# What are YOUR opinions on CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE and CAL STATE LA?



## Oquendo (Oct 4, 2008)

These schools are my backup plan just in case I don't get into USC/CHAPMAN/UCLA. It's very likely since the tuition is crazy cheap, which is a bigger factor when it comes to the whole film school debate. 

Anyways, to anybody who's knowledgeable on these Schools:

1. How are the professors?

2. How is the equipment? Any 16mm? Digital? 35mm?

3. Are your films promoted in film festivals?

4. Environment?

5. Networking?

6. Overall Experiance; you get you what pay and vice-versa.

Thank you to anybody who can help!


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## hoohaProductions (Oct 5, 2008)

I'm wondering about these schools too, as well as CSU Long Beach. Btw, how far is long beach from LA?


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## Oquendo (Oct 5, 2008)

Not very far depending on traffic. I live in the LA area and its within reasonable commuter distance. Average 20-30 minutes by freeway.

Cal State Long Beach is also a school on my list I forgot to mention.

Anyone?


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## Winterreverie (Oct 7, 2008)

Don't know much about the original two, But I've heard really good things about Long Beach and have seen some decent projects out of it.


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## hoohaProductions (Oct 7, 2008)

Hey thanks Winter. From what you've seen/heard,is it more independent-based, or industry-based? ...Or commercial based?

I have a feeling that's where I'll end up, for financial reasons. 

Also, I'm from out of state, so I have two questions regarding that: 

1.) Do the CSUs usually give heavy preference to in-staters?

2.) Will I get in-state tuition after living there 6 years and becoming a resident? 

Thanks


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## Oquendo (Oct 9, 2008)

Hey HOOHA, I'm going to CSU-LA tomorrow because my school is offering a free tour of the college. I'll probably ask a lot of questions more towards the film program than the actual school itself. I'll keep you posted.


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## Oquendo (Oct 10, 2008)

Back from CSU-LA. There are a lot of things I liked, and some I didn't, but its still on my list of possible film schools.

PROS - 
*546$ a month in rent. The package comes with free internet, free phone line, free satellite tv, a kitchen, laundry room, transportation to nearby supermarkets. Plus no curfew. 10PM cut-off for playing loud music or kind of noise, so getting peace and quiet is not an issues. Pretty great package.

*Discount on METRO-LINK which allows you to travel LA COUNTY using our train Station for about 35$ a month. The great thing is that its located in the heart of LA. 5 minutes by Metro to Downtown and about 10 minutes to Hollywood. Great for accessing shoots or internships easily.

*At the end of this month, CSU-LA is introducing its newly built MOVIE THEATER which is free for all students, plus the film program will get to use it. This was the biggest draw for me...

*Perks: free gym, free rides, free AAA service, free tutoring, free sports tickets and theater tickets. 

*Diverse. Very LOS ANGELES.  Being a minority growing up in suburb/exurban LA, I feel a little "homey," as opposed if I went to LOYOLA or CHAPMAN; they are beautiful schools, have wonderful facilities, but got the feeling I was walking into an AMERICAN EAGLE ad. Some students seemed arrogant and mean, but others were really friendly.

CONS -
*Aesthetic beauty. Not very nice to look at.
*Very small campus. My community college is bigger than this.
*Kind of old. Outdated. A lot of the buildings remind me of watching 1970s sorority movie.  
*No meal plan.
*No prestige. But does that really matter? Most BFA's graduate only to do PA work.

ANSWER TO HOOHA:

1.) Do the CSUs usually give heavy preference to in-staters?

Yes and no. There are twenty-three CSU's and a lot of them have minimum GPA avgs. of 2.0 in order to apply. Get good grades. At CAL STATE LA it's around 3.2 Recommended, so get 3.5+. So yes, they do have small preference, but its only small tenths of a difference.

2.) Will I get in-state tuition after living there 6 years and becoming a resident? 

I'm not sure what's the cut-off of that is. If you've been here 6 years I would think they would give you in-state tuition.

I think I'm going on a CAL-STATE LONG BEACH tour in about a month. I just heard it also has a good film program to re-iterate what Winterreverie said.

Anyone still have any info on CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE film production?


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## Cresente (Oct 10, 2008)

I'd be glad to answer your questions about Cal State Northridge since I'm a current student there =)

1. I personally think the professors are top notch for a CSU. A lot of them work in the industry as I've had professors who are directors and writers. 

2. The department has 16mm Bolex cameras for the entry film production class. Not sure what the intermediate production classes use. As for digital, there are 3 chip available. A senior thesis film being produced this semester will be shot with the RED Camera. I'm not sure if the school owns a RED, but the school is making it possible for students to use it in production.

3. The environment is amazing. Being in the San Fernando Valley, the campus IS in the heart of the industry. CBS Studios, Universal Studios and Hollywood area few minutes drive east and the Panavision headquarters in Woodland Hills is just a few minutes west. And the rest of LA just south. There are editing rooms for both digital and the traditional film flatbeds. There are two soundstages for TV and film production that also serves as the classroom. The school has a 120 seat screening room/theatre with 16mm, 35mm, and digital projection. A lot of classes are held there, too, as well as screenings and special Q&A events with guests.

5. Networking is how you make of it. There are other film students to make friends with and work on projects together. There's also the faculty. The school also attracts film and tv productions. I always have business cards and resumes in my backpack to hand to the crew; makes for great networking =)

6. I transferred to CSU Northridge last fall because I wanted to change my major to Film and I had no regrets about choosing this school. 

