LMU

Today, I want to write a quick review of Loyola Marymount University, but first a few recent happenings:

After Wednesday night practices in the summer, the cross country team hangs out at Eat'n Park - a chain of family friendly diner-like restaurants that are famous for its Smiley cookies. Last night was our last Eat'n Park adventure. It was fun. A few friends and past runners dropped by to say goodbye before they left for college. That will be me in a short year.

Speaking of college, I am still working on finalizing my list. My parents are worried because I haven't begun to apply yet. They are now clocking my time. Yesterday, my mom yelled at me because I watched America's Next Top Model for twenty minutes while I ate lunch. This means I might have to do some secret blogging.

Finally, I keep hitting dead ends with my short film. On Tuesday, my faithful french teacher gave me a list of possible male actors. Two days later I still haven't found someone. Sigh. Summer feels as if it has been over for awhile.

And now introducing Loyola Marymount University.

I'm pretty sure that Loyola has schools across the country. LMU is a small Jesuit school in LA. My cousin Danielle went there. I'm not sure of the differences between the Jesuit and Catholic faiths. They seem similar.

Danielle and Erica took me on a little tour of LMU on the Saturday after film camp. While there, we got locked outside on a dorm roof. It also rained (drizzled actually). Rained in LA - I told said the weather was weird while I was there.

I went back later that week with Carol Anne, and we got a personal tour of the film building. The student who gave us the tour had some good information, but he also talked a lot of trash about other film schools in the area. He came off as a bit biased and arrogant. He also mentioned that he was attending LMU and his brother was going to attend USC because they had "connections." Which is what it's all about folks.

LMU sits in the middle of LA on top of a mountain. The location really is beautiful. It's in a safe environment - a residential neighborhood. It's also a short drive away from LAX and Manhattan Beach - one of my favorite areas of Los Angeles.

The school seems religious. Each dorm has an in-house priest. Although from what Danielle tells me, that doesn't stop the students from having a good time. As a whole LMU reminds me of a local college - St. Francis University. A ton of kids from my high school, Bishop McCort, go there. It has earned the nickname 13th grade.

After attending a small Catholic school for my whole life, I am anxious to break out. I want a big school in a big city. Just visiting LMU makes me feel chrostophobic, and I worry that I might go crazy there.

The film school itself is a tiny, and I mean tiny, little building. It is pretty hard to get accepted into the school. LMU has a two sound stages, a nice theater, and a cool editing suite. It sits in the heart of the action and seems connected to the industry. A bunch of cool people come to talk to the film students. Advanced film screenings are sometimes held. Plus, students can break out and explore opportunities in the city.

All in all, LMU is not my top choice. But the campus is very nice. LMU just got a brand new library that was probably one of the nicest buildings I have ever been in. The film school is reputable and connected to the industry. It serves as a good backup school if USC and Chapman don't work out.

I want to end by introducing you to Pratley. I know it's random, but my good friend Christina introduced me to his music. He's a student at USC. Listen to Fall Wind. After all, Autumn is around the corner.

http://pratleyproject.com/

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.

Saying Goodbye

The dorm building we stayed in at film camp had many groups staying in it, but the sixth floor remained unused. On the last night, my mentor David was on night patrol. He helped some of us break out and sneak to the lounge on the sixth floor.

By the time we got there, it was very late. We sat around and talked for awhile, and soon everyone started falling asleep. We headed back to our rooms knowing that tomorrow we would finally get to leave the black hole. But did we want to now?

After two weeks, we had truly become afamily. I knew some of the kids at film camp better than I knew kids at my own school. Together, we managed to complete some sweet short films and maintain our sanity.

The last day went by quickly. It all ended with a closing ceremony. Many parents and relatives showed up. We watched the movies we had made and got to see work by the screenwriting and comedy improv students.

After the certificates were handed out, I found Carol Anne, Danny, and Danielle, and we started walking toward the parking garage. Just like that, it was over. Walking back to the car, I felt strange. We all felt as if the two weeks would never end, but they did. And as I grabbed my luggage, I knew that I would most likely never see those people again.

I really miss you guys. I hope you are enjoying the end of summer, and I hope that we meet again someday.

"You met me at a very strange time in my life."
- Fight Club

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.

Family

Meet the people that took care of me for three weeks.

About a year ago, I found my second mom. Her name is Carol Anne. She's my mother's cousin. She, with help form her husband Danny and children Brad and Danielle, is responsible for getting me out of Johnstown. I owe these amazing people a lot.

Brad has become like my big brother.

And then there's Danielle and Erica (a roommate and friend of Danielle and Brad). The three of them share an apartment, and it is there that I called home.

With them, it was impossible not to have fun. Carol Anne made sure that I ate at least five delicious meals each day. And Brad, Danielle, and Erica took me bar hopping, taught me new vocabulary, fed me sushi for the first time, and got me completely hooked on the stupid show Pretty Little Liars.

Thanks guys!