#ucla tft

[filmcourage]

Solve Your Story Structure Problems In 11 Steps - Pat Verducci [FULL INTERVIEW]

[filmcourage]

A Writer's Job Is To Create Questions, Not Give Answers - Pat Verducci

[pinyajuice]

okay you guys but every show ive seen put on by UCLA completely blew my mind and changed what i knew about theater and i learn from just watching.

[arrowmi]

Takin' a break from animating for a bit to finally get around to uploading this shiz. Here's my creative supplement for my change of major application to UCLA Film's program! Admittedly when I was applying I stalked the internet like crazy for anyone who may have applied in the past and wrote about their experiences or maybe had samples of their work that got accepted. Sadly, not much turned up. Especially for change of majors. For the very few that did I was extremely grateful, so I guess I'll pay it forward and try to share some of my own work for anyone else out there who might be interested in applying. 

For my creative supplement I tried to utilize every inch of the 5 pages allowed. I wrote a very very short story called The Strangers (which you can read here) to fill in 2.5 of the pages. The other half of that third page was filled with the concept art you see above. The last 2 pages were storyboards of a short scene from the story.  One of the things they asked me in the interview was why I chose to split my supplement in this way. My reason was mainly because I wanted to show them everything that I was capable of. If you couldn't tell, I selected 'animation' as my concentration when I applying and I talked a bit in my personal essay about how I loved to draw and did a lot of drawing in my spare time. I didn't want to just say that I loved it though. I wanted to show them. And splitting my supplement like this was my way of showing them. Attempting to do some storyboards was also my way of showing my sincerity towards animation. Whatever concentration you select that you are interested in on the application, I highly highly recommend tailoring your creative supplement to reflect that. 

I've got a lot more to say about the process so it'll all go under the cut. Not really interesting unless you are applying yourself but here's my experience with it, as promised

Technical stuff that was really useful to know when I applied:

UCLA's film program accepts approximately 15 transfers from outside UCLA and 15 change of majors within UCLA each year, give or take maybe 5-10 people at most (because they occasionally accept more than 15 but 15 is usually what they aim for). So if you get accepted your graduating class will be pretty much only 30-40 people. Pretty dandy, right? Lmao but also pretty intimidating. 

If you are a transfer you will have a tougher time as usually you'll be competing against about 500-600 other people. If you are a change of major you compete with around 60-70 people (but keep in mind all these people are UCLA students who had to beat like 50,000 other people to get there in the first place so it's still not exactly a walk in the park). They narrow down the pool to 30 people they want interview (30 transfers, and 30 change of majors). You need the interview in order to be accepted into the program. If you don't get the interview that means you were rejected. Transfer interviews happen around mid march-beginning april, change of major interviews happen around beginning June

One thing that kinda terrified me was that I didn't know when they'd be contacting change of majors (especially cause they moved up the deadline to submit applications to the same deadline as transfers. So I thought that might mean they'd conduct interviews around the same time as well). but no, change of major interviews still happen at the end of spring quarter (mine was 10th week). In the past, I've read it took about a month for change of majors to find out whether or not they were accepted. For my year though, they notified me of my acceptance about a week later.

Tips on the Application:

The application process is admittedly a huge pain in the butt and definitely not the kind of thing I'd imagine someone would want to do on a whim lol. Particularly because of the 2 letters of recommendation you need. Here are some tips from my own experience -Ask whoever you are getting your letters of rec from early on. I asked my old high school teachers months in advance before submitting my application. Trust me, your teachers will appreciate it, and you'll probably get a better letter out of it and not stress yourself out as much had you asked them last minute. -Spend time on your essays/supplement. This is the core of your application and the main thing they are judging you on. Writing is a skill they appear to value highly in this program so you want to show them that you are a capable writer.  -Utilize as much of the space allotted. Each essay is pretty short, really. Show them as much of yourself as you can (while staying focused. Don't try to write your whole life story. Focus on your interest in film, your motivations, aspirations, etc.)  -Be yourself. So so so cliche but honestly very important. Sometimes I questioned whether or not I would fit in for this program because much of my tastes seem kinda childish or mainstream lol (my favorite films are all animated films and new age stuff). When I hear my classmates or other applicants list classy or indie titles as their favorite things I always feel like I'm not "refined" enough...but nonetheless I chose to stick to my gut and just be me for my application. and it looks like it worked. -Take care of your grades. I didn't think they'd really look at GPA since I knew the supplement was the core thing but the first thing they complimented me on in my interview was my GPA. They appeared to be really impressed with how high it was and looked favorably upon me for it. Communication studies was my backup major and therefore I had been trying to keep it high in order to get in lest film didn't work out (my GPA is still relatively low compared to other comm majors though). I'd highly recommend taking care of your grades. They do see it.  -Take film classes, even if you aren't in the major. I had taken FTV 106A and 106C winter quarter kinda on a whim (I knew I wanted to be a film major but if I didn't get in I'd do the minor so it wouldn't go to waste). When I mentioned this, they seemed to be very impressed. So yes! Take film classes even if you are yet to be in the major! I think it helps! 