Are you interested in Film production? If so, I can tell you more about the process at CSUN in detail. And I'd be glad to answer any more questions.

Hope this helps and good luck!


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## Oquendo (Oct 11, 2008)

Definitely interested, Cresente! Especially the fact that USC/UCLA/CHAPMAN are way more expensive, also the fact that you could probably use that tuition money to spend on making several films too! 

Here's my situation, I am freshman going to a community college in LA. I hope to transfer to a film school within 2-3 years and CSU's are intriguing since they are cheaper and seem like they offer just about the same thing. I know it takes 60 units to transfer there, and the classes are usually followed by IGETC. BTW, what school did you go to before you transferred to CSU-Northridge?

Here are some questions:

1. Do they offer a BFA in Film Production-Directing?
2. Do you need a car if your dorming on campus your could you just use the METRO? CSU-LA is convenient since it is an actual stop, plus you get a discount on tickets.
3. Is their selection process hard? Do you need a personal statement? Letter of recommendation?
4. What's the average GPA for film production students? So far I'm getting straight A's, but you can't be too sure for the next 3 semesters.
5. I have past experience, will that help me?

I know I have more questions, but I can't think of them right now. Thanks.


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## Cresente (Oct 15, 2008)

Sorry for the delay, Oquendo; I've been bombarded with midterms this week, heh. But here's some answers to your questions:

1. CSUN offers a BA in what they call here, Cinema and Television Arts (CTVA) along with the emphasis taken. For the film production option, there are 3 emphases to choose: Cinematography, Editing, or Sound Design. There are classes on directing.

2. I'm not familiar with the public transportation around Northridge. The Metrolink trains do run through Northridge, and I think there is a stop here.

3. The film major process at CSUN is a little different. When you're accepted through the regular University admission process, you are placed into the Pre-CTVA major. You then have to take 5 prerequisite classes either here or have taken the classes at your previous college and have the credits transfer. You then submit an application/portfolio to get into the actual CTVA Film Production major.

The 5 prerequisites are:
ART 250 Photography
CTVA 100 Mass Communications
CTVA 210 TV/Film Aesthetics
CTVA 220 Intro Screenwriting
CTVA 250 Fundamentals of Film Production

And the application consists of:
Transcript(s)
Short answers
1-page essay
Photo story

If you're interested in transferring to CSU Northridge, I'd recommend taking the 5 prerequisites at your college that way when you get accepted, those credits could just transfer over. Your first semester here would then be finishing up GE classes and then submit the application to get admitted (hopefully) the next semester.

4. I'm not sure what the average GPA of film majors are here. The department looks at your transcripts, but emphasis will be on the 5 prerequisites and photo story.

5. Past experience always help! 

If you want, I can send you a copy of CSUN CTVA Film Production application instructions so you can get an idea of what it's like. I recently sent my application on October 2nd for the Spring semester. I hope these answered your questions. And I'd be glad to help answer any more!


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## Oquendo (Oct 16, 2008)

Thank you so much for the response!

Have some questions:

<Your first semester here would then be finishing up GE classes and then submit the application to get admitted (hopefully) the next semester.>

1. I'm a little confused on the that, I heard you need 60 units in order to transfer to CSU. I didn't know there was a lower division core to follow for FILM PRODUCTION. If I were to take all those lower core classes at my college and have 60 GE units by Spring of 2010, then would I be able to start my major by FALL?  Instead finishing up GE classes there and waiting until Spring of 2011?

2. What's a photo story?

3. From a scale from 1-10, how difficult was the selection process?

4. This might seem like a dumb question, but I am interested in Directing and Writing. Now is that part of Film Production or is it just Cinematography, Editing, and Sound Design to choose from. That is to say, is the emphasis more on Cinematography, Editing, and Sound?

Thanks so much for the help!


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## Cresente (Oct 21, 2008)

1. I believe you do need 60 units to transfer to a CSU. I transferred from another CSU with 34 units, so I guess it's different when transferring from one CSU to another. That's why I mentioned about finishing GE classes there. Sorry if I confused you on that.

But yeah, if you took the equivalent (and transferable) prerequisite classes, have 60 units, and apply to the CSUN film option by spring 2010, you'd be able to start the major in the fall.

2. The photo story section of the application asks for you to use up to twelve 5x7 photographs mounted on 8x10 boards. The pictures can be color or black and white and either film or digital. You also include a paragraph describing the story or idea behind the pictures. The reviewers will look at the photos first then compare if it makes sense with your written explanation.

3. From what i hear, they accept around 100 people to be in the major each semester. With 10 being the hardest, i'd rate the selection process a 7.

4. From what I know, Cinematography, Editing, and Sound are the options for the Film Production Major. I do know that there are Directing classes that tie in for all three.

There is a Screenwriting major, but that also requires a portfolio and application to get in. I'm not sure the details of it, though. 

Here's a link to CSUN's film option site:
http://ctva.csun.edu/AcademicsDegreeFilm.html

And their screenwriting option:
http://ctva.csun.edu/AcademicsDegreeScreenwriting.html

and the CTVA department site:
http://ctva.csun.edu/

I hope these helped! And always, will be glad to help with any more questions.

-Cresente


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## StuffWeLike.com (Dec 30, 2008)

If you are interested in living at CSUN, one of the many perks is the CTVA Living Learning Community. Essentially it's an entire dorm building dedicated to film, television, screenwriting, and multimedia. To my knowledge CSUN is the only film school to offer such a dorm. You can find more information about it at http://www.CinemaTVLiving.com


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