# Links/Advice on Film Portfolio!



## ErikaThere (Jan 4, 2008)

Hey everyone, for some reason nobody seems to want to share any advice about their portfolios or any of their work, but I think it's a good idea.  If we know what's out there it's just going to help us all out.  And, those who have been accepted have nothing to lose by sharing.

I'd like to know if a demo reel is best to start with, then the films in their entirety?  Advice like that.

In a year I'll be applying for an MFA for fall of '09 (hopefully at NYU) and any of my work can be found by typing erikathere into youtube or u can add me as a friend on www.myspace/erikathere to check out some films of mine.  Any links or ideas from anyone who's been accepted or is working on theirs would be MUCH appreciated!  

Thanks!


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## ErikaThere (Jan 4, 2008)

Oops I mean, http://www.myspace.com/erikathere. Check it out and let me know what you think.


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## blueskeyes (Jan 5, 2008)

I am applying to a number of schools for fall '08. I would also be interested in seeing other people's interesting work. You can find some of my work at web.mac.com/gkwedar and getinvolved.tamu.edu. Best of luck to everyone and happy new year!


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## MarkChristmas (Jan 7, 2008)

Yeah that's a great idea. I'll post a view of my videos and trailers. Give me opinions, I'll give you mine. 

Film: “Gangsters and Vengeance”

Trailer 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lwuPGVnbBg

Trailer 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TdQJpbmLiY ÃŸ This one is my favorite.



Film: “Salvation”  

Synopsis: Follows the last two days in the life of a medical soldier in Vietnam. 

Trailer 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01tYIbaiLJI

Trailer 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtoxHoOaEqw&feature=related

Trailer 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_erYaztOx0



Film: “Steven Anderson”

Synopsis: The pregnancy of his girlfriend thrusts a teenager into an odyssey of moral and self discovery. (This one was originally being produced by my school, but created too much controversy. I decided to rewrite the script, change the characters around, and complete it when I had further funding and was in college.)
Trailer 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1p4AkOzX-o 

Trailer 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fik9F_AwlQ

I posted the first two trailers on another forum on studentfilms.com but figure I'd post them again. I'd like to put all of my films on one DVD. I don't know what I'd call it, but I have a few ideas.


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## d_osborn (Jan 8, 2008)

Great idea for a thread! blueskeyes... I LOVED the Focus promo video. You had some really cool camera moves...

Here's a link to the demo I sent with my apps... 

http://www.vimeo.com/442050


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## hgsouth (Jan 9, 2008)

You're welcome to view my films / other stuff at

http://www.hayleygordon.com

I haven't updated the site in a while.  It definitely needs one.


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## blueskeyes (Jan 9, 2008)

Thanks for the encouraging words d_osborn. You have some breathtaking footage on your reel, particularly the rural nature shots and the karate kid at sunset. wow. Best of luck, hope to see you in class in the fall!


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## wannabe2 (Jan 9, 2008)

I agree, those shots are really beautful d_osborn. 

I know this is a silly question, but I looked at every one of those films and they are all so good. Were all of you undergrads in film or lots and lots of experience? 
I'm applying for 08 and I have no background. I just through something together as best I could with my camera. No lighting, etc. 

Have any of you ever heard of someone getting in with limited exp.?


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## blueskeyes (Jan 9, 2008)

hey wannabe2... I was an accounting major for four years, came to the realization that I couldn't make a difference in the world looking at financial statements and picked up a camera. From what I have read, I think that the schools are not looking for the finished product, but people with something to say and a strong visual sense of telling stories. Best of luck.


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## Apexstone Amoy Marble & Granite (Jan 9, 2008)

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## hgsouth (Jan 10, 2008)

wtf

seriously, what a great contribution to this thread....  
	

	
	
		
		

		
			






MODS!!


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## blueskeyes (Jan 10, 2008)

it's funny... I was just thinking to myself how much I wanted to join the magical kingdom of natural stone... in China


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## duders (Jan 10, 2008)

> Have any of you ever heard of someone getting in with limited exp.?



Rest assured, I got into NYU and I never picked up a movie camera in my life. I didn't even submit any films for admission.

