Student Stories

Dana Tuinier, Producing 

I graduated from Columbia with a B.A. in Film, emphasis on Producing and Development. I came out here the beginning of the summer, about ten minutes after I walked across stage to grab my diploma.

My second day of class Sherry Lansing came to talk to us, so I really don’t know how anyone can top that. She was the perfect introduction for my life in Hollywood, and I think of the things she told us often. (She told us to appreciate every job, every step on the ladder, to focus as much on where you are as where you are going.) We had some amazing speakers, including Josh Olson (who wrote the academy-award nominated A History of Violence screenplay) who taught me that you don’t have to be a mindless clone to get by here. It was those two speakers especially that made me feel more comfortable with the power of being genuine in Hollywood.

I had an internship at a great indie film company lined up at the end of Semester in LA, but then Craig Gore got me into the CBS Radford mailroom instead. Working at CBS was one of the best times of my life, and I would recommend working on a lot to anyone and everyone! From CBS I moved to working for an alum at Kaplan Stahler Gumer Braun, a TV Literary agency in Beverly Hills. I work for Ra Kumar, who was in the very first Semester in LA. It’s a wonderful experience to work for him, and I feel so fortunate to have him as my first “Hollywood" boss. I love having the network of Columbia alums in Los Angeles, it has been crucial to my success and my social life since I moved here.

Kristin Watson, Drama/Sitcom workshops

I was sitting in room 707 of the Columbia S. Michigan building, revising my Reba script we had just finished tabling. I had this feeling I never felt before. It was a feeling I got from watching some of the most creative young students put their time and effort into working a script I was creating. I knew at that moment I wanted a bigger piece of what I was experiencing in that classroom.

I discovered Columbia’s Semester in LA program through a wonderful teacher who later became a mentor. The Semester in LA program was a chance to step out of my own frame and see my true potential without limitations. My experience with the program was through the Drama and Comedy workshops.

You can’t imagine, until you do it, how crazy it really is to get yourself to LA when it’s not a vacation. I needed to find housing, a car, and one hell of a map. Then there was finding the bungalow. The bungalow that would be my home for five weeks, and put ten other students across from me and give me that excitement that truly is the writers’ roundtable.

Eventually I walked into bungalow five and met my instructors: Jon Katzman, Jack Gilbert, and Richard Whitley. It became obvious this was going to be the most intense five weeks of my life.  Sure, you do coffee and trades every morning, but then there are beat sheets to write, outlines to trim, all leading up to the finalized script. A final script that is not only worked on by you, but also tabled by ten other students who are no longer called students. We are thought of as a writing staff. A select few even get the opportunity to pitch to managers and have their scripts tabled by show runners at the end of the program. I had the pleasure of pitching my script to a manager and I thank the heavens Columbia taught me the importance of presenting myself properly.

The program is definitely all business, but the stuff that happens in between the craziness puts it all into perspective and truly makes you see how vital the program really is. Generally the teachers let you out by 12:00 or 1:00 and if you’re not working on your project, it’s time to network. I saw live tapings and went to the guilds. I also attempted to get into fests where panels where being presented. I took the chance to absorb an industry I chose, close up. When speakers came in, I tried to ask the questions I couldn’t get answered in a Chicago classroom.

And we had some amazing speakers. From the show-runner of Bernie Mac (Peter Aronson), to a big-shot from Malcolm in the Middle (Michael Glouberman) to Susan Dickes from Just Shoot Me, our speakers were amazing. A great piece of advice I can give is, when instructors invite you to events or give you information on an event, GO! I don’t care how tired you are or how beat up you feel, get your butt in gear and go. You might not get access to certain events again for a while, so take advantage. You also never know who’s paying attention to go-getters so remember it’s a lot about learning to network. The best piece of advice I received was, get out there and mingle. You can’t market yourself by staying in, and Semester in LA gives you the opportunity to attend some pretty cool functions.

By doing the Semester in LA program I was given the chance to experience the television industry and myself from a whole new perspective many students can only dream of. Some choose to stay; others choose to go back home. I, myself, am in the process of relocating because I found the bigger piece of that feeling I was looking for in room 707. You can’t look at it as will I go or will I stay. It’s what you put into it while you’re there that will help you make the decision.                                                                            

Mark Mallorca, Directing 

I attended Semester in LA immediately after graduating from Columbia College. The program I went into was the directing program, which lasted four weeks and allowed us to learn and film on the CBS Studio Lot in Studio City. 

After completing the program, through the people who taught the class and guest speakers, I was able to quickly be led to pick up work as a PA in independent shoots and they also helped me get into interviews for internships, which was great. 

A month after completing the Directing program and working PA gigs I got a job in the CBS mailroom, another nice connection I received through a Columbia alum. I worked at the mailroom for three months. The job was great because no one expects you to stay in the mailroom; therefore they were always flexible when it came to leaving for an interview or taking a day off for another job. Because of the flexibility I was able to continue sending off resumes and thankfully Columbia has a bungalow on CBS with all the resources you need to get plugged in.  