About the interview:

You can look stuff up about this on the web since a lot of people have talked about it in forums and whatnot. My experience was pretty much exactly how everyone said it'd be -It was a really laid back chat kinda vibe. My interviewers were 3 guys and they were all very friendly and open. They aren't trying to interrogate you with tricky questions. They just want to get to know you, really.  -Almost every single question came from my supplement. They asked about some of the most random things I didn't expect they'd ask, but it was all based on my supplement nonetheless. Definitely know your supplement inside out before you go in, and be prepared to talk about ANYTHING you may have mentioned. and I mean ANYTHING. (I briefly mentioned in one sentence that I use to play neopets lol and they caught me off guard when they asked me to talk about the kinds of stories/characters I made back then on that website) -The only question that was a typical interview question was probably "What are your greatest strengths/weaknesses?" SO BE FREAKIN PREPARED FOR THIS ONE cause not gonna lie it's such a pain in the ass question sometimes lol  -Don't worry if you didn't nail every single question with a spot on answer. Trust me I fuqed up a couple questions and felt so much post-interview anxiety lol.

Well yup that's about it off the top of my head. I doubt many people will find this post lmao but if you are applying and you have any questions feel free to ask me. I was so stressed out and worried when I applied so I'm always happy to help anyone who might be going through the same thing! 

[filmschoolknowhow]

Eureka!

So, since I keep consistently getting new followers, and no one seems to be posting responses to things I post,(which is completely fine, please do not take that as anger, its amusement) I decided it was only fair to name this silent growing force. What then shall I name all of you wonderful people who seem to think I have something interesting to say? Should I take the literal approach, the unexpected? The possibilities seem endless and yet simplistically restricted. 

Finally I decided to go for the straight forward approach; embrace your best quality.

So now I dub the: The Silent Collection.

After I get a new follower, I read through their entire blog. That's right, I go through the whole thing, as far as tumblr allows. I don't just skim the top. And what I've found is a beautiful collection of young individuals bursting with talent and ideas. They're itching to make changes and raise their voices for various causes and ideals. That is why I call you the collective. Creativity is collaboration,  and collaboration starts with a collection of individuals. 

So there you have it. Own the name, hate it, love it, but whatever you do, don't comment about it on here. Live up to the name!!!!! hahahaha

[filmschoolknowhow]

Could it Be???

I've heard rumblings on the forums about UCLA TFT. In particular I've seen some people hinting about the fact that from past posts on previous years, the notifications for interviews started to go out beginning in February. If this is true, I'm both really excited for things to be progressing, and freaking out, tequila in hand in case I don't receive that golden ticket that is the interview notification letter. 

Now that hard part is whether or not to believe the rumor or supposed theory. But assuming that international students applied, and I believe (I could be wrong, don't hate me if I am) that all students that get the opportunity of an interview have to be there in person. I think NYU offers a skype option, but I think if you have the opportunity to go, the in person option is always better. I'm not positive if ULCA offers that though, they're super secretive about the inner workings of their application process. They're the Illuminati of film schools. ahaha. So going back to my original point, since international students applied, it would take slightly longer to notify them and consequently for them to travel to the school. This would mean that if they notified them in February and had the interviews in March, it seems plausible. Feel free to comment on the theory or on my take of things. 

btw more followers?!?! you guys are growing into a small army!!! I love it. 

