Toledo and Cleveland State

[uptown]

Can anyone comment on the state of Toldeo's film major and Cleveland State's "dramatic major"?

When do you start using the camera and making films?

 

[Jayimess]

Hmmm...dramatic major?

I went to CSU, where they have various film and tv oriented "emphases" under the umbrella of the Communications school. You can start using equipment as early as your second semester, in 204, Single Source Video. I'm not completely familiar with the program today, as I graduated in 2006, but it has evolved greatly. They have 16mm cameras, Avid, etc, not super awesome, but it gets the job done.

Myself and my classmates (graduating 2005-2008) have done pretty well for ourselves so far. Film School wise (MFAs), we've got two fellows at AFI (editing, cinematography), myself at USC (screenwriting), a recent grad of Chapman (producing). Here in LA, we've got three working in post production, supporting themselves pretty well for the last year or more, one of whom has also directed a video that got played on MTV and VH1. Another two, who just arrived this spring, are surviving as PAs for an offshoot of Disney. Back in Cleveland, four different classmates of mine have secured funding for feature films of their own and/or support themselves completely just by working on projects. Another guy lives in Connecticut, I believe he was just named a finalist in a prestigious writing comp, I don't know which one right this second.

The alum who directed the video I mentioned above and I have both had good festival runs with our films made there, my 410 final even got broadcast on national cable.

So much of a program is what you make of it...they give you a lot of freedom, and after two years, while I can definitely see what I didn't learn at Cleveland State, I can also state with certainty that I didn't get any misinformation.

The program is small, so the faculty is really involved. We're all still family, those of us out here, all but one of the Cleveland people I mentioned above has crashed on my couch for at least a month when they first got out here, and I've lived with three of my classmates.

Hope that helps! Best of luck!