Private Coaching for Film School Admissions
Get help with your application from a University of Southern California faculty member who spent three years on the admissions committee for undergraduate production majors.
Whether you’re exploring your options or about to upload your application, I can help you generate, revise, and perfect a portfolio that represents your best work.
Film School Strategy Session
During our 30 minute session, we'll discuss:
Your film school goals and target programs
Your creative background, interests, and point of view
Your portfolio strategy
What you should focus on
Any questions you have about the film school admissions process
You'll leave with a clearer understanding of where you stand and what to do next. Parents or caregivers encouraged to attend.
This session does not include advance review or written notes on essays, screenplays, films, or other application materials.
30 mins, $49
THE POLISH
Expert feedback when you're nearly ready.
You’ve done the work. Now get an experienced eye on it before you submit.
The Polish is designed for applicants who already have strong drafts and creative materials in place and want focused, professional feedback to take them to the next level.
We’ll identify what’s working, what isn’t, and where targeted revisions can make the greatest impact.
Use your time for:
Personal statement and supplemental essay feedback
Film, screenplay, or creative portfolio review
Creative résumé review
School-specific application questions
Final application assessment
Best for: Applicants with developed materials who want expert feedback on 3-4 documents before submitting.
Includes 60 minutes of coaching and 30 minutes of advance material review.
$425
THE BOOST - 3 hour package
Focused help where your application needs it most.
You’ve started, but some pieces need more work.
The Boost gives us enough time to move beyond assessment and actively develop the areas of your application that will benefit most from individualized attention.
We can brainstorm, review, revise, and refine selected components while making sure they work together to communicate who you are as a filmmaker.
Use your time for:
Brainstorming personal statements and supplemental essays
Reviewing and revising drafts
Developing film and creative portfolio ideas
Feedback on films, scripts, treatments, photography, or other creative work
Portfolio selection and strategy
Creative résumé development
School-specific application strategy
Best for: Applicants who have begun the process but need substantive help developing or strengthening several important components. This is enough time to thoroughly develop materials for one school.
Includes 2 hours of coaching and 1 hour of advance material review.
$795
COMPREHENSIVE
Personalized guidance from strategy through submission.
The Comprehensive package is for students who want help with applications to more than one school.
We’ll start by identifying what makes you distinctive - not only as an applicant, but as a developing filmmaker and storyteller. From there, we’ll build an application strategy designed to communicate your creative voice, experiences, interests, and ambitions.
Over multiple sessions, we’ll develop ideas, review work, revise materials, and tailor your application to the programs you're pursuing.
Our work can include:
Application strategy and timeline
Identifying your creative voice and personal narrative
School and program strategy
Personal statement and supplemental essay development
Multiple rounds of feedback and revision
Film and creative portfolio development
Feedback on films, scripts, treatments, and other creative work
Portfolio selection and positioning
Creative résumé development
School-specific application requirements
Final application review
Interview preparation
Best for: Applicants who want sustained, individualized guidance across the major components of their film school applications.
Includes 6 hours of coaching and 2 hours of material review, plus reasonable email support for questions between sessions.
$1,975
MENTORSHIP
More than an application. Develop your voice as a filmmaker.
Mentorship is my most intensive offering, designed for students who want to go beyond preparing a competitive film school application.
Over an extended period, we’ll spend 20 hours together on both the application and your development as an emerging filmmaker - exploring your creative interests, strengthening your storytelling instincts, developing original work, and building a body of work that reflects who you are and what you want to say.
Our work is highly individualized and can evolve as you do.
Mentorship can include:
Everything included in Comprehensive
Ongoing development of your creative voice and point of view
Development of original films, scripts, and portfolio projects
One-on-one feedback throughout the creative process
Film viewing and reading recommendations tailored to your interests
Discussions of filmmakers, movements, genres, and influences
Story and screenplay development
Portfolio-building strategy
Deeper exploration of potential film programs and career paths
Interview preparation
Guidance through the application and submission process
Ongoing email support between sessions
Best for: Serious aspiring filmmakers who want sustained, individualized mentorship - not simply help completing an application.
