NYU (NY) 2010

km467

Active Member
Hi! I've been reading this board for a while, and have found all the topics about applying for next year really helpful--but I haven't found anything on NYU for 2010. Is anyone else here applying? It's one of the two schools I'm applying to this year, because I want to be on the east coast.

I'm starting on my apps slightly late because I just got back to school a month ago (I go to St Andrews, in the UK). How are your personal statements/visual submissions going? I'm still stuck between sending photographs vs video; with the photos you get the opportunity to write about each one, but I'm guessing a demo reel or collection of short films is preferable. Anyone else having this dilemma?

Thanks,
 
I'm going to apply if I don't get into USC's Spring admission.

I'm going to be submitting photos...I've been commissioned several times to do a bunch of photo work (though I wouldn't call myself a "professional photographer") and so my photo portfolio is much stronger than my video portfolio.

Though I'm annoyed that they want the photos to be 8x10. I take a lot of medium format photos which are squares...and even 5x6 don't have the exact same dimensions as 8x10, so I'll be losing a bit of the photo around the edges.
 
Yep. Been slaving away at the application and have lots of questions!

The biggest one right now is: How long is the personal statement supposed to be (single-spaced)?
 
I'll be applying to NYU. With the 30 minute video sample, I'm wondering what kind of stuff I should include. I did some commercial work, which shows good craft, but not sure about storytelling ability. I was hired to make some documentary shorts, which show better storytelling, but not the best filming craft. Ideas?
 
I was also wondering if anyone on the forum has any opinions about Tisch Asia. Is the faculty as good? Is the curriculum as good? How does it compare to Tisch new york and other top film schools?
 
I'm also applying to NYU 2010 - but I'm interested in their dramatic writing MFA. Holler back if anyone else is applying for the same.
 
Hey! Thanks for replying, everyone. I'm glad to find people with the same questions as me!

Right now I'm just rounding up recommendation letters and trying to find a good printer for my photos in the tiny university town of St Andrews. I'm also slightly stumped by the personal statement length--it doesn't say on the application, but for other program specifies 1,000 words. So maybe something around there? I looked under FAQ and searched the website, and couldn't find anything.

Also: how many letters of recommendation are we allowed? The online app says at least two, and I have three main ones arranged from profs/employers, but are we allowed as many as we want? I could get notes from other employers as well, which could help?

Tantalus-NYU seems to be more focused on storytelling and less about craft, so unless there are any really stunning shots in your commercial work, maybe stick to the documentary shorts. They don't require any previous filmmaking experience for applications (though I'm sure this helps a ton), so I don't think that they're too concerned with an applicant's technical skills. If you do chose the documentary shorts, be sure to mention your commercial work on your application, they'll probably be very impressed.
 
i went down to tisch today and picked up a brochure. 1st & 2nd year students were in production so it was extremely quiet up there.

but the new brochure says a "two-page personal statement" ... now i don't know if that's double- or single-spaced, but i'm going to go with single!
 
Hey guys,

What kind of a structure did you use in your four minute short film synopsis for the written submissions?

It says in paragraph form but I wonder if I can't go with something more... ummm... lyrical. Like this for example:

Here he sits, this boy, watching the sea from a hilltop. The sky is a crystal clear blue and he is amidst bushes and flowers. Seagulls dance on the water, letting out their calls.

He smiles, so serene and carefree.

He closes his eyes, and he listens.

_____

Also, what exactly is a synopsis? I am basically telling my story, very shortly, hitting the major points. If I went through it by just summarizing it would probably take like a half-a-page. I mean, it is a 4 minute short after all. What kind of a thing did you guys write?

Either way, thanks in advance.
 
It says in paragraph form but I wonder if I can't go with something more... ummm... lyrical. Like this for example:

Here he sits, this boy, watching the sea from a hilltop. The sky is a crystal clear blue and he is amidst bushes and flowers. Seagulls dance on the water, letting out their calls.

He smiles, so serene and carefree.

He closes his eyes, and he listens.

_____

Also, what exactly is a synopsis? I am basically telling my story, very shortly, hitting the major points. If I went through it by just summarizing it would probably take like a half-a-page. I mean, it is a 4 minute short after all. What kind of a thing did you guys write?

Either way, thanks in advance.

Just do what they ask you to do. If they ask for paragraph form, put it in paragraph form. You will definitely lose 'points' if you can't follow simple instructions.

Turn your lyrical writing to:
"Here he sits, this boy, watching the sea from a hilltop. The sky is a crystal clear blue and he is amidst bushes and flowers. Seagulls dance on the water, letting out their calls. He smiles, so serene and carefree.He closes his eyes, and he listens."

Not much difference.

You are right about the synopsis, it's basically telling the major points of the story. I would emphasize what happens to your character as the story progresses.
 
I'm struggling with the four minute story too. Originally, I had it written out in screenplay format -- all action lines, no dialogue, scene headings to show the external settings -- but now I'm not sure if that's correct. It's in paragraphs, as action lines often are, but now I think they just wanted a standard word document. I may call them later today just to confirm. Discovering that we're only meant to use external settings was a bit of a drag, too.

