Moviemaker - CA (2019 Summer)

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terms of people—nearly 50 per-

cent of Fellows are female—and

narrative points of view.”

Screenwriting class of 1994

alumnus Brad Falchuk, who co-

created the TV show Glee, says,

“At AFI, you’ll meet with collabo-

rators you’ll work with for your

entire career. I’ve worked with

alumni from AFI on

every one of my

projects. The AFI

Conservatory is

for artists who are

serious about finding

their voice and have

stories to tell. It’s an

amazing experience,

and it will change your life.”

EXTENSIVE EXCEPTIONAL TRAINING:

University of Southern

California’s School

of Cinematic Arts

(Los Angeles, CA)

A stone’s throw from the

film industry, USC’s School

of Cinematic Arts gets more

U.S. WEST &

NORTHWEST

EXTENSIVE EXCEPTIONAL TRAINING:

AFI Conservatory

(Los Angeles, CA)

Set in the Hollywood Hills,

the AFI Conservatory expects its

students to learn the art of film

on the job using their initiative

and the school’s state-of-the-art

equipment and facilities.

With accomplished industry

mentors and a Senior Filmmak-

er-in-Residence, the faculty keeps

its class sizes small and respects

the intelligence and passion that

drives its storytellers-in-training.

Using a hands-on approach

to learning the nuts and bolts

of film, the Conservatory puts

its focus into getting films made,

producing more than 120 short

narrative productions every year.

AFI has six MFAs available

in Cinematography, Directing,

Editing, Producing, Production

Design, and Screenwriting.

And if you don’t already have

an undergraduate degree, you

will be considered for acceptance

as an Associate Fellow.

One of AFI’s leading lights

is Oscar-winning British film-

maker Andrea Arnold. Formerly

a children’s television host and

actress in the U.K., she stud-

ied directing at AFI and later

garnered an Academy Award

for her 2003 short film "Wasp."

She’s gone on to direct acclaimed

features such as Red Road,

Fish Tank, and American Honey,

which have all won the Jury Prize

at the Cannes Film Festival.

Alumna Rachel Morrison was

the first woman to be nominat-

ed for a Best Cinematography

Oscar for her work on 2017’s

Mudbound.

Other award-winning alumni

include director David Lynch,

writer-directors Darren Aronofsky,

Amy Heckerling and Patty Jenkins,

and cinematographers

Wally Pfister, Robert Richardson,

and Janusz Kamiński.

AFI Directing Discipline

Head Adam Salky says, “Every-

thing that happens at the AFI

Conservatory is driven by the

enormous amount of production

that goes on here. AFI Fellows

direct between five to 10 films in

two years. It’s a breakneck pace.

The films they make are so full of

passion and experimentation, but

the best thing about their time

here is watching the amount

of personal growth that occurs

within each Fellow. The faculty

is second to none. Also, AFI is a

melting pot of diversity, both in

MOVIEMAKER.COM SUMMER 2019

ASK THE ALUM

ELLE CALLAHAN

Writer-director

of Head Count

University of Southern

California School

of Cinematic Arts

What should aspiring moviemakers consider

when picking a school? Location, location,

location. USC’s location in Los Angeles was

key, because that’s where the studio system

is based. I wanted to put down roots where

moviemaking was the main industry. Today,

many crewmembers on my films are fellow

USC grads who also stayed to work in L.A.

after graduation.

What’s one area of focus that every film school

program shouldn’t be without? Story develop-

ment. If you can’t write a compelling story you

can’t make a compelling film. Even if you want

to go into a more technical film discipline, hav-

ing a firm grasp on story will give you a leg up.

I hire most of my key department heads based

on their grasp on my film’s story.

What advice do you wish someone had giv-

en you when you were a film student? Play

with all the equipment, even if you don’t think

you’ll focus on that discipline. Cameras, sound

mixing boards, editing programs—learn it all

while you have access to it. It will help you

better communicate with other departments

if you have experience with their tools.

ASK THE ALUM

SAM FRIEDLANDER

Writer-director

of Babysplitters

University of Southern

California School

of Cinematic Arts

What’s one area of focus every film school

program shouldn’t be without? One:

creative pitching. This is an invaluable art

that will directly affect your ability to land

work and get projects off the ground. I

took a pitch class my final year and still use

what I learned in every real world pitch.

Two: the business side. The three stages of

a film, in order from hardest to easiest, are

financing, then selling, then making. Most

film schools only teach step three. Every

program should teach financing, sales, and

distribution, which are ever-changing.

What invaluable lessons did you take

away from any mentors in your program?

Helaine Head, my thesis film mentor,

and Jeremy Kagan, my directing mentor,

taught me that in most cases, less is

more. Trim a little more from the screen-

play you’re writing or the scene you’re

editing. You can probably get by with half

the amount of dialogue in a scene. Give

concise direction to the actors. Be suc-

cinct... unlike the answer I just gave.

than just your foot in the door.

Rated as one of the top schools

for film in the world, it prides

itself on getting its students

doing while backing it all up

with theorizing. Its heritage

is outstanding. Established in

1929 in collaboration with the

Academy of Motion

Picture Arts and

Sciences, it’s the

oldest and larg-

est film school in

the United States.

Facilities and equip-

ment are gold standard.

The new main complex features

sound stages, animation facilities,

post-production suites, mixing

theaters, digital classrooms and

screening rooms that seat up to

200 people. The Robert Zemeckis

Center for Digital Arts provides

even more production space, as

well as advanced technologies

such as motion capture suites

and the university’s own televi-

sion service that provides daily

programming to millions in the

city as well as to certain national

and international outlets.

The school offers five BAs

and two BFAs featuring 128

diverse units including Motion

Picture Script Analysis, Lat-

eral Thinking for Filmmaking

Practice, Non-Fiction Film and

Television, Writing for Anima-

tion and The Production and

Post-Production Assistant. All

bases are covered.

It has a raft of famous gradu-

ates, including Ron Howard,

John Carpenter, and George Lucas.

The Force is strong here.