USC School of Cinematic Arts - Stark Producing Program 2022

[jenovard]

Hi all. This is Jonathan in Tokyo. I sent in my application to Peter Stark last week and figured I'd make a thread to see who else has applied and how it's going.
I run a commercial production company in Tokyo but I want to move into TV/Film (Sci-fi/Sci-fi Horror) in Tokyo/LA. BENTO LABS

I'm actually shooting hopefully my final project of the year for Sony over the next two days then I wanna take the rest of the year off to study, prepare for hopefully getting into school and looking for scholarships etc.

Good luck everyone.

 

[Chris W]

Good luck!

Here are our current admission statistics for Stark. Everyone add their application to our database after you submit so we can improve our data.

USC School of Cinematic Arts Acceptance Rate (USC - Peter Stark Producing Program/All Years)

27.9%

Admitted

43 out of 154

16.2%

Waitlisted

25 out of 154

55.8%

Not Admitted

86 out of 154

Click here for our full Admission Statistics for this program including interview and acceptance notification dates, accepted GPAs, waitlist acceptance rate, demographics of accepted applicants, $ amount of scholarship awarded, and more...

Deadline is November 15th​

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USC Cinematic Arts | Graduate Application Procedures

Three letters of recommendation required. Rather than letters, recommenders are to complete each section of the “SlideRoom Recommendation Form” including the information about the recommender and the confidential questions about the applicant. The recommender should not upload a letter. Uploaded letters will not be read.

Recommendations should come from diverse sources. Two from the same job or internship count as only one. You should ask no more than one academic recommender. These are least helpful to us, and therefore to you. Recommenders should know you well and be familiar with your work, commitment, and achievements. Do not ask for recommendations from relatives.

USC Cinematic Arts | Application Procedures

1. Personal Statement
   Answer the following questions in the supplied text boxes (do not upload them separately). When answering the questions below be very specific.
   • Why do you want to attend the Stark Program? (3,000 characters maximum)
   • Tell us about a time when you faced an insurmountable challenge and how you responded. (3,000 maximum)
   • If you already have a prior degree in media or already work in media, why do you want to pursue this particular graduate degree? (1,000 characters maximum)
   • What is your plan for the next year if you are not accepted into the Peter Stark Producing Program? (1,000 characters maximum)
   • Do you have an ultimate career goal? If so, what is it? (1,000 characters maximum)
   • Do you perceive any weaknesses/shortcomings in yourself? Detail/amplify. (1,000 characters maximum)
   • Describe an emotionally significant experience in your life and how it affected you. (2,000 characters maximum)
   • Do you have a favorite existing film, TV show, web series, book, or play? Explain why it's a favorite. (1,000 characters maximum)

 

[jazzyjeff18]

Hi all. This is Jonathan in Tokyo. I sent in my application to Peter Stark last week and figured I'd make a thread to see who else has applied and how it's going.
I run a commercial production company in Tokyo but I want to move into TV/Film (Sci-fi/Sci-fi Horror) in Tokyo/LA. BENTO LABS

I'm actually shooting hopefully my final project of the year for Sony over the next two days then I wanna take the rest of the year off to study, prepare for hopefully getting into school and looking for scholarships etc.

Good luck everyone.

Hey Jonathan, I'm currently applying to the Stark Program. I work for a production company in DC and am trying to get into the horror scene as a producer.

For your resume did you add travel and artistic experiences? Contemplating on how I should do that. I'm currently a little over one page at the moment.

Good luck to you!

 

[jenovard]

Hey @jazzyjeff18 . Good luck to you too. The application process is a bit exhausting. To be honest my resume is a bit extra (see attached). I'm convinced you don't have to do all this to be an appealing applicant. I just have a design background so it was the direction I went. I mixed text and images so it didn't get too wordy and talked about a business I started, a bit about travel, and what my time overseas meant to me while trying to frame all the info in a way that was relevant to production. The deadline is soon! Make sure you've crossed your t's and dotted your i's.

 

[jazzyjeff18]

Hey @jazzyjeff18 . Good luck to you too. The application process is a bit exhausting. To be honest my resume is a bit extra (see attached). I'm convinced you don't have to do all this to be an appealing applicant. I just have a design background so it was the direction I went. I mixed text and images so it didn't get too wordy and talked about a business I started, a bit about travel, and what my time overseas meant to me while trying to frame all the info in a way that was relevant to production. The deadline is soon! Make sure you've crossed your t's and dotted your i's.

Oh absolutely. I'm going over and over and over and over my essays to make sure everything is the way I want it to be.

Just checked out your resume too and man thats cool! Mine is attached, but I'll probably be editing it within the next few days to include artistic experiences

 

[jenovard]

Hey Jeff. Your resume looks really solid. I only have 2 thoughts. You probably experienced this with your essays but what you want to say and the space they actually gave us to say it were really different. I had to edit my life down to basically a tweet haha. But I learned a lot about how to simplify things. I would consider editing down the resume to make it as simple as possible to read. For example:

Used DSLR cameras and Rode mics to record over 30 hours of B-roll, audio, and visual elements.
becomes
Independently captured over 30 hours of B-roll ("audio" and "visual" is a given right?)