So through the creative directories in the office I took down several numbers and pretty much contacted and sent off resumes to any production willing to take it whether they were hiring or not. From that I started getting calls and finally landed an assistant position on the OC working for lead cast member Mischa Barton, and I now work as her personal assistant today. 

Ambor Sila, Screenwriting/Adaptation 

I attended Semester in LA for two semesters my senior year at Columbia; taking the Screenwriting program first, then making the permanent move to LA for the Adaptation program. It was amazing to be on the CBS lot and get absorbed in the filmmaking environment.

My senior year at Columbia I knew the SILA program was the place to be. After hearing about the speakers, the location of the bungalow and the fact that it’s in LA, it’s just necessary to go. So when I arrived at the bungalow my first day in the spring of 06, its safe to say I had high expectations. I can honestly say they not only were met, but it exceeded everything I could have imagined.  During the Screenwriting program I discovered my writing voice and made friends that became my family away from home. The individual attention was amazing and helped me realize what genre I wanted to focus on and where I wanted to take my career path. It also set me up for an internship when I returned in the fall.

When I came home, I couldn’t wait to go back and immediately signed up for the Adaptation program. Coming back not only to LA but to SILA was a dream and there’s no way I could return to the regular scheme of things after having such a great experience.  I arrived in LA 3 weeks before class started to get settled into a new apartment and get comfortable with my surroundings once againDuring Adaptation I was able to get the rights to one of my favorite books and write a great TV treatment for it.  The speakers that came in were so helpful and willing to tell you anything you wanted to know. I also got help revamping my resume.   It was a great way to end my last year at Columbia.

After Semester in LA, my internship was still waiting for me and I spent my winter at Beacon Pictures. Since then I have had many great job opportunities, not only because of the bungalow, but also from the Alumni office which will break its back to help any alum with anything they need. Coming to SILA helped me make the move to LA, introduced me to terrific people and helped me start my career in the entertainment industry. This is by far the best program Columbia has to offer and if you want a career in entertainment, this is definitely the first step. TAKE IT!

Ric Hess, Adaptation/Producing  

So you want to be in pictures.  Columbia College’s Semester in L.A., the intensive, five-week immersion program, is a great way to jump-start your career.  You’ve been thinking about it and you think that maybe it’s time to take the plunge.  But is it right for you?

First of all, you need to be committed; this program is for people who are serious about making the film industry their career.  If you’re not sure that this is what you must do with your life, don’t waste anyone’s time, yours included.  But if you will pledge yourself to going out and working, really working, then the semester in L.A. program has the power to change your life.  Literally.  If you enter into it with enthusiasm, and a commitment to your craft, you will succeed.  That’s not to say you’re going to be the next Wes Craven or Laszlo Kovacs, it simply means that you will be able to survive - and even prosper - in your chosen field, doing what you want to do.  Okay… maybe you’ll be doing things that you don’t really want to do, but still working in, or at least in the vicinity of, your field.  Or working the celebrity bar at Mel’s Diner.

Regardless, the opportunity is what you make of it.  The speakers are astounding.  You will rub elbows with people you’ve only read about.  You will have opportunities that few others ever do, so take full advantage of the situation.  When you’re done, Columbia has a huge network in Los Angeles, and the Alumni staff is extremely committed to getting out information about upcoming job opportunities and networking events.  So take the class and set up shop.  The key is, if you want to work in Hollywood, you’ve got to be there.  Semester in LA gives you the keys.

But there remains the question: At the end of the day, is the program worth it?  Here’s how I see it.  After two tours of the program, and a lot of thought and work, I get it.  I understand, at least basically, how this whole Hollywood thing works.  I understand how the deals are made and how the money flows.  I haven’t done anything with this newly acquired knowledge, not yet.  But I’ve got the tools that will allow me to hone my work, and an understanding of what to do with that work once it’s ready for market.  Is that enough to ensure my success?  Of course not.  There are no guarantees in this business.  But what the program gives you is more than ninety nine percent of the rest of the aspiring show business minions have to work with.

There was a story in a recent LA Times about a proposed bike path that would run on Universal Studio’s property along the Los Angeles River.  Universal was objecting to the route of the path because, among other concerns, it would be close enough to the company’s fence that writer’s could toss unsolicited screenplays over, into the parking lot.  Evidently this happens all the time.  All that wasted effort in the ridiculous hope that someone will randomly pick one of these stories up, read it, and produce the movie.  Here’s one thing you’ll learn – studios don’t read unsolicited manuscripts without a signed release, not ever.

Most people aren’t quite that naïve, but they’re not all that much better prepared, either.  After investing my time in the Semester in LA program, I’m not a Hollywood insider; I may not be on the A-list at Morton’s and Dan Tanna’s, but I’m not a wide-eyed innocent.  I’ve learned enough to understand how the game is played.  Will it get my novels published and made into films?  Only time will tell.  But at the very least, I won’t be standing there beside the Universal parking lot, tossing screenplays over the fence.