UCLA

I just got back from a super nice twilight run. Literally 15 people beeped/screamed/waved at me. I'm not sure who all of you were, but "Hi! I love you!"

I'm about to go lock myself in my room and work on my summer reading. Right now I'm reading Snow Falling on Cedars, and I'm pretty hooked. It's suspenseful, sexy, tragic, and beautiful. Check it out. (Alaina, don't comment on this.)

Before I return to San Piedro Island via my too-small-for-my-growing-body bed, I wanted to write my review of UCLA.

Having spent two weeks at the University of California, Los Angeles, I feel like I know the place inside and out.

First of all, the campus is actually like a small city. In fact, it was overwhelmingly huge at first. Coming from a small town and a history of small schools, I loved this aspect.

The campus has plenty to offer - many places to study, eat, exercise, whatever. UCLA had nice cafeterias and an awesome central hub with a cool bookstore and some nice places to eat including Panda Express and Jamba Juice. Woot! Woot!

The campus is really pretty beautiful. Everything is well kept and perfect. It doesn't feel like you're in California. UCLA almost had an east coast feel. The athletic area was cool too. I liked running on the track, and the gym was huge - complete with a rock wall inside.

Believe it or not, you will most likely start to feel the grasp of the black hole at some point. In that case, you can escape to Westwood - the neato neighborhood outside of UCLA. It's fun even thought it's not as hoppin' as it used to be.

Unlike USC, UCLA is in a very safe neighborhood: Beverly Hills. The Sunset Blvd. strip is only a 30 or 40 minute drive away. UCLA is in the perfect spot for internships and access to studios.

The dorms at UCLA looked like hotels from the outside. The rooms were pretty nice inside too.

As for the film building...

It was a little run down. The equipment we used had a few issues. The hallways were white and small and made me feel like I was in an insane asylum. Compared to USC and Chapman, the facilities at UCLA needed work. But that's because unlike the other two, UCLA is a state school. California is broke.

Still, UCLA had everything you needed. What I did like was the emphasis on story. It seemed like the school focused a lot of attention and writing and creating truly worthwhile stories. The techanical stuff came last. Some of the teachers we met were cool. UCLA is definitely more of an independent film school. It felt very different from USC. The two are bitter rivals.

UCLA's film school is actually combined with the theater school. This guy is in charge: Myrl Schreibman. I actually met him last summer when I was walking through the school with Carol Anne and Danny. He told us about the U.S. Performing Arts camps. No doubt, he is an influential and helpful dude.

However, there was some negative talk about him at the film camp. From what I can gather, he lacks a welcoming and warm attitude, but his heart is in the right place.

Finally, UCLA is extremely hard to get into. And you can't apply to the film school until your junior year in college. It's a gamble.

The junior year risk, the rundown facilities, and the negativity around Myrl were enough for me to cross UCLA off of my list. But it may work for other people and is definitely worth looking into.

The Black Hole of Film Camp

Let me start with a word about the weather. LA. Warm and sunny right? Wrong. My mom told me that I didn't need to pack any jeans. I packed one pair just in case and wore them throughout the trip. I arrived in LA during June Gloom, which carried over into July. It felt like fall in Pennsylvania. While the people of Johnstown were sweating, I was bundling up.

The days at film camp were long. After only a few days, I felt like I had been there an eternity. We often compared the huge campus of UCLA to a black hole that had sucked us in. It felt like time had stopped, and life outside of the college no longer existed.

This being said, we were easily amused by things such as instant coffee vending machines, Panda Express, and any murmur of Lady Gaga.

In the evenings, the people of US Performing Arts planned fun activities. We often had the chance to go to the gym or the pool (so I did get some running in), and we made trips to Westwood, the neighborhood outside of UCLA. Tuesday nights were Improv nights, and on Monday we ate this thing called a pizookie. It's basically this huge cookie of deliciousness that you eat with ice cream. People in Florida call it a cookie pie.

After an exhausting day of filming on Saturday, we took Sunday (the Fourth of July) off. All of the students boarded school buses, and we headed to Hollywood.

My group decided to stick together. We headed to Amoeba Music, the most beautiful place on earth.

The store has a top floor filled with used DVDs. The bottom floor is littered with posters, used and new CDs, and records. Posters cover the wall, loud Cuban music plays in the background, and the whole building has a welcoming smell of dust. I even walked into the back room where old school music is kept. I could have spent an entire day in that part alone.

I ended up buying E.T., Three Kings, and Phoenix's It's Never Been Like That.

After Amoeba, we grabbed some Philly Steak n' Cheese sandwiches, explored a Goodwill type store, and took pictures outside of the Chinese theater.

The day concluded with a trip to the Hollywood Bowl where we watched the cool firework show. On the late night return trip, I feel asleep on the bus. Reaching the dorms, everyone passed out immediately.

That adventure was a highlight on my trip. Getting the chance to just have fun and hang out with new friends for a day was great. The next day, we returned to filmmaking.

