Film School

[dragons in the flower bed]

We all told him he was cut out for theatre. What else do you do with a person who likes to memorize plays, feels an obsessive need to entertain the people around him, and likes to sew costumes and draw storyboards? Only now that he's taking an acting class have we seen the light turn on in his own head. He now realizes everything he's ever had an impulse to learn is somehow connected to theatre. Don't you love it when that happens?

Anyway, next year he'd be in sixth grade, so we're starting to chart a path through high school. My questions, therefore: Is getting into film school pretty much like getting into any other college? If we aim for Tisch at NYU, should he be able to get into any other program? Finally, would you mind taking a moment to list any schools with good programs, of which you might be aware?

[Sandra in NC]

Check out this page for entrance requirements. http://www.ncarts.edu/filmmaking/admissions.htm

My son is in the high school program at NC School of the Arts. It's a wonderful school with an excellent reputation in film. (I don't think they have a high school program for film, although they do accept seniors for drama http://www.ncarts.edu/drama/admissions.htm)

Many schools require an art portfolio and arts foundations courses for their film students, so you might want to start working on a portfolio! At Virginia Commonwealth Univ., they require arts foundation courses for their film students but not for cinema majors. (VCU has an excellent art program, too.)

[WriterGirl]

I went to film school at the University of Texas, back in the day! It's an excellent school. Back then, the focus was more production than theory-based, and because UT has so much money, the resources for students, camera and equipment-wise were awesome. Plus, there was the opp to intern for Austin City Limits :) After film school & law school, I moved to LA. I was practicing law at that time, but have many friends in the biz. UCLA and USC provide an excellent film education, and the opportunities for connections/networking (which is extremely important in a biz like film) are awesome. There are also one or two seminars that are just as legit as film school through a university. I believe AFI has one. It's pretty hard to get into. I dated a guy who'd gone through the program, and he was working steadily in the industry. (And if he wants to do theater as opposed to film, Carnegie-Mellon is a good choice, I believe.)

[JFS in IL]

Chapman University (College back when I went there) in Orange, CA has a burgeoning film program. UCLA (another alma mater), USC (boo, hiss - rivals :rolleyes: is also decent, as is NYU.

Actually - for now is there a children's theater near you that he could join? Plus push the study of literature, as a good background in classic stories is a big plus. one of the best classes I had at UCLA we dissected classic films down through their screenplays and primary sources, studying how the narrative structure of a two-hour-ish film was constructed. Studying older films, seeing how the art form developed, is good, too.

[dragons in the flower bed]

for now is there a children's theater near you that he could join?

As a very first step, he is participating in a class at a local art center.

I've been looking at the Connect the Thoughts (http://www.connectthethoughts.org/usbcm.htm) courses on screenwriting and it (or maybe it was another CtT course) seems to have kids analysing television and movies as literature quite a bit.

I have done a classic literature heavy program with him, feeling intuitively that he'd need it for whatever he eventually decided to do. He complains that "old stories have no character development," but I don't have any plans to let him off the hook. Do you think Lightning Literature is sufficient for this purpose?

[dragons in the flower bed]

And if he wants to do theater as opposed to film, Carnegie-Mellon is a good choice, I believe.

Thanks for the suggestions. His dad sure likes the idea of seeing him at Carnegie Mellon; he's got a colleague friend there. Also, it's so nearby. It's hard for us to imagine sending him off to California, but maybe that's because he's just ten.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Check out this page for entrance requirements. http://www.ncarts.edu/filmmaking/admissions.htm . . .
Many schools require an art portfolio and arts foundations courses for their film students, so you might want to start working on a portfolio!

Very useful links, thanks! He (and our others) will be enrolled in art classes at the local museum or college at every opportunity. It's something that's important to us on a personal level. There are usually portfolio development courses available to teens. Those would help, right?

What do you think of Artistic Pursuits Senior High courses?

[JennW in SoCal]

When my ds was in 6th grade, I thought for sure he would be heading to film school. Now that he is a high school junior and more the master of his future, he has settled on becoming a lighting designer for theater. He is planning on a theater major at Cal State Fullerton.

Because my dh has contacts within the film biz through his work, I once had the opportunity to grill a film producer during a dinner. I asked her how she goes about choosing interns for her production company and about her own college background. She said she prefers hiring literature majors because they better understand the elements of good story telling. She herself was a Russian Studies major. So film school isn't necessarily the only way into the business!

I mention that because it illustrates that you can't go wrong in providing a solid classical education, no matter what direction your son takes with his interests. Good stories, good art, even, as my son has discovered with his fascination with lighting, science is an important part of theater and film.

My son has been active in theater since he was 9, on stage and off. For his literature studies I've used the Well Educated Mind to help guide him through fiction and plays, and we usually make a point of watching the film versions of whatever he has read. Last year he paired 20th century American history with a study of American theater. Algebra, geometry, and other classes are annoyances he tolerates on the way towards graduation!

You've got a ways to go until your son is having to decide upon a college or a major. In the meantime it will be lots of fun! Great stories to read together, wonderful moves to watch, and lots of rehearsals and performances, and all that creative energy that comes from a teen age theater geek!

[Jan P.]

?

My questions, therefore: Is getting into film school pretty much like getting into any other college? If we aim for Tisch at NYU, should he be able to get into any other program? Finally, would you mind taking a moment to list any schools with good programs, of which you might be aware?

My dc and I watched "The Secret of the Cave" this weekend which was a film project produced and directed by professors and students from Southern Adventist University. It is an extremely well done film, and the special features section is an inspiration to film hopefuls. My ds is in film studies, and I'm having him watch the movie.

I don't know anything much about SAU other than it does have a fine Visual Art department. "THe Secret of the Cave" was their first full feature movie, and it went up against big budget movies at the Heatland Film Festival. I think it did win an award there.

If nothing else their website is pretty cool. Here is the link:
http://art.southern.edu/ .

Enjoy,
Jan