film school help

sweetspicydiva · Nov 21, 2004

hello all,
I am a film student living in ms. I took a year off to transfer but i am having trouble. I wanted to go to full sail but found it was too much for my pockets. I dont have much money plus the job market in mississippi isnt so well right now. I am looking at other schools now, like miami-dade, north carolina school of the arts, minneapolis technical and community college, and minneapolis school of art and design. I was wondering if someone could give me advice on education at these school and if it would be wise to go to a community college? I am 20 so i feel kinda old, I am not up for taking classes i dont need, I really just want to get my major so that I can work on my career. Also does anyone have advise on scholarships for film students that arent already in school. In most, I find that you already have to be enrolled. Also, if anyone knows of how I can get financial aid for housing if I go to school that doesn have dorms? Any advice would be helpful.

DannyG · Nov 21, 2004

In my very limited and almost non-existant experiences, theres only one problem with community colleges....transfer schools don't like them. I've noticed a pattern in alot of schools that very few transer students are accepted each year and that preference is given to area community colleges for those that are accepted. Like for UCLA, they are more likely to accept a person from a California community college. Here, I'd have a better shot at Northwestern than the out-of-staters. (although my shot at NU at all is pretty slim :lol: )

David Mullen ASC · Nov 21, 2004

I got a BA in English Lit at UCLA because I couldn't get into their film program, then took four years off after graduation to work full-time paying off my bills and shooting my own films on weekends, and then went to graduate film school at CalArts when I was 27.

So I don't think 20 is too old...

MattFrink · Dec 30, 2004

Hey, I'm new, but I figured I'd start out with this thread...
I don't know much about how the other colleges you mentioned work, but I'm in my first year at North Carolina School of the Arts and I'm 23 years old. You're concerned about having to take a bunch of classes you don't want? At NCSA, we start with film classes first term. You work towards a bachelor's degree (or a diploma in a seperate curriculum) and so you do also take general classes. We're on a trimester system, so you go from early September until Thanksgiving, have a few days off, come back for a two-week period called Intensive Arts (seminars, screenings, etc.), take three weeks for the winter holidays, and then come back for winter term, which goes until spring break. Then spring term until May. It's a very intense curriculum, though, you're absolutely saturated in film. We have a huge archives that screens a couple films a night on the weekends, and not to mention the movies you see in class. So far, I've had no problems with the faculty and everyone seems to get along. I am a part of 69 incoming freshmen, a couple of whom have already dropped out due to personal reasons, etc.
The big thing about NCSA that keeps everyone sharp is the constant threat of being discontinued in the program. Both this and the rigorous nature of the curriculum tends to weed out the people who aren't serious pretty early on. The class will probably drop to around 50 people by the end of second year, when we declare a discipline and go before the faculty for our portfolio review. This year, they've changed things up so that you get two choices at the end of second year: if you aren't accepted into either, you go home. It's kind of rough, but the other students are all in the same boat. If you talk to current upperclassmen, you'll find a mix of bitter people who constantly deride the place (probably because they didn't get their first choice)and people who absolutely love it and will gush over how great of a place it is (they probably got their first choice). Keep that in mind if you're ever talking to a student, myself included.
That said, I love it. I feel like I'm home there. I feel like we have a vibrant community of artists, both students and faculty, who care about helping us hone our skills. But you do get out what you put in, it's the way the school is designed. People don't make films by themselves here. The school is aiming to build a kind of mini-studio system. You might be a key grip one day and then turn around and be the DP on the next student's film. The first two years, you get a broad education on everything. Then you choose your discipline, like I said.
As far as scholarships, fastweb is always an option. You fill out a profile, and they let you know via email when suitable scholarships become available. I don't know much beyond that. But another good thing about NCSA is that the tuition is significantly less than other schools like NYU or USC. We don't have the profile yet, but Winston-Salem and North Carolina in general is building quite a little industry. The community is extremely helpful in finding locations, donating food for productions, etc. It's a quiet place, but the arts have a home there.
Anyway, that's that. Email me at sirius_remembered@yahoo.com if you have any more specific questions about NCSA. And you think 20 is getting old? We have a 35 year-old, a 36 year-old, and some people in their late twenties. I'll assure you, nobody will discriminate against you.

Best of luck in figuring things out! It took me several years of trying to force myself into a normal 9-to-5 and an aborted journalism degree to shoot for my dream. Take it easy!