AFI 2011

[Cahoots07]

got a call today - for early March interview in LA. anyone coming from out of town for early March?

 

[apple]

Congrats!

 

['K' Chang]

Originally posted by apple:
>K Chang

Hi. Did you have an interview for USC? Was it Skype interview?
I don't know much about USC Peter Stark. My international friend applied to Peter Stark and he said the notify date is 23rd. USC processing is fast.

Hi~ Apple.
USC Peter Stark is somewhat unique. They interviewed all of the applicants even before the deadline. Seems only Peter Stark applied this pre-interview session method. I guess Production is having interviews with 50% selected applicants.

When I had the interview with USC on Nov. last year, it wasn't Skype.. it was just the phone interview. I had a Skype interview recently with AFI professors, but the questions and topics were not much different from what I had with USC person.

USC had already done the interview way earlier than other schools so that I think the processing could be a little bit faster.

 

[KrisKelvin]

Originally posted by Cahoots07:
got a call today - for early March interview in LA. anyone coming from out of town for early March?

Congrats to you, RobbieBlock, and anyone else who got an interview.

Is this for screenwriting? If so, I kind of envy you since you'll have the chance to impress them right before they decide, whereas they've probably forgotten about the rest of us already

 

[Munky the robot]

Originally posted by KrisKelvin:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Cahoots07:
got a call today - for early March interview in LA. anyone coming from out of town for early March?

Congrats to you, RobbieBlock, and anyone else who got an interview.

Is this for screenwriting? If so, I kind of envy you since you'll have the chance to impress them right before they decide, whereas they've probably forgotten about the rest of us already </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


Oh maaaaan just thinking about that is giving me nausea. Everyday i strike one day off my mental calendar as I wait for the 15th.
If its any consolation I spoke to Natalie before my interview and she said, "The earlier you interview the better it is. I say this in your best interest".

I hope she meant that.

 

[RobbieBlock]

Yeah it is for screenwriting, I just squeaked in at the deadline and I think this could be the cause for my late call.

And look at it this way, they have more time to stew on how much you impressed them on your interview so I'm sure you will be fine.

Any advice going into it? Anything is welcome, from attire to drink minimum enterring the room.

 

[apple]

> K Chang

Thank you for your reply
Now I understand why USC processing is a little bit faster.
Good Luck to you!

 

[apple]

> Munky the robot

Hi. I hope Natalie is right because my interview was end of Jan.

I've heard from an admission office associate before my interview that about 600 people applied to Directing and Cinematography this year.

 

[Munky the robot]

Apple,

I interviewed on 3rd Feb for SW. Thats odd, I did not know they had so many applicants for Directing and Cinematography. I believe they extended deadlines for all disciplines except SW. I thought it was because they did not get enough good applicants.
Yep, Natalie did tell me its better to interview early.My interview was rather brief too so yes that is scary.
I interviewed on skype and every other day when I go online I find AFI online and I m guessing they are interviewing more ppl.
I guess all we can do is cross our fingers and wait till the 15th!

 

[saintman]

Originally posted by 'K' Chang:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by apple:
>K Chang

Hi. Did you have an interview for USC? Was it Skype interview?
I don't know much about USC Peter Stark. My international friend applied to Peter Stark and he said the notify date is 23rd. USC processing is fast.

Hi~ Apple.
USC Peter Stark is somewhat unique. They interviewed all of the applicants even before the deadline. Seems only Peter Stark applied this pre-interview session method. I guess Production is having interviews with 50% selected applicants.

When I had the interview with USC on Nov. last year, it wasn't Skype.. it was just the phone interview. I had a Skype interview recently with AFI professors, but the questions and topics were not much different from what I had with USC person.

USC had already done the interview way earlier than other schools so that I think the processing could be a little bit faster. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

What exactly do you mean by
"I guess Production is having interviews with 50% selected applicants"!

 

[Needbatt]

Hi guys,
I just got an interview scheduled. Can anyone share with us the experience or some tips.

Thanks

 

[birdude]

Aah, my interview is in only four days! I'm getting nervous haha. Are there any other cinematography applicants on here?

Regarding interview advice, RobbieBlock, I recommend checking out an older thread called "AFI - ADVICE for the Interview Please!" There are a number of good anecdotes and experiences to find on there. Also, you can ask them about who will be conducting your interview; Natalie was happy to lend me that information.

