I felt pretty relaxed and I didn't feel intimidated. It might be because I couldnt see their faces, or read their reactions. I just talked a lot. They reacted well, asking me questions based off the answers I was giving and laughing at some of my stories.

I drank a beer right beforehand so I was a little bit more easy going, and I think it helped...haha.

Allen -

Thanks for the comments. I'm sure some of my nervousness was due to the fact I flew halfway around the world for a 30 minute interview which gave me plenty of time to overanalyze things in my head! A beer probably would have done well to calm me down... haha. If everything plays out and you get accepted to all your schools, where do you think you will head?

Bandar,
You know, I felt a little rambly myself. But I have a feeling that most, if not all, applicants come out feeling that way. 25 minutes to convey all of your feelings on filmmaking, storytelling, aspirations, graduate school, traveling, etc. is a very short time. I am sure that they take into account the stress of the time limit and the challenge of "fitting it all in".

I don't know about you, but I came out of my interview wanting to go for a second round! But, I can safely say that it was probably the most nervous I have been all year (and this is coming from a student who is having nightmares about being chased by an honors thesis committee!).

Just out of curiosity: what were the questions that all of you asked the interviewers?

One more afterthought...

If given an offer for the fall how many of you would decide to go to Singapore?

I would have to wait and hear back from AFI before I make that decision.

Wow, it's cool to see all this interest in the program. I'm a student at Tisch Asia currently, so I went through the interview process last year. Very stressful. The story question is a hard one. But they know this, so don't panic if you had trouble.

For people trying to decide between Tisch Asia and other schools, I'd say ask yourself what kinds of films you'd like to make. You cannot make the same films in Singapore you would make in New York or L.A., for example -- the location is radically different, the resources are different, etc. But, likewise, you can't make the same films in New York or L.A. you can make in Singapore (or, you know, Bangkok or Manila or Hanoi or any of the other locations within reach here).

My advice about this is simply: don't come here if your reasons for doing so are going to mean you have to be half-hearted about it. And this doesn't mean you have to, like, be an expert on Singapore or know all of your films for the rest of your life will be set in Asia or something. All I mean is that this is a tough, demanding program, made more tough and demanding because of the environment.

Anyway, good luck to everybody. Happy to answer questions if you have any.

Jerry,

Did you interview in person last year or via conference / telephone? Can you tell us a little about your experience during the proccess?

quote:

You cannot make the same films in Singapore you would make in New York or L.A., for example -- the location is radically different, the resources are different, etc. But, likewise, you can't make the same films in New York or L.A. you can make in Singapore

Could you provide some specific examples on this subject?

Is this related mostly to the setting, or are there other factors. To put it bluntly, What kinds of films *can't* you make in Singapore?

Thanks for offering your insights. :-)

I interviewed in New York actually, in person, because the Singapore faculty were all in New York at the time. I do know at least one student here interviewed by phone.

I applied to New York but was offered an interview for Singapore. I was extremely elated, on the one hand, just to be considered by Tisch for anything (my background is not in film). But I had a lot of questions and wasn't entirely sure I wanted to be in Singapore. One concern I had was simply that my writing was all motivated by experiences in the States, and I didn't know how this would translate to Singapore -- if it even could translate. (I knew absolutely zilch about Singapore, by the way.) I've learned that they actually translate quite well -- the themes that interest me are not specific to, say, where I grew up. In some cases, they actually make more sense here.

The truth is that I was terrified during my interview, extremely nervous and unable to keep track of what I was saying. I felt really unable to form a coherent thought or sentence. When it was over I was sure I'd screwed it up. And, then, at the same time, I realized how badly I wanted to go. So I felt like a moron for having brought up so many concerns during the interview -- and this seemed consistent with my normal awful life. And then, to my amazement, I got in. It's a tough process and I don't envy any of you. But it is a good primer for how stressful the program is at times.

Heywetried,

Probably the differences will effect you more or less depending on what your priorities are with the medium and what kind of films you want to make. If the thing that matters most to you (this is just an example) is to do great action sequences with incredible chase scenes, then you can certainly do that here just as well. But if you're dying to make movies about Brooklyn hipsters warming their hands over a stove, then... you know, there is a better place to do that, because then you don't have to fake it so much.

When you point a camera here you see Singapore. It's not anywhere else. But I think my last comment was too severe. You just have to be prepared to work with the real place that is really around you, that's all -- you have to be willing to do that. I've had several ideas I've decided not to pursue because I know there is a better environment for them. On the other hand, I've found new ones here, and maybe better ones.

But things like story structure are definitely not place-specific. Or maybe they are, I don't know.

I hope that's a useful answer.