Like every chance to cut down on text so the act of reading feels less daunting is good.

And with the space you hopefully save there, visually or just perceptually, maybe you can add some simple exposition to add context to all the experiences you've had. Like on page 2 talking about what those travel experiences meant to you and what they will help you bring to the program. I think the "volunteer" and "interests" sections could probably be switched to this narrative format too. I feel like added context will help them imagine who you are as a person and help further differentiate you. Also this is a creative program and in theory we're storytellers so I tried to bring a story to my profile. (I'm not an especially strong writer though so I could really only take that so far.)

 

[jazzyjeff18]

Hey Jeff. Your resume looks really solid. I only have 2 thoughts. You probably experienced this with your essays but what you want to say and the space they actually gave us to say it were really different. I had to edit my life down to basically a tweet haha. But I learned a lot about how to simplify things. I would consider editing down the resume to make it as simple as possible to read. For example:

Used DSLR cameras and Rode mics to record over 30 hours of B-roll, audio, and visual elements.
becomes
Independently captured over 30 hours of B-roll ("audio" and "visual" is a given right?)

Like every chance to cut down on text so the act of reading feels less daunting is good.

And with the space you hopefully save there, visually or just perceptually, maybe you can add some simple exposition to add context to all the experiences you've had. Like on page 2 talking about what those travel experiences meant to you and what they will help you bring to the program. I think the "volunteer" and "interests" sections could probably be switched to this narrative format too. I feel like added context will help them imagine who you are as a person and help further differentiate you. Also this is a creative program and in theory we're storytellers so I tried to bring a story to my profile. (I'm not an especially strong writer though so I could really only take that so far.)

Hey Jonathan, that's great advice. Definitely will cut down where I can. I also like the narrative format idea too. I'll rewrite my travel experiences in narrative form so I can include my artistic experiences in there as well!

 

[jazzyjeff18]

Hey Jeff. Your resume looks really solid. I only have 2 thoughts. You probably experienced this with your essays but what you want to say and the space they actually gave us to say it were really different. I had to edit my life down to basically a tweet haha. But I learned a lot about how to simplify things. I would consider editing down the resume to make it as simple as possible to read. For example:

Used DSLR cameras and Rode mics to record over 30 hours of B-roll, audio, and visual elements.
becomes
Independently captured over 30 hours of B-roll ("audio" and "visual" is a given right?)

Like every chance to cut down on text so the act of reading feels less daunting is good.

And with the space you hopefully save there, visually or just perceptually, maybe you can add some simple exposition to add context to all the experiences you've had. Like on page 2 talking about what those travel experiences meant to you and what they will help you bring to the program. I think the "volunteer" and "interests" sections could probably be switched to this narrative format too. I feel like added context will help them imagine who you are as a person and help further differentiate you. Also this is a creative program and in theory we're storytellers so I tried to bring a story to my profile. (I'm not an especially strong writer though so I could really only take that so far.)

Fixed up my resume with a narrative approach towards the bottom! Let me know your thoughts. Wanted to add a picture but not sure where I would do that.

 

[allieh]

Hi! I applied. March is too far away!

 

[Chris W]

Hi! I applied. March is too far away!

Good luck! Add your application to our database when you can go help others and so we can improve our film program admissions statistics.

Application Database

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www.filmschool.org

 

[audr3y]

Hi! I also applied for fall 2022! New to filmschool.org!!

 

[JHD]

If the production applicants have at least started to get interview requests, I think that might mean some for the Stark program will go out next week? I can't 100% remember, but I think that's how it was last year?

 

[dood523]

Hey all! I also applied and have been eager to hear something soon. I heard that they historically come out with interview requests in the last week of January and first week of February, but I hope they come out sooner

 

[Chris W]

I heard that they historically come out with interview requests in the last week of January and first week of February, but I hope they come out sooner

Good luck! Past stats and dates here

 

[audr3y]

If the production applicants have at least started to get interview requests, I think that might mean some for the Stark program will go out next week? I can't 100% remember, but I think that's how it was last year?

Do we know if they will come through email or will we have to keep checking the status page?

 

[JHD]

Do we know if they will come through email or will we have to keep checking the status page?

I believe applicants who get interviews will be notified through email! I believe that's how it's been done in previous years

 

[Purple]

Hello!

Has anyone received any emails/news regarding the interview?? I haven't but curious to know if anybody did...

Thank you!

 

[JHD]

Hello!

Has anyone received any emails/news regarding the interview?? I haven't but curious to know if anybody did...

Thank you!

Haven't heard anything either

 

[audr3y]

I saw in the USC Film Production thread for 2022 that they have started getting emails and having interviews so hopefully that means Stark applicants will hear from them soon! (One person even said their interview mentioned acceptance notification for them by the end of the month/early February! so soon wow!)

 

[audr3y]

Random question but on the USC application check status page where it says "Complete" under "Application Status" when you click it does it show anything new or does it just indent the whole box? Wondering if something is wrong with mine or it does that to everyone's?