1/07 PM

Lights! camera! action! .. at USC Film school

First Impressions

Wendy called from school. Said she'll only have 3 days of classes each week, which is easier on the driving than the 4, & sometimes 5, she had the last few semesters. Might have to drive up for extra stuff - meetings w/ other students on projects - but 3 days/wk is a good starting point.

When the students came thru/across the threshold to the orientation theater, everyone had to pause in an arbor/frame and state their name, while they were video taped - one by one. School officials said they were doing this so that, when they become famous, they'll be able to see where it all began. =) She thought it was cool.

About 50 to 55 students in her class. First graduate Production class of the new millennium. They'll be working with digital video (DV) the first semester (undergrads use Super-8). They move to 16mm the following semester. 

Classes will be held in the new Digital Entertainment Arts bldg, funded with donations by Robert Zemeckis (Forest Gump), Spielberg, George Lucas (Star Wars) et al. They specified the $ be spent (only) on equipment with a digital focus, cuz they felt strongly that's where opportunity lies in the future. She'll have her Production classes (507) in this new bldg (off-campus on Figueroa, near the Shrine).  

Students were told they should be proud cuz it's harder to get into USC's graduate Production prgm (accepted/apps percentage-wise) than Harvard Law school.

Once inside, everyone had to stand up, state their names, where they were from, university they graduated from, & undergrad major. Only one other student is from USC (Poly Sci major). Seems like Wendy's the only one with an undergrad degree in Film from USC, & maybe the only one with an undergrad degree in Film period.

Her classmates hail from the finest schools around the country, including Harvard, Yale, MIT, NYU, Berkeley- from every imaginable field. For example, the girl from Harvard has a degree in economics. Lots of kids from the East Coast.

First class is Monday morning at 9AM. Excited.

Next -> More First Impressions 


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