How important is work experience?

[corinnak96]

I am a junior in college, planning to apply to Master's in Producing programs this fall. I've taken undergrad courses in producing, I have a strong GPA, and I expect to do well on the GRE. However, I don't have any internship or work experience in the film industry - only coursework. Would the lack of relevant work experience affect my chances of admission? Are academics given more weight than internships?

Thanks!

 

[jedi578k]

Hey,

People are evaluated based on lot of factors which portfolio and personal statement are the most important ones.
I am studying film production at Chapman University and I know lot of people who don't have background in film and film industry.
But I encourage you to build your creative portfolio as much as possible and I am sure you will be admitted to your desired University. The only trick is producing fruitful work in short amount time rather than waiting few months to make something amazing instead (Though I encourage that too, but, you have to be sure that you are going to make something really amazing, which rarely happens when the person has minimum experience).
The good thing is that you don't have to necessarily ONLY produce films and short films back to back. It is good to have wide gamut of experience in different things when you are not producing films (from writing, directing, ... and writing short stories or doing management roles in different industries).

 

[gilbay]

If I was applying for producing I would have a thing or two that I'd produced to show to where I'm applying. School and the industry are a little different from each other.