Hi everyone -

I'm a long time reader, first time poster. I figure I've been hanging out in the internet shadows long enough - I'm attending USC this fall and I can't wait to meet you guys and get started on film school. Thank you Jayimess for all your help - I may not have posted 'til now, but your advice, along with that of several other dedicated posters, has really helped me with the whole decision-making process.

1. Name: Teresa
2. Age: 22
3. Gender: Female
4. Program: Writing
5. Where you are coming from: I'm originally from Orange County, but I've spent the last four years in the bay area (which I'm very sad to leave...)
6. Undergrad education: Stanford - majored in English and minored in Psych.
7. I'm incredibly excited to be going to this school. I almost came to USC for undergrad, so this sort of feels like a second chance. I don't have a ton of film experience, but I love writing in this genre so it seemed like a good fit. In reference to housing, I recently found a place right next to campus. I was considering a few places farther away, but I've spent the last few months commuting in LA traffic, and each time I get stuck in it, it sucks out a little more of my soul. This way I can save on gas and preserve my sanity. I was originally worried about living in the area, but from everything I hear, the area directly surrounding campus is pretty good.

Anyway, I can't wait to attend, and I can't wait to meet everyone when we get to campus!

Hey all,

I'm also attending USC-SCA as a Grad Student this coming fall and seriously can't wait to be back in California. I've actually only just discovered this website, though wish I had ages ago. Coming from overseas, it was hard to choose where to go, with France and the UK also a part of my options, but I think USC is a good fit.

1. Name: Daniel
2. Age: 22
3. Gen: Male
4. Program: Production (Directing)
5. Where I'm coming from: I left Sydney, Australia for good about 3 months ago and have been in Beijing, China since. I'll be in China until early August and then begin to skip over the Pacific to LA.
6. Undergrad: Triple Major at University of Sydney - Media & Communications, Philosophy and Film Studies
7. Since I'm a non-US citizen I'll have to go through some song and dance getting a Ca State License etc, so I'll prob be without a car for a few months. So for the first semester at least, I'm looking for a place in the surrounding suburbs of USC.

Looking forward to meeting you all and having some great experiences.

1. Name - Adam
2. Age - 27
3. Gender - M
4. Program - Production (Directing)
5. I grew up in Downey, CA and then spent my adolescent and young adult years in Orange County. I'll be living in Long Beach very soon, where I hope the commute won't kill me.
6. Undergrad - Biola University, Majored in English, minored in Philosophy and Biblical Studies
7. I'm absolutely thrilled to study at USC, and can't wait to work with all you talented individuals. I've made about 40 short films. (All very amateur, point and shoot affairs). I hope to remain in Long Beach but I'm open to actually moving near campus if it suits me better, because USC is my top priority right now. I tend to gravitate toward films that are hyperbolic, dark, or bizarre. But I like my share of classic films, epics, and feelgoods as well. Anybody whose interested should add me on facebook.

Is there anyone admitted to the production program NOT planning on specializing in directing? I just think it's funny everyone has put the little (directing) annotation on their program, and nobody has put anything else. I guess some of us will "find our calling" in other fields as we go through the program... it's my understanding everyone goes in wanting to be a director, but not everyone comes out that way.

*nods and grins at bscofield's wisdom*

LOL, (directing)

Production students don't go in with a specialty. You'll learn it all...

I got a call on Friday morning that I was being pulled from the wait list and offered Fall admission, so I thought I'd chime in.

ALSO I was under the impression that they had been making a few of these calls on Friday, so hopefully there's some more good news out there.

1. Name: Adair Cole
2. Age: 25
3. Gender: Male
4. Program: Production
5. Where you are coming from: Fullerton (by way of Norco, CA)
6. Undergrad education: Double major in American Studies and Radio-TV-Film at California State University, Fullerton. AND two-thirds of a master's degree in American Studies from the same school.
7. Anything else you want others to know: Not really?

-Adair

Hey.

1. Tia
2. 21
3. Female
4. Production
5. New York City (by way of Mitchellville, MD)
6. Majored in Media Culture and Communication Studies with a minor in Producing from New York University
7. This is it! We did it. I am a writer like Teresa with only a few shorts under my belt but I'm in love with writing romantic comedy and producing. I'm most interested in television and music video but I hope to develop a passion for the world of cinema. My work experience in the industry is largely in children and teen content.

Hi, everyone.
I've been lurking in here since mid-April, and I wanted to say thanks to Jayimess and everyone else for all the thoughts and help. It was a stressful wait (to say the least!) and hearing from everyone really helped pull me through.

1. Name: Peter
2. Age: 36
3. Gender: male
4. Program: writing
5. Where you are coming from: Atlanta
6. Undergrad education: English, English Ed., Master's in professional writing
7. Anything else you want others to know: I've been teaching high school and college for eleven years, and for some reason I chose now to stop everything so I could move across the country to chase the dream. I can't wait to meet everybody in a few months!
And I do have a practical question. Specifically for the screenwriting program, is a Mac a necessity? And what is the standard program these days? Is it Final Draft?
Thanks.

I would say a laptop is necessary for a writer, but nothing else. My computer was out of commission the entire first semester and I just hand wrote my work and inputted it into MMS or FDR at the Leavey computer lab, which has both PCs and Macs. The Macs run FDR, the PCs run MMS.

Movie Magic Screenwriter was created by USC alums, so we get it for free, but about 80% of the class uses Final Draft. If you do a search, you can usually find a full FDR7 for $120 or so, which comes with two installs, or you can wait till you get to school and get the flyer that gives you the academic version for $99 with a single install...I think it's worth it for the extra install to pay $20 more.

Final Draft remains the standard, and the TV templates alone make it invaluable. But if cash is tight, MMS gets the job done, and the importing of text feature is awesome.

Hi All,

I just discovered this site, and I have to say it allays my fears to a HUGE degree.

I was over the moon excited when I got my waitlist notice, and figured I would be starting next spring. To my surprise I was called about a week and a half ago and asked if I wanted to join you guys for Fall 08. I've been really scrambling to get everything set since then.

1. Name: Nick
2. Age: 24
3. Gender: Male
4. Program: Production
5. Where I'm from: Born in Downey, grew up first in Seattle then in San Diego
6. Undergrad: UC Berkeley - BA English
7. I feel totally outclassed here. I've made a half dozen shorts or so, only through coercing my friends and family for cast. I write as much as I can. I have no awards for anything.

1. Name: Sev
2. Age: 21
3. Gender: Male
4. Program (writing / production, stark): Production
5. Where you are coming from: Los Angeles
6. Undergrad education: UC San Diego - Vis Arts Media
7. Anything else you want others to know: Looking forward to working with everyone and getting serious about this passion.


Guys quick and random question. I'm sitting here procrastinating on a 15 page paper due tomorrow.. I was wondering.. do you still write essays in Grad School? Specifically USC Cinema - Production? lol maybe its a stupid question, but I would love to know what I'm getting into ahaha

1. Name: AJ
2. Age: 24
3. Gender: Male
4. Program: Production
5. Where I'm from: Grew up in Vermont, lived in New York City for the last 7 years
6. Undergrad: Fordham University - doubble major English/Communications (creative writing & film studies)
7. Had a little bit of production experience, but to date I'm more of a writer. Also had experience with some independent production companies in development and distribution, too. Done some photography work, as well. Really looking forward to meeting and working with all of you!