Completion of Chapman University Dodge College

“What in the world just happened?!”

As you can see, it’s been a while since I’ve updated my blog, ever since I got accepted into Chapman to be precise. What a whirlwind of experiences. I couldn’t even begin to divulge everything I got to do, see, learn, and go through. This word count would reach the billions.

Instead, let me give a very brief overview  –

I entered Chapman a bit older than others due to working on that GPA and then taking time off to live on my own in Australia. The film program itself was pretty straight forward once you picked an emphasis on where you wanted to study.

You had your core requirements as a film production major, then from there, you had to choose between a directing, editing, cinematography, production design, and sound design. Between those, the most coveted seemed to be between directors and cinematographers. There were certainly pro’s and con’s of each path. As a cinematographer, you got to take higher cinematography courses and have required films to shoot, whereas being a director, the main benefit was you got to tell the story you wanted to tell. As a cinematographer, you only really got to shoot other people’s stories, and outside of the beginner courses, you never really got a budget and a full crew to make your own movies.

I chose the cinematography route. That’s always really been my biggest passion. Which makes sense, since cinematography these days is more a technological craft than anything else, and need I remind you my geeked out obsessions.

My experience was a little bit different than everyone else I knew. Part of the benefit of coming in as a freshman, is the opportunity to live and grow up with the people you would ultimately be working with. Coming in as a transfer student with a full time job…ehh not so much.

I had a hard time trying to keep up and being fully immersed into the program. Students were able to be fully invested into all the events, seminars, early movie screenings, and much more, while I was quickly trying to drive from work to class and back to work as soon as class got out since I was essentially taking extended lunch periods to go to class. Even while being a full time employee, I still retained a full time student status, just didn’t get to enjoy all the full time student benefits as everyone else. Which really sucked. It created a massive case of F.O.M.O. and I was constantly trying to play catch-up on set to try to learn what everyone else was learning.

My way of getting involved was through a co-ed fraternity that was specifically filled with creatives from Dodge College. It was the best thing I could have done to create any sense of a social life and I took a lot away from it. It kickstarted me being on more film sets than I would have without them, and introduced me to my best friends and every roommate I’ve had ever since.

I was really blessed with some amazing film opportunities going through Chapman. Outside of the film elements, I also got to travel to new places, I got to meet people from all over the world, and learn from the most talented people I will ever meet.

Now, it wasn’t all perfection. Chapman certainly has it’s flaws. There was a major disconnect between Dodge College (all the creatives) and Chapman University (the majority and rest of the school). They were on different campuses, but not only were the people disconnected, it seemed like the faculty was as well. Dodge has limitless potential and unimaginable connections for growth, but usually, its demise would fall on the hands of faculty who were communicating with each other, misleading information, and generally just making things far more difficult than they needed to. Not to mention, the residents in the city of Orange actively fought and protested any growth that Chapman wanted to do and limited the students more and more every semester in regards to filming in the city. This really took away a lot of the opportunities that were promised.

So I guess the big question is –

Was it worth it?

Well, I guess that matters on a few variables. But overall, yes. Enormously. Of course I went through hardships, heartbreaks, frustrations, and lived off a dangerous amount of little to no sleep for 3 years, but I’ve exited far stronger, level headed, and enlightened because of it. Not just with film, although I’ve expanded my knowledge far more than I could even measure out, but in overall life. Not to mention I got to work on over 42 films in only 3 years! From cinematographer, to director, grip, electric, editor, boom operator, to PA work. I really got to do it all.

The biggest problems I faced was balancing a full time job and a full time student status, and an administrative faculty that at more times than not performed out of stubbornness or taking the convenient way to conclusions, which often lead to professors quitting and students being exhausted of trying to make changes. But all of that gets outweighed by the sheer talent of my peers and the opportunities it’s already opened up for me.

The other big issue I had that was more unique than other students, was coming in older with an associates degree already completed, I was under the impression I would be working on just my major and getting that bachelors degree for it. But Chapman, as a private university, tackles on additional “cluster” courses which are 4 required courses that are entirely outside of a student’s major. This makes sense for an incoming freshman still looking to explore new avenues of higher education, but not so much for a 24 year old who spent 6 years in community college, a year living abroad alone, a degree, and a full time job. Unfortunately, the school wouldn’t tailor needs to individuals, and still required to take courses like “HIST 273: Bold Mamas and Audacious Entrepeneurs: Women and Power in the African Past” for your film production degree with an emphasis in cinematography. With my schedule at work, film sets on the weekend, and trying to maintain some sanity and not being a recluse in my room only working from sun rise to sun rise, trying not to waste any more time and a ton of money on classes, I opted to not take these cluster courses and to leave Chapman after completing its extensive and coveted film program. In doing so, I did not receive a formal degree from Chapman. Although I have never really seen a need for a “film degree” in an industry that is solely based on talent and professionalism, I told my parents I would enroll in one more course at a non-private university, as I had more than enough units completed to receive a degree from anywhere else without having to take courses outside of my major.

Chapman has really grown its reputation in the industry. And anytime I’m talking to someone in LA or on a new set, everyone seems to have nothing but good things to say about other Chapman people they have worked with in the past.

So what’s next? Well. I’ve finally found roommates that I have the best time living with and would like to continue to pursue out careers together. They were a year younger than I, so I’m going to live with them another year in Orange while they finish up their schooling. In the mean time, I’m going on 6 years with LA Fitness’s corporate office working on video productions in Irvine, CA, and continuing freelance work. Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of weddings and commercial work, with a few short films here and there. In the near future, I’ll be crewing up on some bigger music videos that I will be shooting and directing for some up and coming artists that have some fantastic promise ahead of them. I’m spending more and more time up in LA recently, creating my network and trying to take what I’ve learned in all of this and applying it to new things.