They are more interested in potential.


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## wannabe2 (Jan 10, 2008)

Thanks for all the input duders and blue skies, I will keep my spirits up. But again d_osborn that film was beautifully shot. Best of luck to y'all.


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## peaches (Jan 10, 2008)

duders-
what did you submit, if not film?  I applied for next fall with a visual portfolio (photos, not slides) of drawings and paintings.  I have a background in music and sent a cd, but who knows if they will listen!
What kind of other-than-film backgrounds do your classmates have?


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## Sunayana Nadkarni (Jan 11, 2008)

hgsouth,
ur hens from hell are hilarious


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## hgsouth (Jan 11, 2008)

Hahhaha, thank you.  

I will always hold a place in my heart for that one.  One of my favs, maybe not the most artistic thing I'll ever produce but it's a crowd pleaser


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## duders (Jan 11, 2008)

> Originally posted by peaches:
> duders-
> what did you submit, if not film?  I applied for next fall with a visual portfolio (photos, not slides) of drawings and paintings.  I have a background in music and sent a cd, but who knows if they will listen!
> What kind of other-than-film backgrounds do your classmates have?



I submitted photos, just various pictures that I've done over a couple of years. There was no cohesion to it.

Well, 95% in the program has some sort of degree not in film. Whether it be finance, history, politics...mostly humanities. There are ex-lawyers, surgeons, actors, authors, scientists, engineers, musicians, business types etc...

despite what people say, there really is no rhyme or reason to who they take in.


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## Calliegrl03 (Jan 11, 2008)

Haley,
I LOVED Hens from Hell. That was great, girl. I loved the part when the "bricks" hit the girl. Classic! I hope we all get into NYU and be classmates. My short film is on facebook. It's about a black girl who loves Bollywood and her fashion savvy, uppity girlfriends make her life a living hell. If anyone wants to check it out. Let me know. It's on facebook tho. We should all network, you know.


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## Calliegrl03 (Jan 11, 2008)

We should all support each other since we're bonded by our filmaking.


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## ErikaThere (Jan 4, 2008)

Hey everyone, for some reason nobody seems to want to share any advice about their portfolios or any of their work, but I think it's a good idea.  If we know what's out there it's just going to help us all out.  And, those who have been accepted have nothing to lose by sharing.

I'd like to know if a demo reel is best to start with, then the films in their entirety?  Advice like that.

In a year I'll be applying for an MFA for fall of '09 (hopefully at NYU) and any of my work can be found by typing erikathere into youtube or u can add me as a friend on www.myspace/erikathere to check out some films of mine.  Any links or ideas from anyone who's been accepted or is working on theirs would be MUCH appreciated!  

Thanks!


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## Sunayana Nadkarni (Jan 12, 2008)

hey calliegr103
i'd love to see ur film on bollywood, i hve been a bollywood journalist in Mumbai, India and am very curious to know how u've portrayed it.


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## Calliegrl03 (Jan 14, 2008)

Of course. Do you have facebook? Facebook me. PM me if you need my name and info. I LOVE BOLLYWOOD, since I was a child actually. I'm in love with Shahrukh Khan, ji. 

My name is Adaorah


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## Allen Ho (Jan 14, 2008)

Hey guys,

Here is a link to my Youtube page:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=AllenHo 

I included "Silence," "White Collared Dreams," "EXT. CALIFORNIA - DAY," and "Villain" in that order for my NYU and Columbia portfolio. 

I am applying for Fall 08 and I am crossing my fingers cause NYU is my dream school!

To answer the original poster's question, I was thinking of making a demo reel but didn't have time to, if I did, I would've probably put it at the very end. I could imagine a demo reel in the beginning might be a useful summary if you're applying for the cinematography emphasis but I figured with directing they would rather see the whole work first rather than a montage of clips.


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## blueskeyes (Jan 14, 2008)

Allen Ho - You got some skillz! Seriously though, really enjoyed Ext. California - Day, beautifully filmed and great concept. So my question is why film school again? Seems like you already got your money's worth. Best of Luck.


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## Allen Ho (Jan 14, 2008)

Thanks blueskeyes!