Hmmm I agree with Bandar and Rarebit about the rambling. In retrospect it does feel like I took control of the interview and did not allow them to talk as much. I just tried to ask a bunch of questions at the end to remedy that (something I regret not doing at my UCLA interview)

If I get accepted, I am still not exactly sure where I am going to go. I have to visit the campus first before I make a decision. In the meantime, it looks like I will be submitting my acceptance to UT-Austin because they gave me a full fellowship and a deadline of April 9th. But if I get into the other schools I still haven't heard the final word from (Singapore, UCLA, USC) then it might definitely change things.

I am torn about Singapore because I've realized that I want to make representative American stories and going to Singapore would definitely change that perspective. I could see the benefits of reaching into international cinema, but for all the films and ideas I've thought of so far...are for mainly American/transnational audiences.

Hey I'm a Tisch Asia student and I wanted to respond to Allen Ho's last comment. I had the same concerns, before moving to Singapore. I was concerned that I was an American who only knew how to tell American stories. Being here in Singapore has made me critically think about my "Americaness" and though I thought I always knew what it meant to be American, in Singapore, I fully comprehend.

As a result I feel like I can tell clearer "American" stories, because I see what America has and doesn't have that Singapore has or doesn't have... if that makes sense.

On the flip side, I can also tell Singaporean stories now (something I never thought I'd be able to do), and in a lot of ways those are more interesting, simply because they are fresher. The films I've made so far have dealt with cultures clashing, surveillance societies and corporate wh0redom. Those are American stories, but in Singapore you get a new twist on it, and I like that.

Though Tisch Asia is hard, and there were challenges to forging the way in a country unfamiliar with film shoots, you can totally make American films, they'll just look refreshingly different. Or, you can also just cast Americans, it's not impossible.

I bring this up because I met a bunch of the applicants at a special dinner/screening of Happiness, and they were some cool people, so I can't wait to get some new faces on our tropical campus!

quote:

Originally posted by hexcenteric:
I was concerned that I was an American who only knew how to tell American stories. Being here in Singapore has made me critically think about my "Americaness" and though I thought I always knew what it meant to be American, in Singapore, I fully comprehend.

As a result I feel like I can tell clearer "American" stories, because I see what America has and doesn't have that Singapore has or doesn't have... if that makes sense.

hexcenteric, thank you so much for saying this. It's pretty much like telling yourself "I don't fully understand what it means to be happy, without knowing what it's like to feel pain in equal measure". You can't honestly say you really know something without having seen, and sympathizing with, both sides of the thing. The same concept applied to national identity would be "I don't fully understand what it means to be an American, without having lived or traveled outside of America and looking at myself as an American from a foreigner's viewpoint". I love it when ideas/concepts are brought full circle, and I'm glad to see other people tying things together like this in this forum.

This is one of the core reasons why I think being a Tisch Asia grad student would be a phenomenal experience.

Hey all, have read this thread and feel that I may be able to help out some of you. I'm a filmmaker from Singapore and I've done quite a few films here.

Have been following this forum because I applied to study MFA in both Tisch (NY) and Columbia.

However, anyone with questions about living in Singapore or filmmaking in Singapore, feel free to ask me here.

Hey Kirs,

How much is housing in Singapore for a regular sized one bed room?

I applied to the Tisch Asia program and have already had my interview there.

Is anyone else feeling like April 15th is an awful long time away?

It's funny, whenever I mention Singapore along with Graduate School people usually become much more interested in talking about film school - and all in all it makes me even more intrigued by Tisch Asia.

How is everyone else feeling about Singapore?

I've never had the chance to really study abroad, but the more I think about Singapore, the more excited I get at the prospect of making movies at an exciting location.

I only applied to three schools, so I've been pretty picky with my choices. I've determined that if I go to make films, I want to go to a school that I really like or I can learn by working and reapplying with the money I saved up.

I get really excited when I talk about the program with everyone I meet.

April 15 is an eternity away.

Spoke to someone in Admissions yesterday. They have made their decisions and will be notifying the people who were accepted beginning next week...

So it sounds like some of us will find out if we were accepted beginning on Monday (April 7th).

Yo Bandar,

If you get accepted are you gonna go to Singapore and check out the campus first?

Allen,

It all comes down to AFI's decision as well. I find out if I got accepted into their directing program on April 15th.

If I don't get accepted to AFI and I get into Singapore I will be going there. I won't check out the campus before I move out there though. But from what I hear, it's an amazingly new campus with state of the art equipment.

I've studied abroad in the past so it won't really be a culture shock for me. I'd actually be more excited heading out there for the first time when I move out there rather than check it out first.

Did you go to Singapore for your interview? Or was that someone else?