I don't know if you guys found some of the short silent films on the NYU website, but I think the story ideas are things that we would ideally shoot in our first semester. Mine is definitely something I wouldn't be able to shoot, so this worries me a bit. Here's the film I found: http://gradfilm.tisch.nyu.edu/page/home.html . Keep refreshing until George and Karl comes up. Hope that helps!
 
the idea for a 4 minute film, is directly related to the first semester film which is a 4 minute, 16mm, B&W, no dialogue.

Of course, you are not at all tied to make the film you describe in your application package.
 
Hey guys,

I was wondering if you could clarify something for me regarding the 4 minute silent film prompt. Does the exterior only req apply to inside cars or is that ok? Sorry if i'm splitting hairs, I just don't want to be ding'd for something stupid.

i feel a little bit like Jack in Will & Grace when Will puts him in charge of Barry's body and he asks about the hair, since it grows on the body, but is on the head...yea, ok anyway, thanks for your help! =)
 
I have a question about the dialogue piece. I have to submit something similar to Columbia. Any thoughts on submitting the same dialogue (formatted and edited for each school's specs)? Or do you think they would frown upon not preparing something specifically for NYU's app.
 
Just sent in my Dramatic Writing Application/Portfolio.

At the post office I had a minor panic attack, and tore open the package. I paged through my screenplay one last time...and found that I had reversed the last ten pages with the proceeding ten! Thank god I checked.

It's out, it's done, I'm gonna try not to think about it. Best of luck to everyone!
 
Originally posted by wannabe2:
I have a question about the dialogue piece. I have to submit something similar to Columbia. Any thoughts on submitting the same dialogue (formatted and edited for each school's specs)? Or do you think they would frown upon not preparing something specifically for NYU's app.

how would they know if you submitted the same thing?
 
Originally posted by duders:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by wannabe2:
I have a question about the dialogue piece. I have to submit something similar to Columbia. Any thoughts on submitting the same dialogue (formatted and edited for each school's specs)? Or do you think they would frown upon not preparing something specifically for NYU's app.

how would they know if you submitted the same thing? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The Columbia application has very specific prompts (i.e. the opening is written for you), so some admissions officer at NYU may notice. But I'd say the chances are slim, especially if you change the wording of the opening.
 
The film concept is really frustrating! The website says it should be one page douple-spaced, but I come up with at least 4 pages every time I do it. It's really hard to fit the story of a feature film onto one page. What am I doing wrong?

Ideas?
 
Log your film school application with our Application Database so that we can improve our admissions statistics.




Latest Accepted Applications


Acceptance Data
For up to date Film School Acceptance Rates, including Minimum GPAs, Minimum Test Scores, After Interview and Off-Waitlist Acceptance Rates, Film Experience and Undergraduate degrees of accepted applicants, Age data, and other acceptance statistics for your film program of choice simply navigate to the Acceptance Rates tab on each film school's page in our Film School Database.

For example:
Log your own Application with our application database to help improve the site's acceptance data.

Latest Film School Reviews

  • University of Colorado at Boulder (BFA)
    4.00 star(s)
    Reviewed by: Alumni
    Degree: BA/BS/BFA
    BFA University of Colorado at Boulder BFA Film Production
    Honest review. CU Boulder is an interesting place to learn filmmaking. The University boasts some excellent professors who are actively making...
    • Anonymous
  • University of Central Florida - School of Visual Arts & Design
    4.00 star(s)
    Reviewed by: Current Student
    Degree: BA/BS/BFA
    Concentration: Film - Feature/TV Writing
    UCF Film BFA (College of Sciences - School of Communication)
    UCF's BFA program is split into 4 modalities: narrative production, documentary production, experimental production, and feature/tv writing. I...
    • Anonymous
  • Syracuse University
    4.00 star(s)
    Reviewed by: Current Student
    Degree: BA/BS/BFA
    Concentration: Film
    Syracuse Film and Media Arts - BFA Film
    I'm in my last year at Syracuse University as a member of the department of Film and Media Arts, and it's been a lot of ups and downs. There's a...
    • Anonymous
  • Fitchburg State University
    5.00 star(s)
    Reviewed by: Alumni
    Degree: BA/BS/BFA
    Concentration: Film/Video and Theater
    A Great School with Great Professors!
    I was a student there from 2018-2022 and had a great experience. I would recommend it to anyone, especially people living within Massachusetts...
    • Anonymous
  • Florida State University - MFA in Writing
    5.00 star(s)
    Reviewed by: Current Student
    Degree: MA/MFA
    Concentration: Screenwriting
    Hidden Gem
    Before I get into the details, it's worth mentioning that I'm in my second year at this program and have really enjoyed my time here. I will be...
    • catmom

Latest Applications

Latest questions

Latest Articles

Latest Accepted Applications

Applications
Articles
Forums
Film Schools
Scholarships
Back
Top