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Assistant Managing Editor EAST LONGMEADOW Victoria Aveyard plans on joining an esteemed group which includes the likes of Academy Award winners George Lucas, Forest Whitaker and Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Will Ferrell: alumni of the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts (USC). The East Longmeadow senior was one of 25 to be accepted into the film school's renowned Division of Writing for Screen and Television program. In the fall she will head to the hub of entertainment to learn the ins and outs of writing for TV and the big screen. The humble teen went through a rigorous set of requirements in order to be considered. Students aren't just considered based on passion and drive and an impressive high school academic career. Talent and skill are major components in being selected. Applicants are required to submit a one- to two-page autobiographical character sketch; an emotional moment essay conveying in writing the most intensely emotional moment positive or negative they have ever experienced; a two part creative challenge one is to write a scene between two very different kinds of people who get stuck in an elevator on New Year's Eve, and the other is writing a scene between two people (e.g., a parent and child) who live together. The first character strongly desires to go out; the second desperately wants the first to stay home. The applicant has to emphasize visual elements as well as dialogue; include two samples of creative writing; a portfolio list of all available creative material and experience with a concise description of each item listed; and three letters of recommendation. Aveyard seems almost groomed for the school that prides itself on exploring and expanding the power and potential of film, television and new media. The daughter of an English teacher and a Dean of Students, she said she applied to tons of film schools because getting into USC is such a long shot. "I always wanted to write and I never thought I could do it as a job," Aveyard told Reminder Publications. "I really heard about USC because I was watching this thing on [TV about] George Lucas and how he went to USC." Aveyard and her family went to visit the school last summer and she fell in love with the campus. She also gained useful know-how from her time in the East Longmeadow school district. "I was in an AP English class so that helped with the basic essays," she said, adding that she also participated in Spartan Variety shows at the high school. For one of her two-part submissions required at USC, for which she gained admission, Aveyard wrote the elevator scene about two sibling gladiators that have two fight each other to the death. The opponents get stuck in the elevator on their way up to the fight. It is the process of creating original content and transitioning it to the screen that seems to excite Aveyard. "I think that with film, it's like what novels were 100 years ago. It combines the visual and the sensual at the same time. It's kind of like a book but taking it to the next level," she shared. As for what she can do with a degree from USC underneath her belt, Aveyard feels like the sky is the limit. "I would love to write films. The thing is with TV there is so much things you can do. It's really just a lot of open doors right now," she said. Her idol, Lucas, might agree. In 2006 the filmmaker made a $175 million donation to the university through his Lucasfilm Foundation. At a ceremony on the University Park Campus that October, Lucas was quoted as saying, "I discovered my passion for film and making movies when I was a student at USC in the 1960s, and my experiences there shaped the rest of my career." Aveyard is hoping that it will do the same for her. | ||||||
