u/TryingIndianDirector — reddlx

Got rejected by NFTS. Please tell me how I can improve my portfolio

Hi guys, as the title says. Related to this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/filmschool/s/LjcdoAk8MT

I've linked 3 of the short films I made for my failed application to NFTS. I suggest viewing the first one (or however much of it you can) if you don't have time to watch them all.

I know they're super amateurish and in my defense we're all huuuge beginners and English is not my actors' first language. But don't worry about being harsh and please tell me where exactly I should improve and what top film schools are looking for; not just NFTS but other top schools like AFI, NYU Tisch, UCLA, USC, etc. which I'll be applying to soon and I will use your advice to start shooting better short films for my applications to them.

To be more specific: what genre are they looking for. How polished and near industry standards should the films be? How interesting and attention grabbing should the story and characters be? Do these vary from school to school and which schools are more lax and friendly to beginners?

Film 1: https://vimeo.com/1189774596

Film 2: https://vimeo.com/1189973178

Film 3: https://vimeo.com/1189778393

u/TryingIndianDirector — 7 hours ago

▲ 1 r/AsianCinema

Malayalam Drama Thriller About Corruption Politics And Police Systems. Nayattu

Idk what the rule is here about posting Indian movies, please let me know whether it's allowed or not. But this Malayalam (a language from South India) film is super underrated outside India and if you're interested in a somewhat realistic and sober look at corruption in India especially when politics and police systems intersect, I can't recommend this movie enough.

https://preview.redd.it/7i65eb6jkjbh1.png?width=452&format=png&auto=webp&s=203b1b6a246d8ba33692396fdf3e9f3434fe00cc

reddit.com

u/TryingIndianDirector — 7 hours ago

▲ 4 r/filmschool

What kind of movies are film school applications looking for?

I recently applied to National Film and Television School (NFTS) UK and got rejected. What exactly are film schools looking for in their applications? Especially for whatever the equivalent of a graduate course for aspiring directors is in top film schools like American Film Institute (AFI), NYU Tisch, USC CA, UCLA, etc.? I'm specifically talking about their creative portfolio requirements, when they ask to submit short films you've worked on (or directed in this case as I'm an aspiring director).

Skill: are they looking for more professional and polished work or are they fine with amateurs and beginners? Especially in graduate courses as I've already finished an undergraduate course in something else and I think a graduate course would be better.

Budget: I'm sure they'd be fine with low budget productions but I'm just adding this as a box to be ticked.

Story: any particular kind of story or genre they're looking for in your experience?

Characters: Same as story.

Others: Any other advice you can think of on how to improve my application. Please be as detailed as you can.

Sorry if my questions seem stupid but I'm a huuuuge beginner so please cut me some slack. I really want to attach my work that I sent as part of my application but I feel that adding a flair tag as asked to by the rules would put people off from interacting with the post as they'd rightfully not want to watch some amateur's fumbling. I'll make a separate post with my work linked so people can critique it there if they wish.

If anyone has any work that has helped them or others get accepted to top film schools or even a good one, please link it in the comments so I can watch and learn.

reddit.com

u/TryingIndianDirector — 8 hours ago