Unzipped | Film School Application (ACCEPTED)

Written, Directed, Produced, Filmed, and Edited by Jenna Miller
(please play at 1080p)
Application film for Film & Television Production:
Chapman (edited down version)- ACCEPTED
LMU (edited down version)- ACCEPTED
Emerson- ACCEPTED
Boston University- ACCEPTED
USC- ACCEPTED
NYU- Waitlisted

[@user-pj5yc5rs8k]

As a junior in high school about to apply to film school myself, I've watched hundreds of short film applications. But by far, your film has stood out the most. I was wondering, how did you manage to edit this down to two minutes while still retaining the essential aspects of the story? That must have been quite hard!

[@jennapmiller]

Hey there! It was super difficult to decide what to cut. I enlisted the help of friends, family, and advisors and asked what they found most essential to the story. In the final 2 minute version, I cut the magazine manufacturing and bathroom bits of the montage- just focusing on the main character's passion and production of the dress, and of course their final decision.

[@BookApocalypse]

Holy- this is brilliant! It is really hard to make a type of "Slice of life" with this much meaning put into it, this is great! You definitely deserved to be accepted into the film school!

[@kitcatfootisreal]

Beautiful piece, and the story actually has something to say! also the Pepto-Bismol gag gets a giggle out of me every time.

[@lukegarcia867]

As someone revisiting application films from my year applying, I want to congratulate you on an excellent film. You develop the reveal so naturally and authentically while giving the audience time to understand the character's personality through their actions and their traits. You did such a great job on this, wishing you the best of luck at school!

[@earnieboy54]

From the introduction of the character to the final moment this film has it all. Truly inspired.

[@TheAverycross]

I truly love this film! Thank you so much for sharing your talent and vision with your story. And a belated congratulations to you as well. Well deserved. Having watched this story unfold into something beautiful and more meaningful, I gathered that it's about self-acceptance and courage to follow your dreams/passions, *disguised* or not.

[@dianaelenaneagoie8508]

i absolutely love this short film. Also, that house is one of the nicest houses I haver seen ahahhaha

[@Kenanigans_Cafe]

Absolutely beautiful! You're passion for the craft and the message really shines through in every scene. I cannot wait to see where you go next!

[@mazuikii9092]

This was so good I’m so proud of the work you’ve done! Keep it up!! ❤❤

[@nadjakallisfilms4858]

Congrats! You really deserve to be accepted! I've watched a bunch of application short films and yours is definitely one of the most beautiful ones. Said a lot in very little time, impressive! I'll study screenplay writing in Germany but I do still somewhat struggle with shorts. Maybe I can get some tips/inspirations from your work 😄 Have fun studying! Which school did you choose?

[@jennapmiller]

Thank you! USC :)

[@nadjakallisfilms4858]

@@jennapmiller Yeeaah that's amazing, enjoy

[@JulianFoley]

Beautiful. Epic. Touching.

[@andreabruson5558]

Beautiful cinematography and a very good directing. Also the writing is high quality, straight to the point and very clear in picturing the subtext with a single scene: the sport's magazine cover on top of the other! Great job from this guys, congrats! 👏

[@fatmanur2508]

That was an amazing short film, good job 👍👏🤗

[@anshulmohan8965]

This is such an effective film... Everything that needs to be said under 3mins and 45 sec.. Hats off!!

[@marctorres3348]

Powerful! Love it!!

[@HannaPiccio]

i loooooove the film! It amazed me just how much plot and meaning you can inject under 4mins! also, that house is awesome!!

[@cheesi4632]

This is incredible! The directing and storytelling was great, and the thing that stood out to me right away was the coloring. In such a short amount of time, there was so much said. Great job. I'm a junior in high school, and I want to go to film school. I believe I can do everything that is needed for a good short film, just like this one. But the one thing that holds me back is ideas. How do you get past the writers block (in my case, just an idea block) and come up with good short stories? It's something I've always struggled with, and it's holding me back greatly. Another question: what aspects of a college show that it is a good film school? I've been looking at colleges for the past year, and some seem better than others, but I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking for. As of now, the ones at the top of my list are the ones with more (and better) internships. Thanks for reading, looking forward to your insight

[@jennapmiller]

Hey! Thanks for the kind words :) Honestly, coming up with ideas is my main struggle as well. My goal is to be behind the camera, so writing is really tough for me. For this one, I looked around at what I was seeing at school and at discourse online about the relation of expression vs identity, and wrote something that would showcase my cinematography while attempting to create some social impact. To answer your second question, it’s a little different for everybody. For me, I chose SCA because of its alumni network, internship opportunities, experienced industry professors, and to be surrounded by passionate peers. However, I also knew I wanted a big, spirited school that would also challenge me academically. There are a ton of great film schools and they all have different curriculums and policies (ex: gear, set opportunities, rights to your work, theses), find the one that aligns most to your goals.

