7:00 PM. Friday, June 8th. Crooked Pint Ale House—The downtown bar is crowded with representatives from the 68 teams competing in the annual “Minneapolis 48 Hour Film Project”; my friend Lily and I look out of place amidst the adults and professional filmmakers. There is no place for us to sit, so we stand on the stairs overlooking the small stage where the required elements for the films are to be chosen and announced: genre, character, line of dialogue, and prop. I...

I stand at a crossroad, many paths before me. Some seem suspiciously clear, while others lead into the wilderness, the unknown. I ask a question, the same question posed by many aspiring filmmakers who are stuck at the same juncture: “Which way to Hollywood?” The most essential step in becoming a filmmaker is to make films. The USC School of Cinematic Arts offers me the education and the resources to make the best. Rather than simply making films on a...

Answers do not intrigue me. I know how to find the derivative of a logarithmic function, I know how to conjugate French –er verbs in the future tense, I can explain the process of photosynthesis, and I can describe the primary causes of the Civil War. But these answers were calculated, invented, discovered, and explained by somebody else. These answers seem final. Questions intrigue me. It is through questioning that these so-called “final” answers are discredited. Our society has always...

When I first visited Northwestern University’s campus in Evanston, I was not looking at the gorgeous view of Lake Michigan silhouetted by autumn foliage or the gothic architecture of University Hall. No, I was captivated by my feet. I was not being shy, nor was I wearing particularly cute shoes that deserved my attention. Instead, I was awed by the mosaic of flyers that lined the pathway from Norris University Center to the University Library. Why did this unconventional...

Every aspiring filmmaker knows that getting a job in the industry is about as difficult as catching a squirrel. It takes hard work, patience, creativity, and a little luck. However, the University of Michigan College of Literature, Science and the Arts provides the liberal arts education and offers the door-opening opportunities that I believe are essential to entering the industry. Plus, you guys have a lot of squirrels. Getting a liberal arts education has always made the most sense to...

Cinematic Arts Personal Statement Exposition: My eyes are closed. Almost. My tiny fingers splay as I peek out from behind child’s hands covering child’s eyes. Light sneaks through the gaps, tantalizing me with partial images: a woman with a guitar, singing. “How many roads must a man walk down. . . .” My curiosity takes over. I lower my hands slowly so my mother doesn’t notice. Now I see the full scene: a naked woman holding a guitar and singing �...