Directing

DIRECTING

The Spring 2027 Professional Program in Directing provides an overview of the art and craft of Directing in the current film and television industries. 

This graduate-level competitive admission program is taught in small seminar-style lectures by credentialed industry guest speakers who provide current insights, demonstrations, and question and answer opportunities.  

Over the course of 38 sessions, students learn the tools needed to navigate the studios, the independent entities, and the television platforms through development, preproduction, production and postproduction, highlighted by case studies with special guest directors.

Upon successful completion of the program, students receive a certificate from the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television.

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APPLICATION DEADLINES

 

International Students: January 15, 2027

US Students: March 1, 2027

Start Date: March 29, 2027

Tuition: $6750

This program is only offered in the SPRING quarter each year. It is not offered in the summer, fall, or winter.

Classes

COURSE INFORMATION
Start Date: March 29, 2027
Days: Monday – Thursday
Time: 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Pacific Time
Duration: 10 weeks
End Date: June 7, 2027
Location: Weeks 1 through 7 will take place on zoom. For weeks 8, 9 and 10, students will be required to attend on campus.

The program meets for 38 weeknights over a ten-week period. Over 30 different guest lecturers cover their topic of expertise.

WEEKS 1-7 (online)

WEEK ONE -- Envisioning Your Career, and Working Creatively With a Producer * Articulation of Narrative POV * Story Structure for Film and Television * Feature Case Study

WEEK TWO -- Development, Sales and Production for Film and TV * The Director and the Budget * The Call Sheet—A Breakdown of the Crew from Creative to Crafty * Get Your Movie Made with Pitch Decks, Look Books and Trailers

WEEK THREE -- The Production Designer * The Director of Photography * Previs for Directors: Planning for the Shoot * Indie Case Study

WEEK FOUR -- Working with the First AD * Hostile Filming Environments, Dramatizations and True Crime * Intimacy Coordination * From Script to Financing Your Narrative Independent Film

WEEK FIVE -- Agents, Managers, & Lawyers – What Representation Does * The Horrors of Directing a Low Budget Horror Film * The Commercial Director * AI and the Director

WEEK SIX -- Costume Is Character * Scoring for Film and Television * What Editing Is—The Creative Aspects * Working with an Editor up to Turning it Over to the Sound team

WEEK SEVEN -- The Stunt Coordinator * The Table Read * Demystifying Visual Effects—How to effectively use VFX to tell your story * Guest Directing on an Episodic Drama Series

Weeks 8-10 (on campus)

WEEK EIGHT -- Designing the shot (Static Scene) * Designing the shot (Fluid Scene) * Shot Listing and Pivoting: A Crash Course in TV Directing * Shooting the One Hour Drama

WEEK NINE --Directing a Horror Scene—Blood Will Always Go Wrong * In the Volume: Directing Motion Capture * The Casting Session * Acting for Directors

WEEK TEN -- Working with a Stunt Coordinator * Shooting * the Last Minute Script * Directing Actors * Certificate Ceremony

Click on the Faculty link above for more information. Please note that this is a tentative schedule. Our instructors are working professionals. Due to the nature of the industry, this schedule, and these topics, are subject to adjustment at any time before or during the program.

APPLY ONLINE

Applications for the SPRING 2027 program are now available.

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Contact

102 E. Melnitz Hall, Box 951622
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1622
310.825.6124
professionalprograms@tft.ucla.edu