Includes 20 total hours of individual coaching and material review, with ongoing email support for brief questions between sessions. Advance review time does not count toward the 20 hours.
$4,275
Sample 8-Week Roadmap
Every applicant is different. We'll customize our work around your target schools, application deadlines, creative strengths, and the materials you already have in progress.
Here's what eight weeks might look like:
Week 1 — Finding Your Story
Creative & Application Assessment
We'll talk about your background, creative interests, favorite films and filmmakers, experiences, influences, ambitions, and the stories you're drawn to telling. We'll also review your target schools and existing creative work.
Week 2 — Building the Strategy
Schools, Requirements & Application Narrative
We'll look closely at what each target program is actually asking for and map out the work ahead. We'll identify opportunities to reuse or adapt material and where a school requires something entirely different.
We'll also begin thinking about the larger narrative connecting your essays, résumé, portfolio, and creative submissions.
Week 3 — Developing the Essays
Brainstorming & Story Development
We'll brainstorm personal statements and school-specific prompts, test different approaches, and identify which experiences reveal something meaningful about you rather than simply listing accomplishments.
Week 4 — Finding Your Creative Voice
Essays, Portfolio & Point of View
We'll review your first drafts and begin refining them for voice, specificity, structure, and emotional impact.
At the same time, we'll examine your creative work. What kinds of stories are you telling? What themes keep appearing? What does your work reveal about your sensibility?
Week 5 — Building the Portfolio
Creative Materials & Film Strategy
We'll focus on your films, scripts, photography, visual work, or other creative submissions.
Depending on the school's requirements, this might mean choosing between existing pieces, shooting a new project, strengthening a film already underway, or filming introduction videos.
Week 6 — Revision
Making Good Material Great
We'll review revised essays and creative materials, looking for anything generic, repetitive, confusing, or simply not doing enough work. We'll also make sure you're answering each school's actual prompt rather than the question you wish they'd asked.
Week 7 — The School-Specific Pass
Tailoring the Application
USC isn't NYU. NYU isn't Chapman. A strong application should demonstrate that you understand the particular program you're applying to.
We'll tailor materials where appropriate, review school-specific supplements, refine your creative résumé, and look at how the entire application reads as a package.
Week 8 — Final Cut
Application Review & Submission Strategy
Before you hit submit, we'll look at the application as an admissions reader might.
Does it tell us who you are? Is your creative voice clear? Are your strongest qualities coming through? Is anything missing, redundant, or distracting? We'll identify final changes and make sure you have a plan for completing any remaining requirements.
We'll also prepare for interviews when applicable.
Goal: Submit an application that feels cohesive, specific, polished—and unmistakably yours.
Your Program Will Be Your Own
This is a sample roadmap, not a prescribed curriculum. Some students arrive with finished films but no idea what to write about. Others have strong essays but need to develop their creative portfolio from scratch.
We'll allocate your hours where they can have the greatest impact on your application.
CUSTOMIZED SCHEDULING
How often we meet each week depends on your timeframe. If you’re getting an early start, we’ll build the schedule over several weeks. Have an upcoming deadline? We’ll make it work for you.
The comprehensive package could look like this:
2 MONTH SCHEDULE
(8) 45 minute virtual meetings, and weekly delivery of written feedback on your work.
1 MONTH SCHEDULE
(4) 90 minute virtual meetings and weekly delivery of written feedback on your work.
1 WEEK SCHEDULE
(3) 2 hour virtual meetings and daily delivery of written feedback on your work.
Mentorship could look like this:
1 YEAR SCHEDULE
We meet monthly for 80-minute virtual meetings.
6 MONTH SCHEDULE
We meet twice a month for 80-minute virtual meetings.
3 MONTH SCHEDULE
We meet weekly for 80-minute virtual meetings.
Throughout the process written feedback on your work will be sent within 72 hours.
