UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television

The UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television (TFT), is one of the twelve schools within UCLA. It is located in Los Angeles, USA, and is unique in that it combines all three (theater, film, and television) of these aspects into a single school. According to the Princeton Review/Gourman Report, the undergraduate programs in theater, film, and television are ranked first out of 500 nationally, while the graduate programs are usually found within the top 3, according to the US News and World Report. Among the school's resources are the Geffen Playhouse, and the UCLA Film and Television Archive, the largest university-based archive of its kind in the world. The Archive constitutes one of the largest collections of media materials in the United States - second only to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Its vaults hold more than 220,000 motion picture and television titles and 27 million feet of newsreel footage.

The School's total enrollment, in 2003, consisted of 310 students out of 3,688 applicants (8.4%). One of its most sought-after programs, the prestigious MFA program in Film Directing, admits only 18 students annually -- a 4.0% acceptance rate.

With 140 faculty members teaching 410 undergrads, and 390 grad students, the student to teacher ratio is about 6:1.

Department of Theater

The different areas of theater studies at UCLA's Department of Theater consist of:
*Acting
*Critical Studies
*Design
*Directing
*Musical Theater
*Playwriting
*Production Management / Technology

Undergraduate program

The undergraduate program requires an interview/audition process for all applicants. The program teaches the general studies of theater broadly, before allowing the student to choose a more specific area of study.

Graduate program

Offering a Master of Arts, Master of Fine Arts, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree, the graduate program requires an audition for all acting applicants, and a possible interview for the other applicants. Each applicant must apply for a specific area of study.

Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media

There are three distinct areas of courses offered in UCLA's Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media:
*Critical studies - the history, theory, and aesthetics of film and television
*Film and television production (study and field), digital, experimental, and animation
*Film and television craft-writing, film directing, television directing, photography, sound recording, and editing

Undergraduate program

A Bachelor of Arts in film and television degree can be sought after a student has completed two years of general college studies. This upper division program is another two years that involves the learning of the history and theory aspect of film and television, along with the basic learning of production.

The first year of the program is a general introduction to all areas of the study. The second year, each student must concentrate on one of the following aspects:

*Film production
*Television Production
*Narrative
*Documentary
*Screenwriting
*Animation
*Critical Studies

Students must all complete one internship during their senior year.

Graduate program

Offering a Master of Arts, Master of Fine Arts, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree, the graduate program offers two main areas of study. A Master of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy degree are available for critical studies. The Master of Fine Arts degree can be obtained with the choice of four specializations:

*Production/Directing (3 year program)
*Screenwriting (2 year program)
*Animation (3 year program)
*Producers Program (2 year program)

Producers Program focuses on the production and business side of Film, Television, and Digital Media.

Facilities

The School of Theater, Film and Television consists of a linked network of professional theaters, sound stages, and television studios. From theatrical spaces outfitted with state of the art intelligent lighting systems to animation studios equipped with the latest 3D computer graphics software, the School provides comprehensive and up to date facilities for instruction and production.

The Billy Wilder Theater at the Hammer Museum

The Billy Wilder Theater is situated on the Courtyard level of the Hammer Museum. Equipped with the highest standards of film and video projection and sound, the theater, which cost $7.5 million to complete, is one of the few in the country where audiences may watch the entire spectrum of moving images in their original formats: from the earliest silent films requiring variable speed projection to the most current digital cinema and video. Though built first of all as an ideal screening room for the moving image, the Billy Wilder Theater also provides an intimate and technically advanced showcase for events including artists’ lectures, literary readings, musical concerts, and public conversations.

Made possible by a $5 million gift from Audrey L. Wilder and designed by Michael Maltzan Architecture, the state-of-the-art, 295-seat Billy Wilder Theater is the new home of the Archive’s renowned cinematheque and of the Hammer’s engaging and provocative public programs. Located at the Hammer Museum in Westwood Village, the Billy Wilder Theater offers one of the most advanced, comfortable, and intimate cultural venues on the West Coast, where the Museum and the Archive are now beginning to present their exciting programs.

"Cultural Roundtable" at THE NEW LATC

In 2006, the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television joined a multicultural consortium of theatre organizations known as the "Cultural Roundtable," brought together to produce theatre works for a diverse audience that is the City of Los Angeles. Led by the Latino Theater Company, the "Cultural Roundtable" also includes Robey Theatre Company, Playwrights Arena, Cedar Grove OnStage, Culture Clash, American Indian Dance Theatre and UCLA School of Theater Film and Television.

Distinguished Alumni

*Allison Anders, MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" awardee
*Shane Black
*Lloyd Bridges
*Carol Burnett
*Charles Burnett, MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" awardee
*James Coburn, Academy Award winner
*Francis Ford Coppola, five-time Academy Award winner
*Alex Cox
*Dean Cundey
*Jonathan Dayton
*Jamaa Fanaka
*Valerie Faris
*Alex Gibney, Academy Award winner
*Dan Gordon
*Robert David Hall
*Catherine Hardwicke
*Mariska Hargitay, Golden Globe and Emmy winner
*Mark Harmon
*Kayo Hatta, Sundance Film Festival award winner
*James Horner, Academy Award winner
*Lew Hunter
*Gil Kenan, Academy Award nominee
*David Koepp
*Scott Kosar
*Justin Lin
*Jayne Mansfield, Golden Globe winner
*Ray Manzarek
*Frank Marshall
*Christel Miller
*Jim Morrison
*Victor Nuñez
*Lisa Onodera
*Michael Ovitz
*Alexander Payne, Academy Award winner
*Rob Reiner, two-time Emmy winner
*Nancy Richardson
*Tim Robbins, Academy Award winner
*Scott Rosenberg
*Eric Roth, Academy Award winner
*Pietro Scalia, two-time Academy Award winner
*Joel Schumacher
*Paul Schrader, Academy Award nominee
*Tom Shadyac
*Brad Silberling
*Tom Skerritt
*Penelope Spheeris
*George Takei
*Ham Tran
*Gore Verbinski
*David S. Ward, Academy Award winner
*Aron J. Warner, Academy Award winner
*Jaleel White
*Gregory Widen
*John Williams, five-time Academy Award winner
*Hoyt Yeatman

ee also

Sue-Ellen Case; Chair of Critical Studies in the Theatre Department

External links

* [http://www.tft.ucla.edu/ UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television]
* [http://www.tft.ucla.edu/producers/ Producers Program]
* [http://www.geffenplayhouse.com/ The Geffen Playhouse]