It's embarrassing that I know this, but the AFI Cinematography interview is a bit easier the second time around. It'd be sweet if we both wound up there next year Alejandro.
Nota "Keeping his fingers crossed" Mono
Posts: 664 | Location: Los Angeles, Ca. U.S.A. | Registered: October 31, 2002
Yo congrats on getting in. If you guys want to room together somehow i'm down. chamman should be awesome awesome. sorry my shift key isn't working. anyway email.
i'm sorry i'm not much of a speller. instead of studying for my spelling tests i was out playing with a movie camera.
Posts: 54 | Location: Orange County | Registered: March 15, 2004
Do the MFA programs tend to do acceptances at the same time or do they stagger them to make sure they have enough people in their program? I'm still waiting to hear back from a couple of schools in LA. Had an AFI interview so fingers are crossed. Wondering if I will know any earlier than the 15th of April...
dude!! congrats! second time for you too? glad to hear someone else is going through all the heartache. had my directing interview today over phone and i felt i did much better than the cine one.
listen, if you ever want to talk about it NotaMono, give me a call, 415.775.4941. i am stressing as far as how to pay for it if i get in and about transport since i do not have a car.
"A film is - or should be - more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what's behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later." -Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)
Posts: 221 | Location: Los Angeles.CA | Registered: December 14, 2002
quote:Originally posted by kubrick77: i am stressing as far as how to pay for it if i get in and about transport since i do not have a car.
It's all about loans... Fill out a FAFSA for the government stuff, and then I guess they have private loans to make up the other 1/2 or more that it'll cost. Buy a used jalopy somewhere and you're set!
I'll definitely try and give you a ring if I get home at a reasonable hour tonight. I was actually just up in your neck of the woods shooting a music video over the weekend (Shoulda thought to contact you before then).
Nota "Still nervously fidgeting" Mono
Posts: 664 | Location: Los Angeles, Ca. U.S.A. | Registered: October 31, 2002
I'm new here. I'm kind of glad I found this site it's good to hear from some who are in the same boat. I had an interview with the Directing and Writing divisions at AFI: I'm still waiting to hear back. An interview with Columbia University. Still waiting on UCLA (Screenwriting) and got flat out denied at NYU (Didn't have a film to submit at the time).
Posts: 41 | Location: LA | Registered: March 25, 2004
Dancing Bear, Yeah, I'm waiting on USC/AFI. AFI is my top choice. Rejection from UCLA was an e-mail telling me an admissions decision had been made. When I went to the website - gdnet.ucla.edu , and entered my info, it brought up a rejection letter. However, by changing an uppercase R on the web address into an A, suddenly it was an acceptance letter. Didn't make me feel any better about being rejected, but was sort of funny. I've heard AFI accepts a little less than half the people it interviews, so making it to the interview is a good step... Just curious, does 2 interviews mean you applied for 2 separate disciplines?
Hi Dancing Bear and Captain Propane! (You two should be a super-hero combo). Great to see some more AFI applicants around.
quote:Originally posted by captainpropane: Do the MFA programs tend to do acceptances at the same time or do they stagger them to make sure they have enough people in their program?
When I was in for my AFI interview they said that they send out 28 acceptances (Or 14 dependending on the program) on April 15th, and put a few people on an 'Alternates' list (I believe they are notified if they are on said list). If some of the 28(14) do not accept admission they start accepting alternates until they fill their slots.
A friend of mine that started the directing program last year said that the department head actually called him on the 15th to tell him he was accepted. I don't know if that's common practice or not, though.
I'm sure everyone knows this, but MFA programs are entirely independent of one another as to who they accept. I've known people to get into either NYU, USC or AFI that were rejected by the other 2. In other words there seems to be no hierarchy whatsoever (Overall, AFI does seems to be the pickiest, though). I heard they accepted 4% of their total applicants last year (That's through the grapevine, though).
Good luck all! Let's hope we go 4 for 4!
