Official UCSD - Visual Arts 2010

[vivaitalia]

OH! and i just got back (3AM) from seeing Iron Man 2 with my buddies.

did you guys see it yet? I was kind of let down, which I actually kind of expected to be. Whenever they do a sequel so soon, I feel like they stick to the same exact formula at the first movie rather than try to just innovate a bit more and be clever. Anyway, it fell short but I was impressed with the fact that actors/director were able to make fun of the absurdity of the movie every once in a while. what did you guys think (if you saw it yet)?

 

[Oquendo]

>Yeah...I was at the UCSD thing. Man...that campus reminded me of a resort! did anyone get a tour of the transfer housing at The Village?

Yeah. I sorta did. The Village looked really nice! I believe it was refurnished recently. The only thing that sucked was that there were only 60 single rooms available...

>The campus is huge and I would for sure need a bike to get around. It was bloody beautiful though! I spent my time trying to find real students to talk to, and I got a pretty good idea of the college: they are extremely studious around midterms and finals, but otherwise they seem to go out and have fun.

That's cool! I was with my parents the whole time and I wanted to check out the beach, but I didn't realize the school so huge so we ended forgetting about going to the beach and checking out the RIMAC and VILLAGE.

>I was at the Sixth College presentation at 10:45 too. I wasn't that turned on/impressed by it, but it doesn't look like there is really anything special about what college you get into. I think it is more of a freshman thing, because as I see it, the only thing that I would "need" to do for Sixth is that Practicum and Cat125. My dad came along, and I told him that there were probably some people from this weird online forum there- haha...but I figured there was no way I would be able to identify anyone by the way they speak/type. lol. anyway, I actually don't think the school did a good job selling itself (meaning the speakers they had) but the students and campus really sold themselves to me!

Yeah, the presenters definately need to work on "presenting" a school or at least re-take that CAT125 class! Also, the video they showed us was poorly shot - anybody hear of thirds-rule, or avoiding mergers? lol - and the guy who talked about the practicuum/125 kept pausing after EVERY sentence...i left sorta at the q and a with the students to check out the digital playroom which unfortunately they are all MACs. regardless, final cut is pretty cool and i will learn to love mac as it will soon take over the industry.

>any btw...not to offend any girls on this board, but ****- every single UCSD girl I saw blew me away. (not that I'll let that dictate my choice......)....(maybe...)

EXACTLY! The big thing that surprised me was the notion that all those stereotypes i was searching for were not really true when I went there! There were a LOT of pretty girls(however, they could have been just "touring" the school) and yes, the campus seemed extremely active! And the great thing about the girls is that they're also smart! lol.

The place is still under construction of more buildings and I'm not just saying this to get back at LA, but I honestly think UCSD might overtake LA in 20, 30, years in terms of an overall school reputation; however, its pretty apparent that LA will reign in film, business, and law for quite some time, but UCSD has developed into a such great school for a "young" university and i think will continue to do so in the future.

 

[Oquendo]

SPOILERS! YE HAVE BE WARNED!

>OH! and i just got back (3AM) from seeing Iron Man 2 with my buddies.

lol, i got back home at 3am from WORKING an iron man screening this morning. total bs @ all the work capitalist movie chains make us do, lol...

and yeah. i pretty much agree. the movie felt like, at times, a giant advertisement for THE AVENGERS and the other comic films coming out. very unnecessary subplots and characters; although, scarlett johansen...o..m..g.. O_O

i really liked:

*performances - i suspect half the movie was improvised since there are a lot of scenes that seem too natural for an actor to speak from.

*rd jr. - yeah, he seems like a d0uchebag in real life, but he is very talented at being natural and comical onscreen. even though tony stark has such an ego, we still root for him.

*entertaining as hell. i have to admit, there was not one moment where i was bored. very funny, too.

disliked:

*re: above^
*while favreau is good at getting great acting, the action scenes are "meh." especially the ending when vanko dies in like one minute. he doesn't even put up a fight. and the way he dies is like, "well, why didn't you think of that the first time?"
*ending was anti-climactic

also, that inception trailer was AWESOME!

reminded me of a mix of heat + the matrix.

 

[vivaitalia]

Originally posted by Oquendo:

also, that inception trailer was AWESOME!

reminded me of a mix of heat + the matrix.