I think the most important thing that I want to get out of film school is networking. I feel like the next step for me is to make a really really polished short or start working on a feature and I just don't have enough resources or know enough people that are passionate enough to help me achieve that. I want to be surrounded by like minded individuals who are ambitious about production. Most of the time my crew consists of myself and friends so it's really bare boned and tough to worry about everything.

I've been really fortunate in my undergrad to have met a handful of driven filmmakers even though my school isnt a production school(it's film and media studies). So I am hoping that grad school will provide a similar and even better environment.

I also feel like I still have a lot to learn and I am not yet ready to take on a "big project."  Getting an MFA seemed like the next logical step since I have very little formal training in production. 

And I also really want to move out to NY and get a different perspective. I've only visited once but I love it there.


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## blueskeyes (Feb 15, 2008)

Hey Guys,

Just shot this a few weekends ago with a couple friends. I was thinking of bringing this along if invited to any interviews this spring. What do you all think?

http://www.vimeo.com/655172

Anyone else working on any videos lately during the waiting game?


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## PeterYao (Feb 16, 2008)

hey allen, i'm chinese from taiwan as well, i havent got a chance to put my portfolio on a website yet...hopefully i dont sound to critical or like a hypocrite since i cant link my work for everyone to see, but i'd like to share some of my experience and hopefully this'll help

i made my first short film at Hou Hsiao Hisen's first film study group in taiwan, i think it was back in 2003, it's called "the wall", they've actually posted at sinomovies.com for 2 years and i really appreciated...

however i felt like my film was a complete failure now i think about it...it's a story about a guy who gambles away his money in a game of majon...i had strong visual ideas like shooting the backs of the main character, city traffic seperating our individualism, a sequence of clocks to foucs on the idea of time as a wall itself, the game of majon, and ultimately him loosing all his money to prevent the main character on achieving his goal...

my film lacked real acting, and on 2 shots i used "cool" effects...i feel like it's my knowledge in design thats holding me back (i graduated as a graphic designer)...by the way if you get a chance to visit taiwan try to find a way to meet Hou Hsiao Hsien!!!  O M G he is GOD, living film master is hard to come by, not only that he's also one of the few people i've met that has PURE knowledge in Tao


to me "Silence" falls into the same category of holding on to something, i feel like something's holding you back, forget it, let it go and do what you want, dont debate internally too much...

i had similar family experience as you did, i didnt truely understand the potiential in family conflict until i saw the film "Fists in the Pocket" by Marco Bellocchio...the main character's drive to bring order into family with influences from surrealism is just out of this world...

i also used voice over on my first film which i think was a bad idea, voice over is usually cheese unless done in a very smart way like "Midnight Cowboy"'s bus sequence...especially when your film is called "Silence", i almost feel like it should be a silent film, a study on the imageries of distance, miscommunications, and the confucian law, one of the great master on confucian law and i-ching's controlled chaos is Yasujiro Ozu, his silent film is quite good although i dont think you can get a copy of it in the states...Hou Hsiao Hsien also made a film to honor 100 years of Ozu called "Cafe Lumere"...which is also a VERY VERY good film if you're into chinese philosophy

in "Villain", i didn't get the idea of bad, i got the idea of temptations...short cuts to me is always very sexual, like the theory of men thinking about sex every 7 secs...a split second of fantasy...i think kurosawa hit the goldmine on villain with the film "The Bad Sleeps Well"...the common notion of a character with no conscious...if you're interested in the villain character, Mencius also have a great study on it, he focused on the beginnings instead of the judgement on their actions (which i dont think any filmmaker has done anything like this yet) on wikipedia.com just look up The Four Beginnings or Mencius you can get a feel for his ideas there

i only saw "Silence" and "Villain", couldn't find the links to other films, i'll be 28 this year, in some ways i feel like i've travelled some of the roads that you're taking (in terms of personal life experiences)...hopefully this helps!

peter


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## Calliegrl03 (Feb 19, 2008)

Here's a link to my film...you can watch if you have facebook. I really need some feedback since I'm waiting for a call from NYU, hopefully. 

Enjoy!

http://gwu.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=534007692194


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