Nota "Rubs the StudentFilms.com logo for karma" Mono
Posts: 664 | Location: Los Angeles, Ca. U.S.A. | Registered: October 31, 2002
quote:Originally posted by captainpropane: Dancing Bear, Yeah, I'm waiting on USC/AFI. AFI is my top choice. Rejection from UCLA was an e-mail telling me an admissions decision had been made. When I went to the website - gdnet.ucla.edu , and entered my info, it brought up a rejection letter. However, by changing an uppercase R on the web address into an A, suddenly it was an acceptance letter. Didn't make me feel any better about being rejected, but was sort of funny. I've heard AFI accepts a little less than half the people it interviews, so making it to the interview is a good step... Just curious, does 2 interviews mean you applied for 2 separate disciplines?
Yes, I applied to the Screenwriting and Directing division, but once I made it known that I was leaning towards the Directing Division they never even mentioned my writing. Also I was wondering how long everyone's interviews were. My AFI interview was extended because I was applying to both diciplines and it was still only 30 minutes.
Posts: 41 | Location: LA | Registered: March 25, 2004
what do you guys had to hand in as a portfolio for afi? I think about applying there after my NYU undergrad....the question is if it would not be just a waste of money...so I am not sure yet.
Do I have to take some SAT like tests again?
Posts: 820 | Location: NYC | Registered: November 29, 2002
quote:Originally posted by dancingbear: I was wondering how long everyone's interviews were. My AFI interview was extended because I was applying to both diciplines and it was still only 30 minutes.
Mine was about 30 minutes this year. Last year it was closer to 45 minutes (Too soon to tell, but this years' felt like it went much better).
quote:Originally posted by Hoeks: what do you guys had to hand in as a portfolio for afi? I think about applying there after my NYU undergrad....the question is if it would not be just a waste of money...so I am not sure yet.
For cinematography we had to send a personal statement, a resume (I took the liberty of sending both a professional resume & a credit list), an application and 1 or 2 things we shot (I just sent my demo reel). It runs down everything in the application packet.
As for being a waste of money: That's always a good question. AFI is different from the other MFA programs in that it is primarily geared towards people that already have a certain degree of experience in their field. Many attendees already have undergraduate degrees in film and/or have worked in the industry for a while, so I'm sure you wouldn't go there and find a re-tread of what you've learned at NYU.
quote:Originally posted by Hoeks: Do I have to take some SAT like tests again?
Not for AFI. Regardless, I wouldn't sweat the GRE's (AFAIK: the schools that do want them don't put excessive emphasis on them).
Nota "3 more weeks..." Mono
Posts: 664 | Location: Los Angeles, Ca. U.S.A. | Registered: October 31, 2002
Hey, i just got the phone call from Savannah College of art and Design today, im in!! I was stoked, and all my mom had to say was....how are you going to pay for it? Does anyone have a good place where they got student loans? I know that there are federal loans, but that won't be enough, its $26,000/yr.
"A film is - or should be - more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what's behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later." -Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999)
Posts: 221 | Location: Los Angeles.CA | Registered: December 14, 2002
Under Ten Days, huh? Has anybody heard anything? This wait is absolute torture and it's seriously affected my work. I have not been able to write for the past month. All my characters have this terrible anxiety, a real need to be accepted. Christ, if I get in will that actually mean anything? Will I feel like a better filmmaker because I was accepted? That's not even "why" I applied but this wait has made me focus more on just being accepted instead of what I'm going to do when I get there...I'm gonna drink a Diet Mountain Dew Code Red...Torture...9 days, my fellow (not yet) AFI waiters.
Posts: 41 | Location: LA | Registered: March 25, 2004
Sorry, one more thing...torture. Really though, do any of you know of any other discussion boards that have some information on film school (acceptance/rejection) stuff? It seems like all the Grad School sites are really lacking. Oh yeah, torture.
Posts: 41 | Location: LA | Registered: March 25, 2004
quote:Originally posted by dancingbear: Christ, if I get in will that actually mean anything? Will I feel like a better filmmaker because I was accepted?
Haha! I know the feeling. I felt like a total hack upon last years rejection. It took about a day to get over it and move on, though. I hope the ego boost for people that do get in lasts longer.
Fortunately for me, I'm too busy to think about it this year. Hooray for pre-production!
Nota "Queue the Jeopardy music" Mono
Posts: 664 | Location: Los Angeles, Ca. U.S.A. | Registered: October 31, 2002
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It'd be sweet if we both wound up there next year Alejandro.
