Letters

Article overlooks key differences in film
schools Marcelle Richards’ story “Students struggle
to fund films despite donations“ (Daily Bruin, News, Jan.
30) excluded key information in its comparison of the costs of
undergraduate film production at UCLA and at USC. The chart
outlining production fees is misleading because it does not include
the annual fees students pay for each school. Yearly fees for
undergraduates at UCLA are $3,693 for California residents and
$14,304 for non-residents, while undergraduates at USC, residents
and non-residents alike, pay $23,664 each year. That’s an
astonishing $9,000 to $20,000 difference, which means that UCLA
student filmmakers will always be paying many thousands of dollars
less for their education than their counterparts at USC. There is a
second important difference between the two schools that was not
made clear in the article. At UCLA, any film student who chooses to
do so can write and direct his or her own film. At USC, not all
film students are allowed to do this. Students must compete for the
opportunity to make a film and a small number of student directors
are selected by the administration. A third important difference
between the two schools is in creative property rights. UCLA
students write, produce, direct, and edit their own films. Our
students own their films and retain all creative and intellectual
property rights. At USC, the school owns and controls all rights to
student films; the student has no control over exhibition or
distribution. The discussion of digital facilities offered at the
two schools was also unclear. We have provided digital editing
platforms for student post-production work since 1993, and
continually strive to upgrade our production resources in this
critical area. UCLA is consistently ranked among the top three film
programs in the country and is the only public university included
in this elite group. While learning filmmaking can be an expensive
undertaking, UCLA is clearly the best financial deal for film
students in the country.

John Caldwell, Chair UCLA Department of Film,
Television, and Digital Media