It has been months since I last updated this site and no, I have absolutely not abandoned it 
It is still alive, well, and running, although my last graduate semester in Structural Engineering at USC has certainly kept me preoccupied. One other thing that has kept me preoccupied: Film Applications!
Yes, I have officially done it. As recent as this past September, I was still ambivalent about whether I was going to apply to film school or not. After all, in just a few months, my life would be set with a prestigious Master’s degree in Structural Engineering and a possible well-paying job prospect. Sure, I had nothing to worry about! Until late one night at 2 a.m., I was wrestling around in my bed covers, agonizing over my inability to fall asleep. Something was keeping me up and it was when I realized it was time to make a final decision: Was I going to apply to film school or not? Film deadlines were approaching within 2 or 3 months and I knew that this was my final moment of truth. I wanted to be happy. I had to pursue my passion.
I recall a major breakdown I had last fall of 2007 where I found myself struggling in my engineering classes. Night after night, I would be staring at numbers inches from the page, skyrocketing my eye prescriptions, scrawling across bleak pages of mindless calculations with left-hander smudge marks on my hand, while sitting in my sweat-drenched pajamas. I was crashing as I found myself constantly mired in existential doubt. Why in the hell was I doing what I was doing?
I was not happy and I was seriously considering dropping out of the program and enrolling straight to film school for the spring 2008 term. I had toured The Los Angeles Film School, a decently-reputed school in downtown Los Angeles that offers admissions on a seasonal basis. I had also spoken with an admissions representative who told me I would most likely be admitted if I applied; Yes, me, a student with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, pursuing his master’s in structural engineering. Interesting. Finally, after a few long days of meticulous musings, I realized I was out of my mind. I was more terrified about my future than I should have been and knew that I needed to take this journey one step at a time. Sure, I digged myself into this mess and I knew at that moment that I needed to dig myself out. However, when you dig yourself into a problem, that problem needs to be solved before you pursue your next problem. I made the commitment to pursue a master’s degree in structural engineering and I wasn’t going to give up. I needed to finish it.
The truth is, though, I never did give up my passion for filmmaking. In fact, this has been the plan all along. When I chose to complete my master’s degree at USC, I merely postponed my plans for film school by a year. So here I am. Fall 2008. And I have stuck with the plan and have officially applied to 6 top ten film schools:
1. New York University
2. University of Southern California
3. University of California, Los Angeles
4. Columbia University
5. Florida State University
6. New York Film Academy
How many civil engineers do you know of who have done the same
So basically the past few months, I’ve been busy writing material for these applications, coming up with treatments, film scenarios, dialogue scenes, and various other creative projects. My final application for Columbia was mailed last Tuesday. Now it is time to wait it out for a few months until hopefully one of those giant envelopes comes in the mailbox.
There is one final note I’d like to mention. Follow your dream, but make sure it’s a good one.
PS Yes, it is 2:30 in the morning and my writing is getting damn choppy. Gah, I hate using the words “went” and “got”, all because of a writing rule from my 9th grade English teacher. I also hate ending a sentence on a short note (like this) or starting a disjointed sentence (like this). It’s far too late and my writing is getting horribuller and horribuller by the second! I am not thinking straight and I need to stop. Seriously. Bye.
3 Comments
Good luck with following your dream in filmmaking! It’s never easy, but always worthwhile. If you need any assistance – NYFA is happy to help! BTW…great blog!
Hey,
Answering your question- “How many civil engineers do I know who have done this?”- None. But the other one is in the pipeline. Need your guidance.
I am curious which film school did you finally join?
Sumit
Hi Sumit,
Glad to hear from a fellow civil engineer
In response to your comment:
I chose not to go to film school in the end. However, if I did, I would have went to USC. Currently, I work for a structural engineering consulting firm and do not regret my decision in the slightest. I enjoy the work and it certainly pays well.
Film school is, no doubt, a very serious decision and will definitely have a major impact on your future career path. Typically, programs last between 2-3 years and require an enormous amount of commitment and dedication – it won’t be an easy path by any means and you’ll have to earn your way through by whatever it takes. I looked at your website and noticed you have a Masters degree like me as well.
My suggestion is that you look at this decision in the long run: 3 years from now, say you come out with an MFA degree – how confident are you of your future success as a filmmaker? Typically, film school graduates start out doing gopher jobs, maybe serving as production assistants with modest pay – but like I said, you will have to earn your way through the business. It’s all a matter of how much faith you have in yourself. Now think of it this way: You’re 3 years older, have little to no experience working in the engineering field, but having just earned your MFA degree, still want to pursue film. How will you fund your projects, more alone support yourself financially? You’re piled up with paying back the student loans you accrued through film school (possible even engineering grad school!) and finding a decent-paying engineering job won’t exactly be a walk in the park when companies look at your resume, as well as your age – as companies tend to favor young hires for entry-level positions.
So I know the above comments sound pretty discouraging – I felt the same way when I first realized all of this lol – but here’s what made me ultimately decide against film school. Many film school graduates will tell you that most of the material you do learn from the programs is practical/applied knowledge – nothing that you can’t teach yourself if you made the effort to. Even if you move on to pursue an engineering career, you do not have to give up your love for filmmaking – and you’ll even have the money to fund your projects, or more importantly, pay off your student loans. Educate yourself with books in filmmaking, purchase the needed equipment, and shoot on the weekends. I believe this is what Christopher Nolan did and look where he’s turned up
The best way to learn filmmaking is to actually go out and do it, rather than sitting in a classroom or perusing through a textbook. It’s a highly social and interactive skill that involves dealing with large groups of people and making snap decisions on the set. It’s often stereotyped that engineers tend to be socially awkward and reclusive, but having picked up filmmaking as a side job, you’ll have developed strengths in both fields.
Anyways, I suppose my advice was pretty biased, but I guess the only counter-argument is that if you do pursue film school, be prepared to make sacrifices to the end. Believe in yourself, but don’t fail to recognize the reality of the situation. It’s a cutthroat business indeed.
Hope that helped!
-Eugene