My Current plan is to wait until grad school to study film. I would like to know how much, and what kind of experience would be acceptable before applying to schools like AFI and NYU?

NYU actually doesn't care about film-specific experience, at least according to their application. What *do* they care about? Who knows

Anyway, it never hurts to get experience, and it should be fun if you want to do it.

I'm not sure that they don't care about people that don't have experience. Thought that whole concept never reallyt made much sense.

These schools say they considered and encourage people outside of film, yet they put a heavy emphasis on a portfolio which requires film samples. How is someone who lacks experience suppose to have a great portfolio?

This is the case with almost all specialized colleges. If they only admit the best that apply, those will always be the people who have already become fairly proficient in their field.

It's funny cause I remember talking to the head of Graduate screenwriting in the Film and Television MFA program at NYU. He said that 90% of the people that are accepted don't haev any film experience whatsoever.

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yet they put a heavy emphasis on a portfolio which requires film samples.

Or slides, or photos, or other art. If you read the application.

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Originally posted by David Siudzinski:
It's funny cause I remember talking to the head of Graduate screenwriting in the Film and Television MFA program at NYU. He said that 90% of the people that are accepted don't haev any film experience whatsoever.

Well screenwriting is certainly differant than production. I bet out of that 90% the majority are English Majors or Communication majors with a track record of written work that would apply directly to the feild of screenwriting.

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Originally posted by Evan Kubota:

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yet they put a heavy emphasis on a portfolio which requires film samples.

Or slides, or photos, or other art. If you read the application.

true, this is the case for NYU... but some schools do require a video submission.

NYU definitely doesn't require film-background. I didn't apply with any film, although I had stills, and I got in.

There is only one person with an undergrad degree in film from my class. Everyone else (aside for a few people) have experience in film in one way or another.

The point is, it's not necessary. As for what exactly they are looking for... no one really knows. I think that they are looking for people that know themselves, and have a clear and distinct perspective on the world.

The reason for a visual portfolio, is to ascertain the visual ideas of an applicant in terms of creativity.

Duders- what type of stills did you send? Black and white photos, or color, or both? What about the content- landscapes, abstracts, portraits?

I made some short films, but I have more still photos. Do they prefer a certain type of still pictures, like documentary type of photos... or something that illustrates some sense of story telling? Or would abstract and landscape pictures be okay as well?

Happy thanksgiving everybody!

I submitted what I considered to be my best stills. They were a mixture of black and white, colour, landscapes and portraits.

There was not any storytelling involved, as the pictures spanned over years and different geographies. There was, however, an underlying theme, of the way in which I see the world.

I actually don't recommend submitting stills, as my case is kind of rare (i.e. not submitting a film).

Honestly though, you (and others in your situation) really have to understand that there is nothing that they 'prefer'. Above all, be original and be yourself.

hi this question is for duders- i've just applied to the grad film at tisch, i've read that you applied with stills but i wondered if any of your friends on the program or people you know have the films they applied with on the internet anywhere?I'm very interested to see how my submission compares to someone who got in!