Hey,
I am a softmore in high school and I stumbled upon this site while looking for information about NYU. It is my dream to go their Tisch film school when I graduate but right now my grades are somewhat mediocre. I love making short films with my friends and also love watching movies. Some of my favorite film makers are Scorsese(of course), Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Wes Anderson, and Zach Braff(Garden State). I actually just recently got really into Wes Anderson's movies after watching the Darjeeling Limited. I love all the characters he creates and really respect his work. It feels so, real. I heard an interview with him in which he said something to the effect of "I have no interest in making films about normal people" when the interviewer addressed all his characters as being somewhat "broken". I love that because I could care less for those mediocre general romantic comedies with overused plot lines and empty fake characters who are not able to connect to on any level. My favorite films mostly fall within those filmmakers I listed above but another long time favorite of mine is Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I don't know why but I've seen it so many times and I feel like it's a much deeper film then it seems like on the surface. Oh, and Office Space, that's a great movie. I think I think I first decided that I want to be a filmmaker after seeing Goodfellas a few years ago. After that I discovered all of Scorsese's other work which only encouraged me more to want to make films. If I had to pick one favorite movie, I think it would be Taxi Driver.
I watch TV to but only a few shows, and those that I do watch, I watch very avidly. Pretty much The Simpsons and Scrubs. Something about Scrubs that really appeals to me is the perfect mixture of comedy and drama. A lot of the episodes really feel like excellent mini movies.I also watch the Colbert Report from time to time. Colbert is hilarious and from the interviews I've heard seems like an incredibly smart man. I just started watching Arrested Development as well, and what I've seen, I really like.
In addition to film, I am very into my music. I've played guitar for a few years and I love it very much. Before I wanted to be a filmmaker, I wanted to be a professional musician. Now I feel like my music can really contribute to the films I make. I personally think music and film go hand in hand. I listen to a lot of music and I know I get a lot of ideas from just sitting in the car and listening to music. I sometimes base scenes off of a song because it's something that works so well.
I haven't had any real big accomplishments with my films as of yet. Last year I did win a contest to edit a promo for the halloween episode of the simpsons and they gave me a free trip to LA to go to the 400th episode party. That was really cool. I met a lot of the cast there and Matt Groening too. I also met Al Jean, the executive producer, who it turns out lived in the same city I do and went to a rival high school. I recently met his old teacher who happened to stop by one of my classes to talk to my teacher, so I thought that was kind of cool. At the party I also met a really cool guy who turned out to be an editor on the show and the next day he offered me a tour of the animation studio. That was probably one of the coolest experiences of my life. I still keep in contact with him and also another really cool guy who I met at the studio who is a director on the show.
Sorry for the really long post, I think I'm done ranting now. Anyways, I look forward to learning a lot from this site. Also, if anyone here is currently enrolled in NYU's films school I would really appreciate it if you could let me know what kinds of things I should be doing to prepare for applying there and what they look for. Or even just for film school in general.

Bonjour.

Good for you! First off, you'll have to start writing in paragraphs and not how you would talk haha. Welcome to the site - its a wealth of knowledge and hopefully you stick around.

There's a forum specifically for film schools and you can check out any NYU related threads there. Very interesting people you've met so far, so thats a plus.

As long as you find inspiration, be it from some part of your life, experience or even music - all that matters is that it drives you to succeed.

Keep focused and you'll be fine,

Kegan

Thanks! hah, yeah, I was sort of on an endless rant there.