I've seen a dozen or so film school senior year thesis films and am unimpressed with the results of who knows how many thousands of dollars of "education" and hundreds of hours of hands on "experience".
I lightly investigated some thesis film requirements (none of the big schools' requirements turned up) and it looks like most everyone has a fair shake at producing something pretty d@mn impressive that Joe Blow don't-know-his-aperture-from-a-hole-in-the-ground from the school of Just Do It Yourself University can't do.
http://www.handbooks.graduate.ucf.edu/hb/handbook.aspx?id=9493&hid=3873&program=Film MFA
The concept of the MFA Thesis Film is that students will produce a feature film (60 minutes or more) on a microbudget: $50,000 or less, not including marketing or festival submission costs.
Students should select a Thesis Adviser after completion of 19 credit hours in the program. This individual must be someone on the approved graduate faculty list for the Film department...
A student making a thesis film and writing a thesis must have a Thesis Advisory Committee. The Thesis Advisory Committee must consist of at least three members, who are approved members of the Graduate Faculty or Graduate Faculty Scholars as found online in the current UCF Graduate Catalog.
http://www.uca.edu/mct/digfilm/mfa/thesis.php
Thesis films will have a minimum running time of 20 minutes and a maximum running time of 30 minutes.
By the end of the third semester of study a student will have chosen a thesis advisor (committee chair) and a committee. The committee will be comprised of a minimum of three members: the thesis chair (who must be a Digital Filmmaking faculty member), a second member of the Digital Filmmaking faculty, and a third member who may either be from the Digital Filmmaking faculty or another department’s graduate faculty.
The student will submit a script and a production proposal that must be approved by the thesis committee. The script will detail the student’s proposed film and provide the opportunity for review and feedback from the committee. The production proposal will provide the student’s vision for the films in terms of style, casting, and locations. The committee may require revisions prior to approval.
The purpose of the production proposal is to ensure that the student is taking all aspects of the thesis film into consideration as he develops his project. The proposal will also be used as a benchmark to discuss during the filmmaking process and ultimate defense of the final film.
http://www.bu.edu/com/files/2009/12/MFA-Thesis-Policy-2011-3-2-2011.pdf
http://www.ves.fas.harvard.edu/thesis.html
All thesis and senior project proposals must be reviewed by the Honors Board before the project can go forward.
All tutorials and theses are eligible for financial support by the department. The Director of Undergraduate Studies and the Manager of Finance evaluate all projects on an individual basis. Each student can request funding to support their project...
A studio or film/video thesis has three reviews during the course of the project, which are attended by the student, the tutorial adviser and readers. The entire faculty is invited to attend the final thesis review. Attendance at all reviews is limited to the thesis student and faculty members.
* * *
This is a lot of superior review and approval bureaucracy to prevent "meh... ?" thesis films from ever even being produced.
Safety nets galore.
These thesis films SHOULD come out looking like... not some fool with a camera w/ buddies.
Anyone have any similar, supplementary or contradictory thoughts to this?
I lightly investigated some thesis film requirements (none of the big schools' requirements turned up) and it looks like most everyone has a fair shake at producing something pretty d@mn impressive that Joe Blow don't-know-his-aperture-from-a-hole-in-the-ground from the school of Just Do It Yourself University can't do.
http://www.handbooks.graduate.ucf.edu/hb/handbook.aspx?id=9493&hid=3873&program=Film MFA
The concept of the MFA Thesis Film is that students will produce a feature film (60 minutes or more) on a microbudget: $50,000 or less, not including marketing or festival submission costs.
Students should select a Thesis Adviser after completion of 19 credit hours in the program. This individual must be someone on the approved graduate faculty list for the Film department...
A student making a thesis film and writing a thesis must have a Thesis Advisory Committee. The Thesis Advisory Committee must consist of at least three members, who are approved members of the Graduate Faculty or Graduate Faculty Scholars as found online in the current UCF Graduate Catalog.
http://www.uca.edu/mct/digfilm/mfa/thesis.php
Thesis films will have a minimum running time of 20 minutes and a maximum running time of 30 minutes.
By the end of the third semester of study a student will have chosen a thesis advisor (committee chair) and a committee. The committee will be comprised of a minimum of three members: the thesis chair (who must be a Digital Filmmaking faculty member), a second member of the Digital Filmmaking faculty, and a third member who may either be from the Digital Filmmaking faculty or another department’s graduate faculty.
The student will submit a script and a production proposal that must be approved by the thesis committee. The script will detail the student’s proposed film and provide the opportunity for review and feedback from the committee. The production proposal will provide the student’s vision for the films in terms of style, casting, and locations. The committee may require revisions prior to approval.
The purpose of the production proposal is to ensure that the student is taking all aspects of the thesis film into consideration as he develops his project. The proposal will also be used as a benchmark to discuss during the filmmaking process and ultimate defense of the final film.
http://www.bu.edu/com/files/2009/12/MFA-Thesis-Policy-2011-3-2-2011.pdf
Code:
If the committee accepts one of your scripts/treatments two things happen:
1. You are assigned a First Reader from the Thesis Committee; he or she oversees your thesis project from this
point on, indicating when you are ready to proceed from one stage of your project to the next.
2. You begin your Production Plan for your movie. This plan is due by December 15th of your third semester .
PRODUCTION PLAN includes:
General statement of purpose. Describe the kind of film you hope to make: its theme, style and
intended impact on audiences. This does not need to be exclusively a written statement: you might
include illustrations, video or sound clips to make your point.
Summary of your directorial approach:
Brief statements describing the tone and outlining the dramatic aim of each scene.
Detailed storyboards.
Visual Design Statement including Camera and lighting plans.
Latest draft of your script (or treatment.)
Production Design Statement: Props, set design, locations, wardrobe, hair and makeup.
Sound Design Statement. Describe your general aesthetic strategy, including use of music.
Detailed budget
Complete production schedule Casting Strategy
Statement of Releases, if necessary: Demonstrate whether or not you have secured rights to any or all of
the following: music, locations, story.
Special challenges: Explain how you will handle any stunts, special equipment or pyrotechnics, including
diagrams, illustrations and CVs for any outside experts whose services you plan to engagehttp://www.ves.fas.harvard.edu/thesis.html
All thesis and senior project proposals must be reviewed by the Honors Board before the project can go forward.
All tutorials and theses are eligible for financial support by the department. The Director of Undergraduate Studies and the Manager of Finance evaluate all projects on an individual basis. Each student can request funding to support their project...
A studio or film/video thesis has three reviews during the course of the project, which are attended by the student, the tutorial adviser and readers. The entire faculty is invited to attend the final thesis review. Attendance at all reviews is limited to the thesis student and faculty members.
* * *
This is a lot of superior review and approval bureaucracy to prevent "meh... ?" thesis films from ever even being produced.
Safety nets galore.
These thesis films SHOULD come out looking like... not some fool with a camera w/ buddies.
Anyone have any similar, supplementary or contradictory thoughts to this?
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