Track 1: Creative Producing

The Creative Producing track lets college students study the role of the creative producer or executive while participating in entertainment industry internships. In class, students study the history of the Hollywood studio system and gain a critical perspective of the contemporary industry. In their internships, students apply those skills “on the ground” and build important relationships with industry professionals. In this way, the Creative Producing track is the perfect combination of theory and practice and contributes to a well-rounded liberal arts education that will benefit a wide range of majors from the humanities.

 

Curriculum

This program carries 11 quarter units of UC credit. Students in this track are enrolled in the following classes:

• FTV 104 Film and Television Symposium (1)
  
In this weekly seminar prominent guests from the industry share their experiences and answer student questions about their career and working in Hollywood today.
• FTV 183A Introduction to Producing (4)
  
This foundation course offers the basics in film and TV development, production and financing, and discusses current trends and issues in the contemporary entertainment industry.
• FTV 182: Power, Identity, and Justice in the Film Industry (4)
  
With movements like #MeToo, #OscarsSoWhite, and Black Lives Matter, in recent years we’ve seen American media industries increasingly pressured to respond to longstanding calls for more diverse representations and employment for groups long underserved by mainstream film and television based. Paying attention to questions of race, gender, sexuality, and ability, in this course we’ll look at how politics, economics, labor, and identity intersect to determine who is able to participate, what representations are produced, and how industry cultures are, or aren’t, changing.
• FTV 195 Professional Internship (2)
Fieldwork. Students pursue a corporate internship in supervised setting in a business related to film and television industries.

 

Internships

Creative Producing students pursue internships in entertainment companies during the day. Once students are enrolled in the Creative Producing Summer Institute, they will receive an introductory email from the Summer Institute Internship Coordinator. The coordinator will work closely with each student, helping them to prepare their cover letter, resume, and interview techniques as well as guide them in the internship search process. While our coordinator may have leads for certain internship opportunities, the onus is ultimately on the student to secure an internship. Students may instead complete a research paper to fulfill the curriculum. Internships are six weeks, for the duration of the program.

In the past, Summer Institute students have interned at companies such as NBCUniversal, United Talent Agency (UTA), MGM, Sony Pictures Studios, Mandalay Entertainment, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Wonderland Sound & Vision (Lethal Weapon TV Series, Supernatural), Comedy Central, Chernin Entertainment (Hidden Figures), DeLine Pictures (Ready Player One) and many others. Students are responsible for applying for their internships, and our internship coordinator advises and assists students throughout the process. However, because summer is a very competitive season for internships, early registration is required to ensure sufficient lead-time for the application process.

 

Symposium

In the exclusive Summer Institute Symposium, students from all tracks meet and listen to some of Hollywood’s most accomplished professionals. High-wattage guests have included Eric Heisserer (writer, Arrival); Steven Canals (creator and EP of Pose on FX); Jeff King (Executive Producer of The Umbrella Academy on Netflix); Agents from CAA, ICM, Paradigm, and UTA; Simon Kinberg (Writer/Producer, Deadpool, X-Men: Apocalypse, The Martian); Zak Penn (Writer, Ready Player One);  and many others.

Guest speakers will also visit the FTV 183A classroom, Past guests have included executives, coordinators, and more from companies like Sony, Paramount and Paramount TV, ABC Studios, and Netflix; agents and managers from top companies, and the professionals behind such shows as Modern Family, Marvel’s The Runaways, and more.

 

Hollywood & the Industry

As part of the Summer Institute, students tour a major Hollywood movie studio. A networking mixer for students and alumni takes place on the last night of the program and the film projects from the film production and animation tracks are shown.

Students will also participate in a Professional Development workshop on Pitching and the Industry.

In the Professional Development Workshop Pitching and the Industry, students will get the inside scoop from a seasoned industry professional on how projects are pitched and sold in Hollywood.

 

Admission

Admission to the program is by instructor consent only. At registration, applicants will be prompted brief essay questions that will determine their suitability for each track. As space is limited, early registration is highly recommended. This track is open to current undergraduate students only enrolled in a U.S. college or university (rising junior or senior in Fall 2023). Due to visa restrictions, international students are not eligible.

For students holding completed bachelor's degrees, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television offers a 10-week Professional Program in Producing.

 

Schedule

View the program layout for

Creative Producing - Session A (on-campus) (June 25 - August 4, 2023).
Creative Producing - Session C (virtual) (August 7 - September 15, 2023)

NOTE: All course meeting times are in Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). The program schedule is subject to change.

 

Registration

Registration opens February 15, 2023. Please check back for more updates or visit the Summer Sessions website for more information.

 

Housing

Housing is available in the UCLA Residence Halls. To apply for summer accommodations, once accepted into the program, please select from the following housing options and rates and submit an application directly to UCLA Housing. It is highly recommended that you apply for housing early, as applications are approved on a first-come-first served basis.

 

Grades and Transcripts

Program participants will earn units of credit on a letter-grading basis and will be recorded on an official University of California transcript. Please note that official transcripts are not automatically sent to students. To request a transcript, please contact the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

 

Financial Aid

Financial aid for Summer Sessions is available for qualified UC students. UCLA students can find more details about the UCLA financial aid application process by visiting the Financial Aid section of summer.ucla.edu. UC and visiting (non-UC) students should inquire about financial aid at their home institution.

 

Student Quotes

“The UCLA (Film and Television) Summer Institute has given me the confidence and invaluable knowledge to successfully navigate the entertainment industry. Because of their outstanding curriculum, I have successfully worked for major studios in the industry and will be joining the writing team for an upcoming Netflix series.”
-Joshua, Creative Producing Student 2017

 

“It was nice to be in a small class with people with similar interests but different backgrounds. I loved being able to hear about different jobs in the industry from different people. The instructors were great and very knowledgeable, and I feel that I learned a lot. The help and support to get an internship was amazing.”
- Creative Producing Student, 2020

 

“It's an incredibly helpful crash course in producing. You get lots of resources to help find your first internships as well as essential networking opportunities. The program may be fast paced, but if you love film and TV, it's worth it.”
- Creative Producing Student, 2020

 

Contact Us

UCLA Summer Institutes
1332 Murphy Hall
Box 951418
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1418
Tel: (310) 825-4101
Fax: (310) 825-1528
E-mail: info@summer.ucla.edu