university (even a degree in film production), you will have general education requirements in addition to courses in your major. For example, look at Chapman's catalog:
Chapman</a> University Catalog
Select Undergraduate Degree Requirements, then read that whole section. I'm sure you can find something similar on NYU's website.</p>

<p>At Chaman it works out to be about 45 credits in coursework outside the film major.</p>

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<p>Webster University has a very good film production major. It's located in St. Louis, MO. Here's a link Webster</a> University - School of Communications</p>

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<p>choosing a film school depends on your goals and where you like to live.
after all of the hype you really ought to ask people ( students ) how the like the school that they are at now. some sites offer student reviews of film schoolsThe</a> Top Ten Film Schools by Your Votes | TheBestFilmSchool.Com ... i think that this is important since sometimes the staff can change and the rep of the school might still be good, but the profs might suck.</p>

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<p>I don't think I'd use that site for comparing film schools. I just looked at it and the only reviews and rankings are by one guy (david35) who appears to be the site owner. There are no student reviews or comments at all.</p>

<p>I found this site which does have a few student reviews for most schools: filmmaking.net</a> | directory : film schools in united states</p>

<p>There is also some interesting stuff here: Ranking</a> Film Schools - FilmSchools.com Scroll down to the bottom for some links to sites with reviews and a table summarizing rankings. See anything strange there? Right....the lists don't match up at all! That's because most rankings are compiled by "votes" of reviewers. So, if your school has a bunch of people who go on that site and give it a 10, then your school will be highly ranked.</p>

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<p>Take a look at RIT. My son is in the School of Film and Animation there and loves it. It is small (only 60 freshman are accepted to this program), very collaborative and very hands on. They are working with film their second week of school. Lots of production experience the first year. I don't think this program gets the recognition it deserves</p>

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<p>My list (I'm currently at Tisch):
USC
NYU
Northwestern (sometimes, I wish I went here instead of Tisch. very underrated)
Emerson (lacks liberal arts but they're really up and coming)
Boston University
RIT
Brown/Harvard (great programs).</p>

<p>I really don't understand the allure to Chapman and the only people I know who went there transferred to NYU after one year. </p>

<p>People also always talk about the first year production experience. At all the schools, you can get on crews and build relationships fast if you want to. In some cases, you can't check out your own equipment. But learning about production is learning to work from the bottom up and work as a team. So go start as PA on a senior's production. Someone there will take you under their wing and move you up the ranks quickly. I started my first production as a script sup (pretty high place to start) because they knew I could get it done. The AD and I became great friends and now as a sophomore I'm casting and ADing on her TV pilot this weekend. </p>

<p>and if you have interest in animation:
RISD
SVA
CalArts
NYU</p>

<p>are awesome!</p>

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<p>oh and UT-Austin. overlooked as well.</p>