Lisa Dare
from Czech Republic Tujunga
Digital Editing
"My overall impression of USC SAC Summer Program was it was fantastic. I really appreciate the opportunity to become a Trojan and to learn production in the SCA tradition and the Digital Editing course is the best production course I have ever taken, and one of the best film courses I have had. The staff was awesome, extremely knowledgeable, unfailingly friendly, dedicated, always available.
Kittitat Rodchaidee
from Bangkok, Thailand
Beginning to Filmmaking
"The most important thing that I learn from the course ,beginning to film making, is knowing how to be a real film maker. My favorite thing aobut Beginning to Flimmaking class is excellent teacher, and phenomenal experience that you will never be able to experience it any where else on earth.
Kyle Kron
from Canton, Ohio
Beginning Screenwriting
"My overall impression of USC SAC Summer Program was it was a great experience that I could not have had at any other institution. As soon as I stepped foot on the USC campus, I wanted to transfer universities immediately. The campus, the environment, and most noticeable for me, the SCA building, were all one of the most beautiful and amazing places I have ever been a part of. Be prepared for the best summer you have had and will ever have in your life if you join the USC SCA Summer Program!"
Brad Cryan
from Southport, CT
Advanced Screenwriting
"My favorite thing about Advanced Screenwriting s was the environment. Coming into class on the first day, I was very nervous about being the only high school student in the class, and I wasn't sure that I'd be taken seriously by people in their 20s and 30s. I now look back and realize that I never had anything to worry about. There was no competition, we each helped each other to the best of our abilities so that all of us could have the greatest first draft possible.
The USC SCA program was everything I had hoped it would be and more. In my everyday life, I rarely find people who I can talk to about film and screenwriting. The Summer Program was a place where I could be myself in a way I had never had the opportunity to anywhere else. Everybody was enthusiastic, intelligent, and amiable. I don't think this energy could exist anywhere but the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Potential students, know that for six weeks, you'll be living, eating, and breathing film. If you want to learn more about film and you think you can handle the intensity of your class, cast all your hesitations to the wayside and go for it! It is truly a life-changing experience."
Jacques Edeline
from Atlanta, GA
Advanced Screenwriting
"My favorite aspect of Advanced Screenwriting was my professor Balkan, his dedication to the course was inspirational and overwhelmingly helpful.
Overall the program is very well organized. The collaborative environment is conducive to networking with like-minded individuals to create meaningful projects during the summer and in the future. The USC SCA summer program is a worthwhile investment for anyone serious about film."
M. Pallis
from London
Advanced Screenwriting
"Overall, I think the program is absolutely vital if you want to be in movies. It makes the whole industry seem real and accessible and make me feel, yeah, this is something I can do."
Jean-Marc Le Doux
from Hollis, NH
Film and Digital Cinematography
" Film and Digital Cinematography was the perfect blend of theory and practice. Overall the Summer Program was seamless. It was well run and the faculty and staff were very professional. It was a great taste of what I hope graduate school will be like at USC.
If you are a potential 2011 student: Come.
I know you're sitting there in your desk chair agonizing over whether or not to pull the trigger: "Is it worth it?" you're thinking.
Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes.
If you want to learn to pitch your script ideas, take a class with Frederick Levy.
If you want to learn how to tell a good visual story, take a class with Erick Green.
If you want to learn about marketing and distributing movies in a rapidly changing world take a class with Jason Squire.
Or if you just want to know how to make it in the film industry, take Sebastian Twardosz' class "The Insider" (perhaps I'll see you next summer in this class - I certainly plan on coming back to take it).
Every professor I had the privilege of meeting was incredibly committed to helping me learn my craft.
This was, without a doubt, the best summer of my life. I thank God, my family, and the faculty at USC's SCA for making this enriching experience possible.
If you can come, come."
Buckman Brownell
from Andover, NH
Beginning Filmmaking
"I learned more in the six weeks in Beginning Filmmaking than I ever have in an entire semester of college. I learned what it takes to make a film and be a filmmaking and I learned how much work goes into every second of a movie and how difficult it is to make it work. My favorite thing about this class was how much freedom I had to do whatever I wanted and make any film about anything.
USC SCA Summer Program was the best experience of my life. It was everything I had hoped for and more. The new SCA building is absolutely incredible, and the resources that are available to you are unbelievable."
Carter Jones
from Duncan, OK
Film and Digital Cinematography
"Before I attended the SCA Summer Program, I knew that filmmaking was something I was interested in, but I wasn't exactly sure if film was what I wanted for a career, that changed after the Summer Program. USC give you an experience of what filmmaking is and I know now that it's what I want to do with my life."
Tiffany Johnson
from Columbia, South Carolina
Directing Intensive Summer Program
" If there is one thing that I took away from the Directing Intensive course about directing: it is that to direct is to guide, you have to be capable of guiding your actors with the correct expressions and words through the scene without actually controlling their every movement. Michael Uno was my favorite part of the whole experience, he is an AMAZING professor, and I hope to one day learn under him again. Overall, I had the best experience of my life.
Elizabeth Mihalek
from Philadelphia PA
Breaking Into the Film Industry Summer Program
"In Breaking Into the Film Industry I learned about the importance of networking and what to do once you have networked your way into a job in the industry. It was very hands on about getting your resume and cover letter done properly for the industry.
USC SCA Summer Program was especially good for me because it allowed me to choose only the things I needed to learn."
Deven Bhojani
from Mumbai (Bombay), INDIA
Directing Intensive
"My favorite aspect of Directing Intensive was the opportunity to interact with talented students from all over the world.
If you decide to participate in USC SCA 2011 program: be open-minded but focused .. be prepared for hard work!.. Wear a smile! "
Siham Hinawi
from Paris, France
Beginning Filmmaking
" I learned a lot about myself, as a filmmaker and as a person. I loved the atmosphere in my Beginning Filmmaking class: being with people just as passionate as me for 6 weeks, sharing everything, talking about movies all the time, was a once in a lifetime experience and created friendships I will have for a lifetime. The SCA Summer Program taught me so much about filmmaking that I know now more than ever that this is what I want to do with my life."