# UCLA MFA Production/Directing 2022 - A Warning



## Bruin1919

Hello incoming MFA Production/Directing 2022

I am a recently graduated MFA production/directing student at UCLA TFT. Our school probably hasn’t given you much info since you got accepted. I come with a simple warning. DONT COME. It is not worth it.

UCLA is not what you expect. Scandal after scandal has rendered this place into a shell of what it once was. Most of the professors have left. A lot of the staff has left. You will come here, you will get into debt, you will learn things you can learn on YouTube. Then you will leave, and no one will remember you.

Look at the rankings, UCLA’s has been free falling for some time now.

You may wonder why you have not been told what the curriculum is in detail. You know the school stopped admitting students for a year. That is because of a change in curriculum that will come into effect when y’all come in. And let me tell you, you won’t make many films. I hope you enjoy making “experimental films” your first year. You are going to be learning mainly theory and you will not get much set experience your first year. Your second year you are expected to make an “advanced film” though you won’t have the practical experience to do so. And good luck with your thesis film after that.

The person that led the charge to change the curriculum resigned last quarter. That is a RED FLAG. The man in charge of your program is never around but you can see him on zoom sometimes enjoying his lifestyle outside of the city of LA either in some other state or some other country (the man in question was *ALLEGEDLY* notorious for his drug filled parties that he invited students to in the past. He was almost fired some time ago, and now he’s in charge of production…), but good luck getting a reply to your emails. You may receive three separate documents telling you different graduation requirements, good luck getting clarification on which one is correct.

The moment you step foot at TFT you will notice everyone is miserable. The professors have their own projects they care about and see teaching as a way to pay bills. There is no mentorship, no guidance, and most importantly no money. You may think paying tuition and endless fees entitles you to get everything you need to make a film. No. Many students go into debt (yes, debt in addition to student loans) to make their films. But that’s ok according to the school because you “own” your film.

You may meet a professor or two that is kind and supportive, but that is not the rule, that is the exception.

The school is undeniably racist as well, with professors being majority white. And they do love to pick favorites, so it may not be so bad if you are an incoming white student. Good luck finding an African American professor in the department. I heard they had a Latinx cinematography professor recently, so there’s that.

The last class to come before you (the COVID class) was forced to pay full tuition for ZOOM classes. They received no discount or compensation and were still forced to pay the fees for equipment they didn’t even touch. They also weren’t allowed to defer admission while COVID settled, they were told they had to go through the process again. So many didn’t take the risk. As someone from a year above. I feel sorry for them. But it’s not too late for y’all.

The DEBT. The number gets bigger and bigger as the quarters go by. Does TFT do anything to prepare their Production/Directing students for industry? Is there a placement program or guidance beyond generic advice you can find on the internet? Not at all. The time to pay that debt will come, does UCLA care if your education got you to a point that you can pay it? Nope. 

A depressing truth is that most students don’t end up becoming directors after they graduate. A lot of them go for assistant jobs or whatever little work they can get to pay their bills while they “work on personal projects”. Many never work in the industry at all.

I was like you once, excited to join the historic institution that is UCLA film. But all the greats that the school produced are product of another time. There is no real alumni network beyond the odd former student you meet here and there. TFT no longer wants to shape the next great filmmaker, they want to take your money and get you out as soon as they can.

When was the last time you saw a UCLA student film at a major festival? Look this up! The answer may depress you.

Save yourself the money and invest it into your film. Write as often as you can and perfect your craft. This is what will get you into the industry, not the +$100,000 you will pay the school to make you feel special. UCLA Film School is NOT your only option. It’s not even a good option.

I’m scared to write this even anonymously as I genuinely believe the school would retaliate and try to blacklist me from the industry. But you guys need to know. Don’t take my word for it. Reach out to current students!! Why do you think you all haven’t been introduced or connected to many  (if any) current students? Ask questions. Learn the truth. 

Run away and never look back, you won’t miss much. Good luck!


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## Browncapital

Wow! That's actually scary. So a lot of students don't leave with a portfolio? Are the writing classes at least decent?


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## WileyBurp

Oh geez. This is hard to read right now. I just started the program and have officially paid for the first quarter, but I am having doubts already. I didn't realize that the whole program was skewing so experimental when I decided to attend. I knew that they were revamping their curriculum to lean more in that direction, but I assumed that it was also going to have regular film school training. My required classes right now are experimental introductory courses, and they conflict with screenwriting and animation classes, so there's not even an option to take any of those until next year, which is one of the main reasons I decided to attend. I feel like I made a mistake choosing between programs and I don't think I'd be able to get into those programs again after turning them down.


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## Chris W

WileyBurp said:


> My required classes right now are experimental introductory courses


Wait the REQUIRED classes are experimental? I was always taught that you have to learn to do it the "correct way" and the standard way before you can learn how to "break the rules".