I'm Hungry

I really want an omelet from the UCLA cafeteria.

Don't you just want to reach through the computer screen and eat it?

The food at the cafeteria wasn't always fantastic, but there was a lot of it. And the omelets were amazing. They had everything on them including spinach which made them especially delicious.

The one thing I did constantly while in LA was eat. As previously mentioned, Carol Anne kept me well fed, and we did our fair share of feasting at film camp as well.

And the best thing was....

IN-N-OUT BURGER = HEAVEN!

West coasters will know exactly what I'm talking about, but us Easties are in the dark. Basically, In-N-Out is a fast food restaurant that serves only burgers, fries, and milkshakes. But the burgers are out of this world! And I swear I'm not exaggerating. I ate there for the first time last summer, and for the following year, I would get In-N-Out cravings. Biting into one of those burgers once again made me realize that In-N-Out has the best burgers I have ever eaten.

Carol Anne and Danny took me... of course! And luckily, there was an In-N-Out in Westwood - UCLA's neighborhood. We got to go there for a couple evenings and In-N-Out was always on the list of places to stop.

So beautiful. And that's one of my film camp friends Agueda. She's from Mexico, so this was her first In-N-Out experience.

We took a picture with one of the workers... Doug!

Before film camp, Brad, Danielle, and Erica took me out to try sushi for the first time. I had salmon and tuna rolls. We stayed at the restaurant until it closed having deep conversations about life. It was one of my favorite nights.

As far as sushi goes, it was okay. I can't eat much of it, but once in awhile I get a little hungry for it.

But what I really liked was the sweet beans... Edamame beans. Go try them!

Film Camp! Part One

Film Camp!

After four days, I had adjusted to living at Apartment de Brad, Danielle, et Erica. So as we approached UCLA after a breakfast stop at Hamburger Hamlet, I was a little nervous. Plus, as I mentioned earlier, after forking over all of my savings, I had high expectations for this camp.

Carol Anne and Danny escorted me to my room where we bumped into my roommate Walter. He looked to be about thirty. Now, I was even more nervous. We met with our groups, and the day soon began. It was of course awkward at first, but I expected this. The first day or two at any sort of camp is always awkward.

We then met with our professor for the next two weeks: Michael Wohl (Look him up - he wrote a book about editing with Final Cut Pro). He explained that we would be placed in groups of three or four. That night, we would have to come up with an idea for a five minute short film that involved minimal dialogue. We would pitch the ideas the next morning, and then he and a group of UCLA graduate film students would tear them to shreds.

I was placed in a group with Walter. That night, we met in our room with Reid and Kevin. Reid suggested a comedy about two men who formed competing lemonade stands. My fears were eased as we all liked the idea.

We survived the pitch the following morning and spent the rest of the week developing scripts, casting actors, and preparing for the shoot. We would have one day to film - Saturday.

The second day was fun, and by the third day, I was in love. Teenagers came to this Advanced Digital Filmmaking Camp from all over the country and all over the world. We all shared the same passion and the same drive. Naturally, we became a family.

More on this later. And one more thing... Walter was actually seventeen. He was also one of the nicest and funniest guys I have ever met. Lesson learned? Never judge a book by its cover. Duh.

Goodbye Rain

This morning, I woke up early to go for a run. It poured (and even lightning was involved). However, I did not mind. In fact, I absorbed as much rain as I could. Tomorrow, I leave for L.A. I will not see rain again for at least three weeks.

I'm heading to L.A. because I got a scholarship to attend a two-week digital film camp at UCLA. While there, I will also spend an extra week with my cousins to explore and visit colleges- USC, LMU, and Chapman.

This will undoubtedly be the biggest adventure of my summer, and as I ran around the travel section of Wal-Mart earlier today, the excitement set in. Hopefully, I'll find some time to blog while I'm with my cousins. If not, I'll write about all of my adventures when I return to Johnstown.

Tonight, I'm hanging out with Alaina and our peeps. For now, I should go pack. I haven't started yet.

Expositon! (Part Five)

College.

Okay. Now that all you teenagers have put on a fresh pair of underwear, let's talk higher education.

Really, I'm scared too. I know I eventually want to go to film school. Right now, I'm thinking graduate for film, undergraduate for something else. Don't ask me where.

There are days when I think I don't need to go to college. After all, most great directors either dropped out of film school or didn't go at all. I can take some acid and make art. Not really. College is probably necessary. It's the final step before I become completely independent. It's a new adventure. It will be fun.

So this is college summer. In eleven days, I will hop on a plane and head to L.A. for the second time. While there, I'm going to a two-week digital film camp at UCLA and embarking on college visits. I'm going to have a lot more to say about this trip later.

Until then, if you are currently in college mode as well, good luck! The best advice I have is to explore the wonderful world of Google as well as your local Barnes and Noble. Read up on your possible colleges and major.