[@cheesi4632]

@@jennapmiller Thank you for your response!! Much appreciated. I too want to just be behind the camera, and writing is definitely not my strong suit. Hope everything is going well!

[@dyar6759]

You really showed what an insightful storyteller you are. Well edited, the cinematography was vivid and it really served the narrative well. And i feel like this resonates with so many different people on such a universal level in the sense that we all hide certain things about ourselves because of fear/stigma and it can cause those feelings of isolation and keeping to yourself to exacerbate and hurt you in ways you are unaware of, thats why it’s important to be open. But yeah, idk if i completely missed the point😂but great film, well done👍

[@TheRandomGuyTheFarNoGameCat]

Perfect. Genuinely perfect.

[@jackvinsonmusic6785]

Love it! Give me a holler if you need music for upcoming projects!

[@singsonggirl9267]

Wonderfully told!

[@AnqiGeng]

Wow this is awesome! Just got started but hoping I can achieve this quality of work in the future!

[@dawnsalois]

short but sweet thanks for posting

[@emmanuelphillips1740]

This was really amazing

[@GizmoCode]

Beautiful.

[@ToniReviews]

Brilliant!

[@side3ffect.]

wow this is really good!

[@saahithie]

beautiful!

[@TheAhmadShow717]

Beautiful ❤

[@kaptinkanoodle5039]

They had us in the first half, not gonna lie

[@GurkenJesus]

fantastic work👍👍

[@sofiakikimiranda]

chills.

[@dax_5486]

The scene where he reads Vogue at night under the sheets with a torch reminds me of Stanley Tucci in the Devil wears Prada.

[@DNAPIXELATED]

this is amazing

[@judeinfante8909]

Beautiful

[@carelican]

this is beautiful omg

[@javierreyna5321]

Did you mean the dress?

[@althafgrady1]

this is great

[@pglazzari1]

Great job on the lighting composition, sound and editing. I see you used a7iii, what lens did you use for the whole short? How long have you used DaVinci resolve? I know lighting is key.

[@jennapmiller]

Thank you! I alternated between the Samyang 35mm 1.8 and the Tamron 28-75 2.8. This was the first thing I had edited in Davinci, but I've now been using it ever since!

[@pglazzari1]

@@jennapmiller Thanks Jenna, Have you thought of sharing your workflow in Davinci Resolve. I'm unsure of the colour choices you made in Davinci but it's close to Arri. Do you use LUTs, Parade or Waveform.

[@jennapmiller]

@@pglazzari1 Hey! For this one I tried out some of Danny Gevirtz's LUTs to start with, but usually I just pull the shadows towards teal and highlights slightly orange and then mess with the curves. I make sure to look at the scopes while grading, mostly the vectorscope, waveform, and parade.

[@pglazzari1]

@@jennapmiller Thank you for all your experience and helpful feedback. Danny G is super awesome.

[@Ms.fortune_cookie]

Also I really want to know if the family accepts him or not

[@iliastimes]

Great job

[@theshuriken]

congrats! what camera and color grading did you use? the look like a well made holywood drama

[@jennapmiller]

Thank you! I used my Sony a7iii and it was colored in Davinci Resolve.

[@umcaraqualquer3640]

Good job!

[@Ms.fortune_cookie]

WOW very underrated

[@ijustdocomments6777]

Man I LIKE that bathroom.

[@uncomfortableshirt3870]

This good

[@JJMcgechan]

I got refused when I didn’t include dialogue. The guide said it was easy. Must be different in the UK

[@SpeedRacerXM5]

Had he made it for his sister it would have been cool!!!

[@michaeldecoufle3674]

What camera and what editing program did you use?

[@jennapmiller]

Sony A7iii & Davinci Resolve!

[@cursedbeans5560]

Heyyy davinci resolveeee!

[@NevTheDeranged]

Nice, but I don't really understand why the mc had to leave the magazine in the downstairs bathroom? Seemed inconvenient.