YES! Holy crap was that trailer awesome! In the very first ten seconds of it, I was afraid it would be just be a tacky/stupid reason to have a movie filled with special effects, but then it started to look so much more interesting than what I thought it was going to be.

Anyway...I completely agree with Iron Man having so many unnecessary plots. And they did absolutely nothing to really build up any suspense during the movie. Kinda like you said though...Favreau seemed okay with it. (ie. using Self-Referential to kinda make fun of it like creating a new element in 2 hrs "well..that was easy..." lol)

Nevertheless, you're completely right- there is not even a split second of boredom!

I take it you work at a movie theater Oquendo?

 

[Oquendo]

Guilty. That's why I'm able to see movies I really like multiple times; ironically, rarely do movies "I really like" come out at my theater.

However, I'll probably watch Iron Man 2 a couple more times with family since it's in IMAX, too.

Do you send in your UCSD housing? That thing was a super-easy one click deed!

 

[fakeplastic]

unfortunately they are all MACs. regardless, final cut is pretty cool and i will learn to love mac as it will soon take over the industry.

oquendo man!
you gotta learn mac man its way better.
i love fcp.
and i think its already taken over the industry, at least in terms of the arts. i haven't heard of anyone editing on a pc.

 

[vivaitalia]

I definitely submitted the UCSD housing! At first I was bummed about the lack of singles, but then I thought about it more and I think I would end up applying for a double anyway.

My freshman year at a college actually taught me that it is generally better to live in doubles rather than singles, especially for meeting others. Definitely not triples though- those are the worst. Luckily...they don't exist at UCSD. lol

And I agree with fakeplastic: you gotta learn Mac, FCP really is a superior product. My experience in Hollywood though has shown me that Avid still has a significant hold on the television market. I think FCP has completely taken over the film market though.

 

[Oquendo]

i actually know fcp since i used it in junior/senior year vid production class and i disliked it because of its constant rendering as opposed to adobe, plus i hated the hotkeys and format of apple. but you guys are right, mac is definitely where its headed. actually, i have never tried to use avid.

anyways, to continue the recap on the vis arts:

the handouts were really helpful.

i count ten(that's right! 10) production courses that are REQUIRED to graduate. around, i think 16-17 production classes total? not to mention there's the practicum if you choose to do a film-type project.

some include:

-sound and lighting
-editing
-digital cinema
-16mm filmmaking
-advance media projects

the only problem was that the program is quite weak in regards to screenwriting. there's only two screenwriting classes: advanced scripting, scripting strategies

but who cares? the best screenplays i've read were from people who didn't take screenwriting classes nor "created" how-to sceenwriting novels...

i think all we need to know are the basics of a strong screenplay as well as how to market one.

after the lecture, i asked the lady about the program in regards to getting a job in the industry as well as the focuses.

she said since this branch is part of the ART section of the school, so there won't be a lot of industry tips; furthermore, she said that most of the teachers disliked the industry after working there, so many may give you advice, but will probably have an "aversion" to it.

she did say, however, that UCSD offers "PLENTY" of internships. she said local tv stations in sd as well as some in la are offered through UCSD, which is great! i want to graduate with knowledge as well as experience on sets and im optimistically hoping these internships would help.

i asked her about the facilities, but they were not open to us that day

also, she said the la jolla playhouse is apparently one of the top theatre places. personally, i really just want some guerrilla filmmaking, not to the extent of dogme95, lol, but just make films that use practical locations, actors, real sets; sd's seems like it is offering the things.

i'm just turned off by the title: 'visual arts - media w/ digital and video emphasis'

also, do you guys think it would be possible to work with sdsu students? since they have a film school title, there could be possible connections nearby with kids there...

 

[vivaitalia]

Its ten production courses, but the department also had a fair amount of courses in areas that don't really help out Film that much (ie...all the lower division requirements and intermediate level requirements. I mean, I suppose photography, computing, and art making are interesting but its a pain to have to commit to taking them in place of other electives one might rather take.

The program clearly isn't based on the narrative at all, nor the final product, which is quite disappointing. But AT LEAST you get to dip into TONS of hands-on work.

>she did say, however, that UCSD offers "PLENTY" of internships. she said local tv stations in sd as well as some in la are offered through UCSD, which is great!

Everyone at UCSD yesterday (and my brother who went there a few years ago) said the most important and rewarding parts of UCSD were those spent doing internships and research on top of the regular classes. The school clearly has a penchant for real-world learning, which is by far the most attractive part of the school from a practical standpoint.