 

[birdude]

Originally posted by apple:
> Munky the robot

Hi. I hope Natalie is right because my interview was end of Jan.

I've heard from an admission office associate before my interview that about 600 people applied to Directing and Cinematography this year.

Wow, that is a lot of applicants. I wonder how it compares to previous years. Did you apply for directing, Apple?

 

[apple]

>birdude

Hi. I applied for Producing.
I wanted to know how many people applied for producing but when I asked about it, a phone rang and she answered it, so this conversation was over :-(

ALL I CAN DO IS CROSS MY FINGERS :-D

 

[RobbieBlock]

Yeah, I talked to Anne Quann and she told me who I am interviewing with, Barry Sabath and Patracia Meyers.

Thanks for the heads up on the thread.

 

[cirruss]

Hi everyone,

First of all good luck to everyone out there who have interviews scheduled and those who already went through them.

I've got a few questions. I've been invited to interviews at both UCLA and AFI. One question I expect to get during the interview I am kind of worried about. "Why do you want to go to our school?"

Hmm... because wikipedia says you are in the top 5??? No good!

What I've heard might be the case is that AFI is more focused on a plot driven than character development... that also doesnt seem like a great answer.

As for UCLA I've understood it is the premiere screenwriting school out there....

But maybe some of you can help me out in discerning what the specific strong points are of these two specific schools.

I feel so silly posting this!!!

 

[KrisKelvin]

Originally posted by cirruss:
Hi everyone,

First of all good luck to everyone out there who have interviews scheduled and those who already went through them.

I've got a few questions. I've been invited to interviews at both UCLA and AFI. One question I expect to get during the interview I am kind of worried about. "Why do you want to go to our school?"

Hmm... because wikipedia says you are in the top 5??? No good!

What I've heard might be the case is that AFI is more focused on a plot driven than character development... that also doesnt seem like a great answer.

As for UCLA I've understood it is the premiere screenwriting school out there....

But maybe some of you can help me out in discerning what the specific strong points are of these two specific schools.

I feel so silly posting this!!!

There's no reason to feel silly posting a perfectly valid question. Fwiw, I've already interviewed at AFI and have spoken to some people there, so I have a lot of information. I'm scheduled to interview at UCLA as well, but don't know that much except what I've read here and on their website. So, I'll withhold from saying anything about UCLA (at least until I interview), other than that I'm pretty sure you write a lot more scripts than at other schools. It's also on a much bigger campus, whereas AFI is very small size-wise.

In a nutshell, AFI's focus is on collaboration. For three "cycle films" your first year, you're placed with a person in each of the other disciplines and together you work to create a short film. You should note that you don't have a chance to DO the other discipline--that is to say, as a writer you will still be writing and nothing else except perhaps working as a crew member on your film--but it does allow you to see how the elements align to create a film. And hey, that's definitely a way to meet people you work with in the future. I'm pretty sure Darren Aronofsky and his longtime cinematographer were at AFI together, and I'm sure there are plenty of similar cases.

For AFI, potential weak points I can think of are that (as I said) you can't actually work AT the other disciplines even if you work WITH them, and their focus is on narrative filmmaking hence stuff like documentaries and experimental cinema aren't taught. Also--and this WILL come up in the interview--it is very expensive, and financial aid is extremely limited (none in the first year and not much in the second). They will ask how you intend to pay, so you should have some idea there. Just fyi, I believe UCLA is much cheaper than AFI so if money is an issue you might want to consider that.

That's about it off the top of my head. The best advice I can give to anyone interviewing at AFI is just to be yourself, and show them the person who came through in your narrative statement/writing sample. As I (and others here) found out during the interview, it's not particularly intense and seems more like a chance for them to meet you and be sure they could stand to work with you in the future. As long as you're not a total jerk, you'll be fine.

Good luck!

 

[cirruss]

Thanks so much for tips Kris!
It's all so damn exciting....

 

[stevent]

Hey Everyone, I received an email confirmation on 2/14 that all my application materials had been received. Did anyone get this notification this late?

 

[Felipetto]

I did. - 2/11.

Same info + 'Your directing application is now complete. Good luck"

And haven't heard from them since then.

I sent transcript and TOEFL end of January. It might be a reason.

Did you submit everything late as well?