Marissa Muchnok, Pitt in LA: The American Film Industry Summer 2023
Being that this program only consisted of two courses, which were three credits each, you might think that it would be super easy, but there was truly a lot of work to do. My daily life was pretty different depending on the day. Usually, I would wake up kind of early to use the gym (which was very conveniently located inside of our apartment building), then I would either make breakfast in the kitchen or go grab a coffee from the Whole Foods that was located right under our building. There were a lot of other cute coffee shops in the neighborhood, so I gave those a try one by one as well. Then it was time to coordinate what we were going to be doing as a class for the day.
For two days out of the week, we would meet in the movie theatre to have our regular 4-hour long “creative” class called American Film and TV Industry. During this time, we would discuss our projects, showcase group presentations, host guest speakers, and discuss our lessons of the week which might include clips from movies or shows. One day of the week was reserved for our “business” class called Entertainment Management, which took place in the CMU MEIM building. In this class we would learn from the director of the MEIM program, a graduate program offered through CMU that takes place in LA, and we would learn about that program as well as have guest speakers in that building. And finally, one other day of the week was solely for “field trips.” Throughout our time in LA, we visited Warner Brothers Studio, Warner Music Group, The Academy Awards Museum, Lionsgate, Marina Del Rey Film Festival, and those were just the required visits. We also had opportunities to visit the Grammy’s Museum and go to live comedy shows, and some of use even got to meet Tom Kenny at one of his music performances with the Hi-Seas! We also had an alumni party in our apartment’s courtyard where Pitt alumni who have found success in the film industry came to talk to us and reunite with our professor.
In our free time, we were encouraged to walk with the writers as they were on strike, and we had the opportunity to talk with them and get personal perspectives on the situation. We had some small homework assignments, but the main goal was to work on our final projects, which included podcasts, papers, or editing showcases. In spite of all the work we had to do though, I still had enough free time to explore the city and do a little bit of shopping in places like Beverly Hills and Melrose Street. Though it was a pricey program, I am grateful for the GEO Scholarship to help me afford this experience, without it and without my FAFSA assistance, I would not have been able to do it. For an experience like this, I would also recommend saving up beforehand, which I was able to do from my job back home in Pittsburgh and making sure to budget yourself is definitely necessary!
Leave a Reply