That seems.... Odd. 



WileyBurp said:


> I don't think I'd be able to get into those programs again after turning them down.


I don't believe that to be true.


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## WileyBurp

Chris W said:


> Wait the REQUIRED classes are experimental? I was always taught that you have to learn to do it the "correct way" and the standard way before you can learn how to "break the rules".
> 
> That seems.... Odd.
> 
> 
> I don't believe that to be true.


Yeah, I think we still learn the equipment and software, but our two main production courses are: "Tools and Techniques: Experimental" and "Modes of Making: Experimental". To be fair, classes start today, but we had orientation and finally got our courses solidified this week and after reading this post I’m a little worried.


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## Chris W

WileyBurp said:


> "Tools and Techniques: Experimental" and "Modes of Making: Experimental".


That is completely baffling that those are the FIRST classes you are taking.

IMO it should be standard filmmaking and then experimental as electives. UCLA is now marketing themselves as an experimental film program? That's news to me. This wasn't what was advertised when you applied?

We will definitely have to rework our rankings.


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## WileyBurp

Chris W said:


> That is completely baffling that those are the FIRST classes you are taking.
> 
> IMO it should be standard filmmaking and then experimental as electives. UCLA is now marketing themselves as an experimental film program? That's news to me. This wasn't what was advertised when you applied?
> 
> We will definitely have to rework our rankings.


I think they've just changed so much in the past couple of years. It wasn't advertised, but they did tell me when I asked about the program in the interview that they were reworking their curriculum and told me they were looking for students who wanted to push boundaries, experiment and think critically, but to me that doesn't necessarily mean that you won't be learning the basics or that you won't be taught story structure, etc. I decided to take a chance thinking I understood (I assumed it would be more like CalArts). Again, I think I'm freaking out some right now because we finally have our schedule, and today is my first day of classes, and then I saw this post, so maybe someone else has a different perspective. The Screenwriting and Animation programs seem good.


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## Chris W

WileyBurp said:


> Again, I think I'm freaking out some right now because we finally have our schedule, and today is my first day of classes, so maybe someone else has a different perspective.


I would see how it goes and bring up your concerns to the school. Please let us know how the first classes go. 

I'd see how the program actually is for a while before freaking out as you've paid for a quarter and might as well see how it is.

Maybe it's better than what the OP says. I wish you the best on your first day of classes!


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## Chris W

@Alexa P. and I have been trying to get an interview with UCLA admissions so they can explain their new program here for prospective students for our Admissions Department interview section but we haven't had much success yet. 

Hopefully we can speak to them soon so we can clear any misunderstandings up. 🤞

That would be helpful to alot of people.


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## Chris W

WileyBurp said:


> I think they've just changed so much in the past couple of years. It wasn't advertised, but they did tell me when I asked about the program in the interview that they were reworking their curriculum and told me they were looking for students who wanted to push boundaries, experiment and think critically, but to me that doesn't necessarily mean that you won't be learning the basics or that you won't be taught story structure, etc. I decided to take a chance thinking I understood (I assumed it would be more like CalArts). Again, I think I'm freaking out some right now because we finally have our schedule, and today is my first day of classes, and then I saw this post, so maybe someone else has a different perspective. The Screenwriting and Animation programs seem good.


How have your classes been?


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## WileyBurp

Chris W said:


> How have your classes been?


My classes have been going really well and what they are teaching are very technical and tangible skills. I think the wording of the classes and the lack of information at the beginning was confusing and I believe a lot of the restructuring of the curriculum was to remedy the issues that previous students were having in regards to feeling unprepared for larger projects. We have a class dedicated to sound recording and mixing, one for cinematography, one for learning avid, and one for composting or learning different software you're interested in for post-production work (if you want to explore Blender, animating in AfterEffects, or just general compositing both for experimental work or to fix an issue in your film.) I believe when we get into doing longer projects we will be able to work on the same project(s) in each class. We also have a really great screening class/seminar where we watch and discuss films, their meaning, cultural context, etc. It's not all doom and gloom!


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## Livingblue

WileyBurp said:


> My classes have been going really well and what they are teaching are very technical and tangible skills. I think the wording of the classes and the lack of information at the beginning was confusing and I believe a lot of the restructuring of the curriculum was to remedy the issues that previous students were having in regards to feeling unprepared for larger projects. We have a class dedicated to sound recording and mixing, one for cinematography, one for learning avid, and one for composting or learning different software you're interested in for post-production work (if you want to explore Blender, animating in AfterEffects, or just general compositing both for experimental work or to fix an issue in your film.) I believe when we get into doing longer projects we will be able to work on the same project(s) in each class. We also have a really great screening class/seminar where we watch and discuss films, their meaning, cultural context, etc. It's not all doom and gloom!


Is this for the MFA directing program?


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