Help me understand this Masters Application please

Hi everybody,

I'm applying for a master in documentary film directing and I'm not so sure about my read of the requirements of the film. It should be a 3-minute film under the topic 'I see, I hear, I film'.
(1) The film shall underline a strong relationship with the surrounding reality.
(2) It shall focus on characters or places, and show a creative personal cinematic concept.

First question: do you think a portrait of my day as a business student with the dream of becoming a filmmaker, who currently is sidehustling with filmmaking on YouTube, would fit? (I have a pretty eventful and ritualised day)

Second question: I was thinking about doing a narration of the whole day, but we are only allowed to use sound from the shots - so do you think narration + original sound from the shoots could work out? (I only saw it with backgroundmusic + sound design + narration, so I'm unsure)

Thanks! Your help would me the world to me because I'm pretty unsure and this application determines the quality of my next 2 years.

Thanks again, Paul
 
It doesn't really seem like a perfect fit to document your own life here. Make something that the TV would buy from you. Something for one of the shows you watch.
 
It doesn't really seem like a perfect fit to document your own life here. Make something that the TV would buy from you. Something for one of the shows you watch.

agreed, make a story of 3 minutes that's more interesting..... something like how a person prepares for a contest would be ok. Making a ego-doc is hard unless your more of a eccentric. (graffiti artist, my little pony collector, games workshop master painter or a crocodile farmer) I'n a documentary we want to learn something new... and can connect with.

The question is what excites you beside of film making?
This is something I made last year that is 2:20 Its a small peek into the world of game boy DJ's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxPMO0M1t70
 
The school is looking for what ‘I see, I hear, I film’ means to you, and are simultaneously looking for how you’d structure a 3 minute narrative.

As a tip, everyone - both prospective and current students - who have no creative ideas end up writing an autobiographical story about being a filmmaker, or wanting to be a filmmaker. Do something different.

What does ‘I see, I hear, I film’ mean to you? Not just at a surface level. How you bring a story to that prompt is what they’re looking for.
 
The school is looking for what ‘I see, I hear, I film’ means to you, and are simultaneously looking for how you’d structure a 3 minute narrative.

As a tip, everyone - both prospective and current students - who have no creative ideas end up writing an autobiographical story about being a filmmaker, or wanting to be a filmmaker. Do something different.

What does ‘I see, I hear, I film’ mean to you? Not just at a surface level. How you bring a story to that prompt is what they’re looking for.

This!
They want to see potential, they don't want to read your diary.
 
First question: do you think a portrait of my day as a business student with the dream of becoming a filmmaker, who currently is sidehustling with filmmaking on YouTube, would fit? (I have a pretty eventful and ritualised day)

Doesn't seem to fit the criteria you put forth:

(1) The film shall underline a strong relationship with the surrounding reality.
(2) It shall focus on characters or places, and show a creative personal cinematic concept.

A relationship implies two (or more) people (characters) interacting, although a relationship can be with a non-human (animal, object, etc.).

I agree with previous posters that a "self-portrait" does not meet the criteria.


Don't limit yourself to human beings. What is the relationship between ________ and __________ near you? (People and wildlife in the park; cobra/mongoose; river and municipality; you get the idea.)

I worked a while back on a documentary about Russian and Chechen amputee soccer players who play on the same National team, many of whom lost their legs during the Russo-Chechen conflicts.

I was fascinated when I heard the story about two WWII veterans who met at a reception many years after the war. "I should let you know that I led the attack on Pearl Harbor." "That's okay, I commanded the aircraft that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima." Fuchida and Tibbets remained friends for the remainder of their lives.

Just some food for thought.
 
Back
Top