La Jolla playhouse is bloody brilliant. I used to be an avid actor and was a small part of a production there around four years ago. They are beyond World Class and a very famous theater presence outside of broadway. You'd be so surprised to learn how many different shows premiered/started at the La Jolla Playhouse that end up on Broadway- it'll blow your mind. Thinking about it makes me want to be an actor again. haha

>do you guys think it would be possible to work with sdsu students? since they have a film school title, there could be possible connections nearby with kids there...

I'm sure its possible to work with SDSU students, but to be completely honest, my friend who goes there told me that their film program is completely filled with the lazy-ass students who wanted to choose a major they thought would be easy. I'm sure there's gotta be a few passionate ones though.

anyway...interesting stuff. I'm actually an International Studies major at UCSD right now but the counselors said that its extremely easy to change your major and that "you are welcome to do it every 14 days...not that we recommend it, but you are able to." lol Does anyone know about the Film Minor at UCSD?

Last but not least, to add onto your points Oquendo: Sixth College seemed to have an affinity for film and they hosted that Campuswide Film Festival which sounded pretty cool.

 

[Oquendo]

Anybody hear about the UCSD Digital Arts Extension program?

The Digital Arts Center Video & Editing program utilizes industry leading software, enabling students to create high quality productions for a variety of delivery formats. Intensive hands-on coursework allows you to develop a valuable working portfolio while obtaining practical experience in real-world situations.

http://dac.ucsd.edu/index.cfm?vAction=videoediting

What's also odd is that it offers a lot more production courses and practical experience, plus the faculty seem experienced.

http://dac.ucsd.edu/index.cfm?...=videoeditingcourses

Are UCSD professors teaching this also, or is the faculty completely different. Anyways, the program helps you strengthen a portfolio and resume that would definitely help after we graduate. I'm not saying we could join this, but I am assuming we will be "running into" students/professors using the same facilities. Let's face it, we are all going to need a job afterwards to network.

 

[vivaitalia]

How'd you hear about that Oquendo?

They might be taught by the same professors, but usually Extension Programs are a private/separate entity from the state school. I actually thought one of the perks of possibly going to UCLA and majoring in something that I'll hate is possibility to take the famous Film extension classes classes there, but then I decided how unrealistic it is to have the time to take them (plus they are a huge rip off).

Still...its really interesting that UCSD offers that as I had never even known/heard about anything like it before.

 

[Oquendo]

i was doing my usual search of "film" + "ucsd" and came across this page after pages and pages on google. i think i typed "industry" or "job market," too.

yeah, i think the professors might be different, since there is a faculty page and i glanced to see if they matched the professors on my handout and they didn't.

i won't take extension courses if i go there, but who can blame me for "bumping" into them, and pestering, lol...

 

[fakeplastic]

san diego here i come.

 

[vivaitalia]

Originally posted by fakeplastic:
san diego here i come.

CONGRATS on making a decision!! I envy your abilities! lol

 

[fakeplastic]

haha thanks viva.
it was very hard.

 

[Oquendo]

grats, man! this is definately a tough decision - almost like a marriage since it requires committment, time, and money, lol...i wish you the best of luck!

 

[fakeplastic]

thanks oquendo.
this is nothing against your overview of ucsb, i think its a great school but i think ucsd is just more for me.

are you going to ucsb?

 

[Oquendo]

I am leaning toward it, since the benefits of the program facility-wise and post-graduation seem more advantageous to me over SD's(no offense); however, I still cannot get over the fact that I still feel SD as well it's campus is more for me. Plus, since SB's known as a party school, I feel I will come into contact with a significant amount of douche-baggery, but I'm sure you'll get that anywhere you go...I'm more of the studious kind, and I feel "right" with SD's campus, atmosphere, and its surrounding areas, but I feel even more "right" with Santa Barbara's program and the facilities and opportunities it has to offer.

I'm gonna make my decision very soon, though...

 

[fakeplastic]

Ok oquendo good luck to you too then.
I was looking forward to working with you but maybe after graduation.

 

[Jay Drose]

Hey Guys,

I went to UCSD and majored in Visual Arts, Media (film/video production). I graduated in 2008 with a thesis in hand and honors.

I know the program as well as anyone. Any last second questions and I'll do my best to answer.