If you arrived at this page by googling “Why didn’t I get into film school” or “How to get into film school,” let me tell you upfront that this is not the right thing for you to be reading. Oh wait, no one ever finds my site with Google, only Bing, ha!
So anyhow, before I applied to PhD programs, way back when I was 23, I applied to film school. I had to submit a portfolio of images, either photographs or artwork. I misguidedly decided to submit artwork like this:
I mean, it’s not the worst “art” I have ever produced, but it’s not great.
And then there was this one:
Not horrible I guess, technically speaking, but EXTREMELY STRANGE.
Think it can’t get worse? LOOK AT THIS THING I ACTUALLY SENT TO NYU’S PRESTIGIOUS FILM MFA PROGRAM:
I remember making this one vividly. It was the night before I had to send in the application, and I had to do one last something-or-other for my portfolio. So I did this. I really can’t recall my thought process there. In my defense, I think (hope?) my writing samples were better than the “art.”
NYU sent me the kindest rejection letter I have ever received, probably because they thought I was unhinged in some way. I am not sure why I sent them this monstrosity, but I seem to have something in me that refuses to take serious things seriously. This something really has not served me well in life, except for the rare occasions when it is mistaken for confidence. Like that time I was accepted to a very prestigious undergraduate university despite the fact that I filled out the application in pencil. IN PENCIL. Some admissions officer thought, “Wow, it’s like she doesn’t even WANT to go here. Well, I’ll tell you what young lady, I like your confidence. You’re in!”
When I applied to literature PhD programs, I worked really super hard on my application and was accepted to one of the top programs in my field. So life lesson? Maybe? I don’t know. I’m tired, which is why I am recycling this old, embarrassing art instead of drawing something new. But I suspect it was dumb luck in both cases. (Lest I sound too hoity-toity, faaaaaaaaaaar more institutions of higher education have rejected than accepted me. There has to be a better way to word that. But again, I am so sleepy.)
Here is the rest of what I kept from that film school portfolio. I think there were a few more that I didn’t hold onto, so these are just the ones that I thought were worth keeping. Meaning: the other stuff was even worse. Good Lord. That last one is just a bunch of doodles I did after work one day for crying out loud.
Good night 🙂
Do you like bad, but extraordinarily peculiar, art? Follow me on Instagram, PLEASE – devon_isadevon. Everyone is unfollowing me there. Apparently I lack mass appeal, which is news to no one.