Producers program gives students real-life training

Forget about dealing with Hollywood big-shots’ egos and
tantrums. Some of the entertainment industry’s finest are
taking time off from their day jobs to take center stage in front
of aspiring film and television students.

Often referred to as the best kept secret in town, the UCLA
Producers Program is a two-year Master of Fine Arts degree plan
offered by the School of Theater, Film and Television.

The program sets itself apart with the internationally
recognized professionals in the film and television fields that
compose the faculty. Approximately 90 percent of the courses are
taught by heads of studios, agencies and networks and by top
entertainment lawyers and major independent producers.

The fact that most of the faculty does not hold a Ph.D. in
education is not an obstacle in the classroom. Their hands-on
experience proves to be a major reason for the program’s
success. Denise Mann, one of the co-chairs of the program,
emphasizes the importance of connecting the academic and experience
aspects of becoming a filmmaker.

“This concept of using professionals to teach courses for
UCLA is the single most important aspect of our program. Bringing
in industry professionals to our classrooms who have 10, 20 and
sometimes 30 years of experience in the field represents cutting
edge information on industry practices,” Mann said.

The Producers Program encompasses a myriad of classes varying
from the nuts and bolts to the legal aspects involved in the
production of television and film. Courses range from “New
Technologies,” which studies how current technology can help
independent filmmakers, to “International Financing,”
which focuses on the legal logistics of dealing with independent
finance and the distribution of feature films.

An added bonus of the Producers Program is its ability to spread
awareness of genres less studied in general film and television
curriculums. Courses can get as specific as studying the making of
one-hour TV dramas and independent films.

Visiting assistant professor Eric Baum, who moonlights at Sony
Pictures Entertainment, teaches a legal course on entertainment
contracts.

“The contracts are a roadmap of the business issues in
filmmaking,” he said. “We demystify the language and
create a foundation in the business aspects. The class environment
feels real because we look at real stuff. The names have been
changed to protect the innocent, but the rest is still there to see
and study.”

Much of the success of the Producers Program involves the
awareness that learning to work in the film and television industry
is not done by the numbers. The process requires more than simply
memorizing and regurgitating theory; it necessitates
application.

Class time is not bound to the confines of a classroom.
Internships, residencies and creative course work, which includes
students pitching their own television and film projects to
companies, are all common activities in which students participate
outside of class.

“Students typically intern by day, take classes by night,
and develop projects with screenwriters and directors either at the
School of TFT (Theater, Film, Television and Digital Media) or
outside, in their every waking moment during the two years it takes
to earn an MFA in producing at UCLA,” Mann said.

UCLA’s unique position in the heart of the entertainment
industry allows for a project like the Producers Program to
flourish. Executives at major production companies are constantly
scouting for fresh talent on college campuses. The school’s
close proximity to so many resources for students makes it a vital
breeding ground for the future movers and shakers of Hollywood.

Many alumni are now working in top positions for major studios
or companies. Because of the essential building blocks they
acquired at UCLA, these alumni continue to help build the
reputation of the program.

“What industry professionals in town are slowly
discovering is that the alumni from our program are outshining
their predecessors in entry-level positions in the industry because
of their amazing training in the fine arts of development,
marketing and other complex aspects of the entertainment
industry,” Mann said.