[@teddydigno4620]

How did you light the supermarket??

[@jennapmiller]

Didn't! Just used the practical supermarket fluorescents. I brought in a couple of small LED panels to supplement some close-ups but honestly I don't think they did much.

[@calla4621]

Hey, Is this for Undergraduate or Graduate Degree? :)

[@ItsBriezzy]

As a trans woman with my bachelors in film almost in the can and hoping to get my MFA one day this really put a smile on my face. Nice lighting, composition, and visual story telling. Well done :)

[@noitesdevento]

WOW

[@MrWadeBarrett]

He owned a sewing machine, i think its safe to say his parents knew...

[@ljj8120]

It was his mom's machine, or grandmother's, in the storeroom.

[@pcpereiraf]

[SPOILER ALERT] Great movie, very meaningful. I loved the moment when he opens the door, showing that "he is out".

[@trashbear_24]

🥹 inspired

[@seiyinwong]

it does not looks like the the cinematography is done by a single guys, if you been to the real set that you know such light and camera movement took more than a dozen guy, and in the credit it does not even mention the sound department, who did the folly? who did sound effects? who did digestic sound? dude, i just thought you must got a really good help from money power, but, you got your film made.

[@jennapmiller]

hey! you’re right, it wasn’t all done by a single guy, it was done by a single girl :)

[@phickert]

Perfect reply Jenna!!!!

[@LucidDreamer54321]

I like the way you made fake awards for the video icon picture.

[@CaesarMarcusAurelius]

What is the message?

[@abk5294]

Become a eunuch

[@CaesarMarcusAurelius]

@@abk5294 fr

[@leviefrauim1425]

Yeah, you're gonna fit right in w/the rest of the Hollyweirdos if this is the topic material you want to cover.

[@Sl20]

Now your mom should be worried!!!but a great short, great shoots ,lighting ,total cinematography awesome!!! 🔴🤫🫢

[@AspieGirlArianaHale]

I absolutely love this! Everyone deserves to feel comfortable in their own skin, with their own choice of identity. The main character in this story is SO brave & I hope he/she/they were accepted with love. 🥰💖🏳️‍🌈🙌

[@TatiKarpa]

C r a p

[@piettutor4405]

is this how you get into film school now, I suppose. sad reflection on the arts

[@dogsrule2075]

sadder reflection on you.

[@bcrater6400]

nah, not buying it.

[@Jesuslovesyou0316]

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 ‭‭

[@valerie241]

Yawn.

[@michaelsmith2733]

weird.

[@jsmooth2057]

Smh 😟

[@santi3753]

Go woke go broke

[@BookApocalypse]

they got accepted tho

[@legoguy4314]

​@@nikhilnewse3318went to check out your channel. Is your own quality output due to you attending or not attending film school?

[@rachelcritchley805]

Or just grow up and enjoy stories.

[@jessicawinslet684]

this is terrible, omg what school is it? so I avoid it

[@samaamer1932]

God never makes a mistake This means that God created you as a man, and you do not have to change what you are, and whoever does that is sick

[@diaryofagirlnamedhanna]

indeed, God never makes a mistake. So who are we to tell people that what they're feeling and how they identify themselves is a mistake? how do we know that it is not God's will? the act of pushing our beliefs and our interpretation of God's word to people seems like we're playing God. It is wrong and we have no right to judge or dictate how people live their lives especially if they're not affecting anyone else's. We are all sinners here. Just my two cents.

[@samaamer1932]

@@diaryofagirlnamedhanna"A woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man put on a woman’s cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God" Deuteronomy 22:5 These are not my words but, These are God's so, God created people as male and female and the process of rejecting your natural gender is considered a process of rebellion On the Creator.

[@samaamer1932]

​@@diaryofagirlnamedhanna "So live the rest of your earthly life no longer concerned with human desires but consumed with what brings pleasure to God" 1 Peter 4:2 so yeah, there is a mental illness called gender dysphoria, but the solutions lie in asking God and looking for psychotherapy to deal with it, not adopting it as a normal thing, putting the solution in a mere physiological change. And we are all sinners, but the best of sinners are those who repent often.

[@samaamer1932]

@@diaryofagirlnamedhanna And I think you like books so I recommend you read secure daughters, confident sons: how parents guide their children into authentic masculinity & femininity

[@sillygoofymovies]

Keep your God to yourself.

[@Asasak]

🤮🤮🤮🤮