Hey.
I'm not a student at FSU or at Chapman (yet), but I was in your same position just a few months ago. I visited both schools, and I can tell you that Chapman has far superior facilities for one thing. Though FSU also has impressive resources for designing sets and a nice fleet of redline cameras, it's not as *shiny* and it doesn't have as many studios.
I was very impressed with the emphasis on collaboration and student teamwork at both schools. I actually walked in on some students preparing for a shoot at FSU, and the easy camaraderie was reassuring. Given FSU's reputation for matching graduates with mentors in the industry and finding them employment upon graduation, it's safe to say that there is probably a lot of faculty involvement there too.
What I DID NOT like about FSU was the absolute rigidity of their program. I should mention at this point that I am a graduate student moving into film from journalism, with the intention of producing documentaries. FSU's grad program is a strict narrative emphasis and takes place over two years, so it is very...condensed. It is like a funnel, an escalator. You have a set path of courses and there is no exploration on the side. Classes in other disciplines, jobs outside the program, sports, and hobbies are discouraged. You won't have time. My understanding from my tour guide, who was an undergrad, is that it was pretty similar for undergrads too. You have your basic university requirements and then film. It was kind of a shock for me, since my journalism degree required classes in pretty much every other school at the university on the principle that "journalism is about everything but journalism." I think telling narrative stories is the same way too, unless you want to stick to commentary about the industry.
FSU was an ill fit for my intentions, since I ultimately do not plan to make narrative films. I'd rather spend my school time producing documentaries...and I just don't like being boxed in and dictated what is or is not relevant to my education. Chapman has a wide array of classes and areas of emphasis. They have an undergraduate documentary program and are putting together a graduate degree, which I hope to help with next fall. The administration at Chapman has seemed very willing so far to help me string together the education I want and acquire the skills I need. I like that.
I never seriously considered USC as an option. I can't speak with any authority on their program. I'd just heard a lot about disaffected, unemployed graduates who felt that teachers played favorites and didn't actually offer them the connections the school promised. I'm sure there's fault on both sides. I'd also heard that only teachers' favorites got to direct films, while everybody else worked on them. This is true. USC, FSU, and UCLA all have directing students employed in rotating duties ostensibly to help them get a taste of every aspect of the industry. Chapman on the other hand pulls its (graduate at least) teams together from the various emphases: directors direct, cinematographers photograph, production designers do design. If you already know what you want to do, that's a much better use of time and talent.
I did visit UCLA last year, and have taken summer classes in animation and journalism in their building in the past. I can tell you that Chapman's facilities are still better. They're newer, what do you expect? A worker I spoke to confided that UCLA's dean changed recently, and they'd had problems with a lack of teacher supervision in the vetting process of potential films. Something about a car and an unsupervised stunt. Also, I was told that although the graduate program is officially three years, it can actually take four or five years to complete the final thesis film. There are guys who hang around for up to eight years working on their student "masterpiece." **** that! Who has that kind of money, and who needs to spend up to twelve years studying film? Get out in the industry and work! (Despite this, UCLA was still in my top three choices. They too seem to have a very liberal approach to a student's creativity and direction. Maybe to the extreme, lol. And you can't beat name-brand reputation.)
I hope my research is of some help to you. Keep in mind that it is colored by my own perceptions and biases. I'm a sucker for the idea of an innovative and hungry underdog taking out a bloated and complacent industry clearing house that processes rather than nurtures students, which is the impression I can't shake of USC. The best thing you can do is visit the schools yourself, make calls, and talk to students and faculty (as you are doing now). What I was looking for in a program may not be what you want or need. Maybe FSU's focused and immersive (those are good positive descriptors) environment is what you want. Their program is housed in a wing of their football stadium, which looks like a medieval fortress. The circus school is right outside. They say they are a pet project of certain higher-ups in the administration, so FSU's funding is likely to be secure in this environment of budget cuts and program slashing. Be sure to ask about that. I know Chapman has a huge endowment and has been undergoing aggressive expansion for several years. It may have slowed, but I doubt it has reversed.
I'm not too surprised you hadn't head of Chapman yet. It's like a quiet murmur. The industry reputation at Chapman is still tenuous, but it has turned heads. Remember that in the end, the "who you know" battlefront has to be fought on your own temerity. The disaffected students at USC I mentioned? Well, no one is going to hand you Spielberg on a platter and that was probably their problem. Chapman brings in speakers and major industry players for lectures. It's your job to talk to them, take weekend jobs in LA, make friends with your professors and your professors' friends. That's probably the final comparison I can make with FSU. FSU promises to match you up with a job upon graduation, but really, what can you do on your own? Who can you meet and work for down in Florida?
Thinking about it, it's really the same comparison I've been making all along. Independence versus safety net. Creative expression and technical direction. FSU runs all it's films to union guidelines, which is educational but restrictive and maybe anal retentive. What are your career goals and what do you want to do?