[filmschoolknowhow]

Well that didn't take long

Hahahah. I knew I was going to get her question wrong. What she really asked me was this: "What type of theme did you have in your UCLA application?"

Thats a bit of a tough question. One thing I should mention is that I used basically the same personal statement for both USC and UCLA. They were pretty much asking the same thing, at least that's what I got from the prompts, but USC had a bit more flair in their approach if you ask me. So here's what I'll do; I'll break down each part of the application and tell you what I wrote about. 

UC application: this was tailored to UCLA since it was the only UC school I applied to. I kept things short, and never actually mentioned UCLAs name, but it was more specific to my major and things like that. 

Critical Essay: This was just horrible. I think I went through roughly 3 attempts at the paper, and after the 3rd try, I went through 7 drafts or something like that. It is a double edged sword when you have a brother that graduated from UCLA with an honors English degree: nothing gets past his eyes! NOTHING! hahaha. I initially wanted to do my essay on Midnight in Paris, which has quickly become one of my newer favorites. It is everything a movie should be, but I digress. Going back to the essay, I tried but when I was writing it, Midnight In Paris hadn't been released for DVD yet, so I ended up choosing my all time, hands down favorite: Shakespeare in Love. (BTW anything I'm saying is not meant to be taken as overly arrogant or cocky, but I have confidence in my ability and writing. Really It has to start within yourself, because if you don't believe you're capable how will you be able to convince anyone else?) The problem with Shakespeare in Love was that it is really two stories in one, which presented a whole slew of issues: there were twice the amount of issues to tackle and most were interconnected to one another. The prompt said to treat it like an english paper, so thats what I did, I dissected the film. I'm paraphrasing,but I essentially pointed out or commented on the fact that it is a socially relevant film, and the play mirrors it. I argued that Viola, by dressing up as Thomas Kent, and posing as a man, broke standard gender roles within society and challenges all women's place within it. I apologize If I got too wordy there, I tried to make it as simplified as possible. 

The Creative Essay: I enjoyed writing this essay. It is based on the lives of my great grandparents and is written from the viewpoint of my great grandmother Anna. She went through a heck of a lot when she came to America, and still managed to stay an incredibly warm hearted and joyful person. I knew some base facts, but had to envision the rest. I figured that I knew what kind of people they were, for they raised my grandmother, who raised my father, and some of their characteristics and morals must have been passed down, so I tried to keep that in mind as I wrote. The 5 page limit was frustrating, but I did not go over, I have a feeling they are very strict about guidelines. 

The Personal Essay: Im really proud of this essay, that's why I used it twice and I feel that it really answered both prompts extremely well. Im paraphrasing a lot, but I compared my life to a strip of grass that grows in between the lanes of a highway. This actually exists, I noticed it driving to work one day. I said that in the midst of oppression, and doubt, and less that ideal circumstances, the grass still thrived, just like my dream of going to film school. It took a long time to cultivate, but it is strong and resilient. That was the general gist of the paper. I cant give away all my secrets ;) admission deadlines aren't over yet. lol 

Anyway, that's what I wrote. Tell me what you guys wrote about, I'm really curious and it'd be interesting to see how different everyone is. 

[filmschoolknowhow]

More questions!

Since I know you all loved the last one :) Im not sure if the people asking them want their identities known, so ill just show you the questions by themselves. 

QUESTION:

Hey! Did you apply for UCLA's TFT program? It looks as though you're not a sophomore in college, but I see that you've applied for a myriad of other programs. Good luck!

First thanks for the well wishes! I applied to UCLA's TFT. It was a frustrating application for me. I am going to community college, this is my 3rd and final year. I switched majors last year and had to make up some pre reqs so that is why it took me 3 years. Did anyone else apply to UCLA. It is a top pick for me, as my brother went there and my entire family is pro bruins. Im still holding out for USC though. (Fingers crossed). The more I read while reading about others who applied for UCLA was that you had to "triple wow" them with your writing samples. Also Ive heard that the interview was very casual and tailored to your specific application. Heres to making it to interviews!