William McDonald becomes chair of the Department of Film, Televion and Digital Media

Not many department chairs can say they were initially rejected for admission by their own future department, but William McDonald can. Then again, few can say they were later accepted into that school and were the first student in a graduate program created specifically for him. And McDonald can say that, too.

This week, McDonald will achieve yet another feat in the department that once rejected him by becoming the chair of the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media, taking over for Barbara Boyle, who stepped down from the position after nine years. Boyle said she is confident that McDonald will make an outstanding new chair.

“I would not leave after nine years of enormous effort … unless I thought (the department was) in the hands of someone who will take all the things we’ve started here and take (them) so much further, bringing so much of his own talent and creativity to the position (of chair),” Boyle said.

This appointment represents another step in a long career for McDonald, whose professional and academic life has been intertwined with UCLA for many years.

McDonald began his undergraduate career at UC Berkeley, where he made films using Super 8 film as a hobby. As he fell more in love with the pursuit of filmmaking, he said, he took a 40-minute film that he had made to one of his professors, who agreed to watch it. She not only liked it, she recommended he go to film school.

“I said, “˜Film what?'” McDonald said.

He decided to apply to the film major at UCLA as a transfer student but was denied admission. But McDonald said he received an offer to enroll in another major and took it, attending UCLA for a year as an economics student before re-applying to the film major. This time, he was accepted.

In his new major, McDonald met and studied under Frank Valert for three years, who then suggested that McDonald study cinematography at UCLA as a graduate student. Though there was no cinematography graduate program at UCLA at the time, Valert created the program with McDonald as the pilot student.

In 1986, McDonald became the first person to receive a degree in cinematography from UCLA. He then served as a part-time faculty member at UCLA for three years before leaving to pursue other professional and teaching endeavors.

In 1995, McDonald was invited back to UCLA to teach cinematography. He returned to the school and was tenured and appointed head of the cinematography graduate program at UCLA in 1998. Still, McDonald said it was crucial for him to maintain a balance working both professionally and in the classroom.

“Being a working professional allowed me to bring my experience into the classroom, (and) also being an instructor allowed me to be a bit more reflective and thoughtful about the work I did as a professional,” he said.

McDonald said he began working as a freelance cinematographer with his wife. Together, they made portrait films, which McDonald said are documentaries that attempt to visually capture the creative spirit of artists and writers. All the while, McDonald continued teaching and was appointed vice chair of undergraduate studies in the department.

Now, as the new chair of the department, McDonald said he is both honored and excited to tackle the challenges of the new position, which he said he is optimistic will present new opportunities for the department’s growth and evolution.

“There is no doubt that we have challenges, but I would say that one of the great things I’ve learned from our dean, Teri Schwartz, is a saying that she has: … “˜The gift is in the problem,'” McDonald said.

In addition to building on Boyle’s work, McDonald said he will continue to teach one class per quarter because he believes it is essential that he remain in the classroom.

“A cinematographer’s function is to shoot a movie. That means you are leading the entire crew in collaboration with the director, so my whole orientation and training as a professional is to be in the midst of the action,” he said.

Dylan Chapgier, a graduate student in cinematography who has taken classes taught by McDonald and served as a teaching assistant for the professor, said that McDonald’s presence in the classroom and his skills as a teacher are part of what makes him so fitting for his new position.

“He’s very organized; all his courses are very well-balanced and well-thought-out. He … takes his time making sure everyone understands each component of the course. He … has a lot of patience and … really cares for how you learn and what you’re learning,” Chapgier said.

McDonald said he hopes to satisfy the needs of both students and faculty as he works to build on the previous years’ achievements in the department.

“I’m looking forward to working with my faculty colleagues (and) my staff colleagues in engaging with the film, television and digital media industries and (their) ongoing evolution in new and exciting ways.”