Sessions A & C - Choose 2 or 4 units of beginning screenwriting
C132 - 2 units - Learn the fundamental elements of effective storytelling for the screen. Lectures, readings, screenings and 2 short papers.
133 - 4 units - Follow the same lectures and readings as C132. Work with a TA from the UCLA MFA screenwriting program to develop a short treatment for your own original feature-length screenplay.
The writing credits of Professor Richard Walter's students include Sideways, Milk, Meet the Fockers, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and more.
Session A & C - Write your original screenplay - three courses - one act at a time!
These 8 unit workshop courses guide students through writing of a complete feature-length screenplay.
Work in small groups with an instructor who is an alumnus of the UCLA MFA screenwriting program. Students begin with the treatment they developed in 133 (formerly 130B). Write Act I (the first 30 pages) in Film TV 135A, Act II in 135B (Session A and Session C), and Act III in 135C. Film TV 133 and 135A-B-C is an ideal program to get your screenplay written.
Film TV 133 (formerly 130B) is a prerequisite for this course.
Session C - Music, dance & drama on the american stage
Follow the evolution of the American musical from its roots in British music halls, comic opera, Viennese operetta and African American jazz to the Broadway stage. Explore a popular art form with its own culture, traditions and identity.
Professor Gary Gardner is a nationally recognized teacher, historian, playwright and director. His past students include actor/director Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption), Susan Egan (Broadway’s Beauty and the Beast), Christopher Gorham (Ugly Betty), Nancy Cartwright (The Simpsons), Jack Black (School of Rock) and many more.
He is chair of the UCLA Ray Bolger Musical Theater Program.
Session A - The great american plays of the 20th century.
Survey of key works of American dramatic literature and landmarks of American theater history. Plays explore America at war and the promise of the American dream.
Professor Gary Gardner is a nationally recognized teacher, historian, playwright and director. His past students include actor/director Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption), Susan Egan (Broadway’s Beauty and the Beast), Christopher Gorham (Ugly Betty), Nancy Cartwright (The Simpsons), Jack Black (School of Rock) and many more.
He is chair of the UCLA Ray Bolger Musical Theater Program.
Sessions A & C - What makes movies & television happen?
This course, officially titled Overview of Contemporary Film Industry, is an institutional analysis of the American film and television industry.
Examine Hollywood's economic structures and business practices. Special emphasis on marketing and distribution systems, the history and operations of studios and networks and their relationships to independent producers, talent and agencies. Know as much as - or more - than the savviest Hollywood insider.
Professor Denise Mann is Vice Chair of the UCLA MFA Producers Program.
Session A - From script to budget: the creative producer
Learn how to prepare a real-world budget from a feature length screenplay. Emphasis is on the role of the producer and the creative organizational techniques employed in planning a film production.
Professor Myrl Schreibman teaches producing and directing at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. He has extensive credits as a producer and director for stage, film and television.
Sessions A & C - The blockbuster course is now online
An exploration of screen performance from an artistic, historical and cultural perspective. Examine the Stanislavski "method" and other techniques advanced by famed acting teachers such as Uta Hagen, Stanford Meisner and Stella Adler.
Experience this extraordinary class online, with video lectures featuring scenes from memorable film performances as presented by Professor Joe Olivieri, Vice Chair of the UCLA Bachelor of Arts in Acting.
120A, 120B and 120C can be taken in any order.
Sessions A & C - Legendary actors, legendary performances
Continue your study of acting and performance in film.
Examine challenges confronted by actors in ten film genres from the 1930s to the present. Streaming lectures and film clips illustrate skills required of performers in epic films, science fiction, musicals, comedies, action/adventure, Westerns, crime and gangster films, horror and suspense, war and anti-war films and dramas.
120A, 120B and 120C can be taken in any order.
Taught by Professor Joe Olivieri, Vice Chair of the UCLA Bachelor of Arts in Acting.
Sessions A & C - The Fundamentals of Moving Image Production and Aesthetics
Students acquire understanding of practical and aesthetic challenges undertaken by artists and professionals in making of motion pictures and television. Examination of film as both art and industry: storytelling, sound and visual design, casting and performance, editing, finance, advertising, and distribution. Exploration of American and world cinema from filmmaker's perspective. Honing of analytical skills and development of critical vocabulary for study of filmmaking as technical, artistic, and cultural phenomenon.
Professor Rory Kelly is an independent filmmaker who teaches at the UCLA Dept. of Film, Television & Digital Media.
Sessions A & C - Lights, cameras, pixels!
Film clips and videotaped on-site demonstrations by Professor Tom Denove highlight this exploration of the principles and practices of digital cinematography. Examine how tools and techniques affect the visual storytelling process.
Topics include formats, aspect ratios, cameras, lenses, special effects, internal-menu picture manipulation, lighting, composition, coverage, high definition, digital exhibition, multiple-camera shooting and more.
Professor Tom Denove is Vice Chair of the MFA Production/Directing program at UCLA/TFT.
Session A - So You Want To Make A Movie?
An overview of the development, production, and distribution of feature films for the worldwide theatrical market. Topics include identifying material, attaching elements, and understanding the basics of financing for both studio and independent feature films.
Professor Barbara Boyle is Chair of the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media. Her company, Sovereign Pictures, has financed and distributed 25 films internationally, including My Left Foot and Phenomenon.