@That Masked Man:
I wanted to attend AU because I am primarily interested in making environmental/wildlife documentaries, and obviously with Chris Palmer and the Center for Environmental Filmmaking, it seemed like a no-brainer to apply. I am also interested in documentaries generally and even continuing to explore narratives, and I was actually surprised by the program's ability to offer classes in both. Although known primarily as a doc program, I could tell that they are trying very hard to offer more classes in narrative production and balance out that way. I was told that 17 out of the 20 students in their weekend producing program are interested in doing narratives, and that was somewhat surprising, but a good sign for the department, I think, in terms of merging narrative and doc. I thought the faculty seemed impressive, and we got to meet a lot of them, and I really like the range of classes offered. Personally, I'll only get 6 electives in the MA program, and I know there are way more classes than that I'd like to take. With my interest in doc, DC seems to be an amazing place to be, with so many things going on. My overall impression was definitely positive. The only thing I'm still worried about (other than expensive rent!) is the availability and quality of the equipment. Although they spoke well of it, the equipment room is small, and I know a lot of students that have or are buying their own cameras, which isn't really something I want to do right now. Another admit was told something along the lines of -"The faculty's amazing and they'll teach how to make really great films. You'll have to make do with the equipment, with which your films will look presentable but it's not the BEST equipment you could be using."
The only other thing that worries me is that although there are a ton of opportunities to travel in classes (Alaska, LA, Costa Rica, etc.), students have to pay for all of those costs separately (airfare, lodging, food). Maybe it's because I come from an extremely well-endowed undergrad institution, but I was disappointed to learn of all the extra costs those classes would require.
@otiir:
In terms of a sample schedule, full-time for a grad student is 9 credits (3 classes), and you'd have to pay for anything beyond that. They don't recommend taking more. It seems like most students work a full or parttime job during the semester with that extra time. Many are able to incorporate films that they're making for their jobs into classes successfully. Being in DC, there are also a lot of internship options - apparently there are opportunities mailed out to the listserv nearly daily and also the professors have a lot of connections in the local industry.
Overall, what stood out would be the great location of DC, the quality of the faculty and their connections, and the ability to fit the program to what you want to study.
I feel like those comments were all over the place... Hopefully that helps and feel free to ask more, if you'd like!
