Grades for 2nd semester, first year, colloquially referred to as 'the 508 semester', generally considered the single most grueling semester of the entire 3-year program. USC Graduate Production Film school.
[15-min video about USC Film school here. Wendy's 508 prof, Helaine, said the guy who made this film was one of her students.]
She hoped for a straight A in Production II (508), and would've been disappointed with anything less than A-.
She was pleasantly surprised by the A- in History, as that's where she spent the least amount of effort. The workload is such that students can't do everything. They have to let something slip. For Wendy, that something was the History class. She saved everything for the History class until the very end (8 papers). Having a Critical Studies undergrad helped somewhat, cuz some of the course material overlaps.
She thought the B+ in Screenwriting should've been an A-. She worked hard in that class. The good thing is that she got an A- in Production II, which is a 6-unit class, and the B+ was only a 2-unit class. That helps her GPA. To date, she has no grade lower than a B+, and A-'s in all the major (6-unit) classes.
All classes in the first two semesters are mandatory. Before classes ever start, USC includes a caveat on every piece of correspondence, reminding students that "Successful completion of the first two semesters of classes are a prerequisite for continued enrollment in the program." At first, this seemed odd, if not annoying. But it soon became (painfully) clear why they continually repeat the stipulation. Course academic req'mnts are posted here.
USC is serious about
Cinema. The graduate level program is not for the faint of heart. Students are
pushed to their limits. Sleep deprivation is normal. Advil & Starbucks gradually replace the more
traditional food groups. Sadly, several students were unable to maintain the pace and
dropped out.
USC offers
many wonderful graduate-level classes. But before allowing students to take the
exciting electives, they must first prove themselves in the crucible of the
first year (507 & 508). Only after successfully completing the
punishing first year are they allowed to sign up for the more exciting classes.
Special thanks to all who helped make Liliana and the semester such a success - Lisa, Zarena, Louie, Lejla, Judy & George, Ed, Paul, Brian, Maria, Berni & Alex, Hector, Buck, George, Dave, Jahmar, Wesley, Mom & Sid, and Joe. Couldn't have done it without your help. Thanks for all the letters of encouragement. They mean than you know.
Next semester's classes look like this (8 units total):
* 546 (as Editor, making
this
film - 6 units)
* 546 Editing (Avid)
* Intermediate Directing (2 units)
Back to -> Grades update