film-school Film School/College

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Artorius

I am a 17 year old high school student planning to enter a university in the fall. Whether or not I attend college is not even a question- I will go to school. However, I would like opinions on the schools I am looking at. I have a special situation wherein I am to receive generous financial aid no matter which institution I choose, as well as federal financial aid. So cost of attendance is not a factor. These are the schools I am most likely to attend-

1. CalState Fullerton
2. CalState Northridge
3. CalState Long Beach
4. Loyola Marymount(CA)
5. The University of Arizona

If any of you have any feedback or experience with these universities, it would be much appreciated. Even word of mouth on these would be great. I've heard some good things about Northridge, but practically nothing about Fullerton, or Loyola. So, I'd really appreciate some help here. Thank you.
 
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I'm a junior in CTVA at Northridge. I don't know how those other schools do it but here you don't directly join the program your freshman year. You enter as pre-Ctva and then apply to a specific option (film, television, screenwriting, radio, critical studies or multimedia management ) Film, TV and Screenwriting require a portfolio review to get in.

As far as that list of colleges - Being in LA proper certainly does have its perks. Supply houses for expendables and rentals are close by. We also have more access to actors being so close to Hollywood: we are required to hold real casting auditions in west Hollywood. Fullerton may not be too far, but I'm not great with geography south of Venice :lol:

I can answer any other specific questions you may have about CSUN.

Good luck! :cool:
 
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AuteurTheory said:
I'm a junior in CTVA at Northridge. I don't know how those other schools do it but here you don't directly join the program your freshman year. You enter as pre-Ctva and then apply to a specific option (film, television, screenwriting, radio, critical studies or multimedia management ) Film, TV and Screenwriting require a portfolio review to get in.

As far as that list of colleges - Being in LA proper certainly does have its perks. Supply houses for expendables and rentals are close by. We also have more access to actors being so close to Hollywood: we are required to hold real casting auditions in west Hollywood. Fullerton may not be too far, but I'm not great with geography south of Venice :lol:

I can answer any other specific questions you may have about CSUN.

Good luck! :cool:
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That is just awesome! Thanks for this opportunity. Well, I live in Los Angeles and Fullerton is about 30 minutes from where I live taking the 5 South. I guess my real concerns about Northridge are whether it's more film production oriented, or film theory oriented. I know I'll be taking about a year or two of GE classes before moving into my major, but I am really trying to decide essentially between CalState Fullerton and CalState Northridge. How do you like the Northridge area? Going to school in Orange County I can say with confidence that I really like the Orange County area and I also know the LA area quite well because I live in the heart of Los Angeles.

I'd also like to know how the professors are. Are they approachable? Do they make themselves available after class? Also, what sort of equipment do you get to work with? Professional level cameras and sound equipment? Also, I would like to know what sort of classes you are taking right now. Thanks for offering information, I really appreciate it and it should help me make an informed decision about where I want to go to college.
 
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I'd say its right down the middle between production and theory. Both are taken concurrently, with production classes requiring the perquisite classes completed the previous semester [ie 250 intro prod, 355 intermediate prod, 357 cinematography or 356 editing or 358 sound, 452 senior film thesis.] Meanwhile you take classes like history of film, film criticism (a class lots of people hated by I liked, learned so much about film subtext) writing classes, directing actors, business of film, ect. Bottom line, you will be shooting projects but you're taught theory classes as well.

I checked our Fullerton and SDs film program website and they look about the same to be honest. The area around CSUN is fine but it's definitely the suburbs of LA - Not a lot going on here.

The professors, like at most schools are hit or miss. You get those teaching for a living and don't actively work anymore and those who work in the industry and teach on the side. The ones who teach for a living are almost always available [Nate, Thelma, Schulthies, Hogan, Stahl] and willing to work with you. The other ones can be tough to get a hold of some times.

There's an equipment room to check stuff out but I've never taken a camera from there. Every DP I've worked with in class tended to have his own camera and we used that, especially with the proliferation of DSLRs. Usually I use the equipment room to check out lighting/grip gear and dollys. We also have two large sound stages, like 10 editing bays and a few Foley rooms.

I haven't take the final thesis class yet but to my understanding, it can be expensive. The Hollywood Foreign Press donates 50,000 per semester which is then divided among the 4 thesis projects to be shot. You end up having to fundraise the rest of your budget. 15 or 20k can go in a flash :lol: Last semester a group shot their entire project in Thailand. Another project went to Cannes. Needless to say, I'm very excited.

Now, my advice: If you're from LA, don't go to school here. Apply to somewhere on the opposite coast and make an adventure of it. You'll learn the same things, meet interesting people and prosper even more. Most of the people I've met on set aren't even from here. It's like they have a chip on their shoulder and overachieve. If you really want to stay local, then I don't think there's a whole lot of difference between CSUN and CSUF.

Whichever you decide, be the hardest working, be reliable, be the person everybody knows and you'll fine.

Best of Luck! :cool:
 
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AuteurTheory said:
I'd say its right down the middle between production and theory. Both are taken concurrently, with production classes requiring the perquisite classes completed the previous semester [ie 250 intro prod, 355 intermediate prod, 357 cinematography or 356 editing or 358 sound, 452 senior film thesis.] Meanwhile you take classes like history of film, film criticism (a class lots of people hated by I liked, learned so much about film subtext) writing classes, directing actors, business of film, ect. Bottom line, you will be shooting projects but you're taught theory classes as well.

I checked our Fullerton and SDs film program website and they look about the same to be honest. The area around CSUN is fine but it's definitely the suburbs of LA - Not a lot going on here.

The professors, like at most schools are hit or miss. You get those teaching for a living and don't actively work anymore and those who work in the industry and teach on the side. The ones who teach for a living are almost always available [Nate, Thelma, Schulthies, Hogan, Stahl] and willing to work with you. The other ones can be tough to get a hold of some times.

There's an equipment room to check stuff out but I've never taken a camera from there. Every DP I've worked with in class tended to have his own camera and we used that, especially with the proliferation of DSLRs. Usually I use the equipment room to check out lighting/grip gear and dollys. We also have two large sound stages, like 10 editing bays and a few Foley rooms.

I haven't take the final thesis class yet but to my understanding, it can be expensive. The Hollywood Foreign Press donates 50,000 per semester which is then divided among the 4 thesis projects to be shot. You end up having to fundraise the rest of your budget. 15 or 20k can go in a flash :lol: Last semester a group shot their entire project in Thailand. Another project went to Cannes. Needless to say, I'm very excited.

Now, my advice: If you're from LA, don't go to school here. Apply to somewhere on the opposite coast and make an adventure of it. You'll learn the same things, meet interesting people and prosper even more. Most of the people I've met on set aren't even from here. It's like they have a chip on their shoulder and overachieve. If you really want to stay local, then I don't think there's a whole lot of difference between CSUN and CSUF.

Whichever you decide, be the hardest working, be reliable, be the person everybody knows and you'll fine.

Best of Luck! :cool:
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Thanks so much for all the information, you're really helping me to make an informed decision, I couldn't ask for a better reply to my post. I'll keep you all informed on my decision! I'll probably decide in the next week or so.
 
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