An unparalleled opportunity to study filmmaking at one of the most prestigious film schools in the world

Students can choose between two sessions to participate in person at UCLA, experiencing all that our campus has to offer during their summer program.

For participants in the Film and Television Summer Institute – Digital Filmmaking, living in on-campus housing is mandatory. The total cost for housing, which includes room, board (two meals per day), student supervision, and evening and weekend activities, is an additional $1,521.

For more information on UCLA housing precollege programs, please see the Housing for Minors page.

Participants of the Film and Television Summer Institute – Digital Filmmaking will receive UCLA credit for the following course(s):

• Film and Television 72 – Production Practice in Film, Television, and Digital Media (3 Units)

This program offers a hands-­on overview of the production process, from conceptualization to post production. Through lectures, discussions, workshops and group projects, students will form a basic understanding of the aesthetic, creative, and logistical decisions involved in making a film. This includes story structure, the principles of cinematography, and editing. Letter grading.

Eligibility

To apply for the Film and Television Summer Institute – Digital Filmmaking, you must meet the following qualifications:

• Open to students enrolled in grades 10th – 12th in Spring 2022 and Spring 2022 High School Graduates

Students who do not meet the minimum program requirements should not apply and should consider other summer opportunities.

All students will be required to successfully complete a safety training course before the first day of the program to ensure safe practices while using film equipment and sound stages. Students will be provided ample time to complete this training before the start of the program, and more information will be sent to students once enrolled.

Admission

The program has application requirements for admission. Applicants who successfully submit all requirements will be reviewed and notified via email of an admission decision within 2-4 weeks. See Application Requirements below for more details. Early application is strongly encouraged as this is a highly applied to program.

To participate in the Film and Television Summer Institute – Digital Filmmaking, students must apply and receive acceptance into the program.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete the following:

• Responses to the following essay prompts:
  • Why you would like to participate in the program, and what you expect to gain from the experience. (200 words or less)
  • What prior experience, if any, do you have in digital filmmaking? Include both academic coursework and extracurricular activities. Previous experience in digital filmmaking is not a requirement. (200 words or less)
  • Filmmaking requires creative collaboration at every stage. What qualifications do you have that make you a good collaborator? (300 words or less)
• An unofficial transcript confirming a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
• One letter of recommendation from a high school instructor verifying your ability to successfully participate in a disciplined and rigorous program.
  • Please either upload the letter after submitting your registration form OR have recommender email the letter to info@summer.ucla.edu (PDF format with your 5-digit registration number included)

NOTE: Students should compose the statement of purpose before beginning the online registration process. There will be text fields on the online registration form of which the response text can be copied.

Applying for the Film and Television Summer Institute – Digital Filmmaking can be done conveniently online with the following steps:

1. Prepare all “Application Requirements” prior to starting the registration process.
2. Access the Summer Institute Online Registration Form starting February 15 at 8am Pacific Standard Time (PST). Read all terms and conditions, then scroll to the bottom and select “Yes, Continue to Registration.”
3. Provide responses to all required questions on both pages of the registration form and then “Submit”.
4. Once your form is submitted, you will be directed to the Retrieve Registration page. Select “File Uploads” to upload application materials (see Application Requirements above for more information).
5. Allow up to two weeks for the program instructor(s) to review your application after submission. An email will be sent to you with the official decision.
6. If accepted to the program, follow the steps in your acceptance email to make payment of the $350 non-refundable registration fee* to reserve your space in the program.

A space in the program is not reserved until a valid payment of the $350 non-refundable registration fee* is made. If you are not prepared to pay after submitting the registration form, you may retrieve your registration at another time to make payment; however, this risks losing a space in the program if it reaches capacity prior to payment being submitted. An email with instructions to retrieve registration with your five-digit registration number will be sent within an hour after submitting your registration.

*The registration fee is required for each program and is not refundable under any circumstances including, but not limited to, drop for non-payment and withdrawal, even if you withdraw from the program before it begins.

If the program is full, you will not be prompted to make payment. If the program offers a waitlist and your application is accepted from the waitlist, you will be notified by email with instructions for how to submit payment. Please note if the payment is not submitted within 24 hours of receiving the email, you will be moved to the end of the waitlist.

If registering after May 1, full payment of the program fee and non-refundable registration fee will be required to reserve your space in the program. Additional fees, such as the document fee and IEI fees, will be assessed after enrollment.

For questions and assistance, please contact us at info@summer.ucla.edu.

Please have the following supplies for your Summer Institute:

External Hard Drive – You will need a 500gb (minimum) external hard drive to save your film work this summer. It should be:

• 7200 RPM External Hard Drive or Solid State Drive (SSD) External Hard Drive w/ minimum 500GB Storage Capacity Connectivity/Interface: USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt 2
• (USB 2.0 is supported, but not recommended, as it will be very slow for video editing.)

Examples of acceptable drives:

• Samsung T5 Portable SSD – 500GB – USB 3.1 External SSD (MU-PA500B/AM)
• G-Technology 1TB G-DRIVE ev RaW USB 3.0 Hard Drive with Rugged Bumper

USB Flash drive

• USB Flash drives (4GB or 8GB) are recommended but not required.

Required and Recommended Supply Lists will be sent out to enrolled students as part of their welcome packet after registration and acceptance to the program.

UCLA Summer Sessions Summer Scholars Support

Qualified students attending grades 8th – 11th in Spring 2022 in the state of California may be eligible for Summer Scholars Support, a need- and merit-based scholarship offered by the UCLA Summer Sessions Office. A limited number of full and partial scholarships are available to support enrollment in SCIP/eSCIP, one Summer Course, or a Precollege Summer Institute.

The Nicholas Endowment Scholarship

The Nicholas Endowment TFT Summer Institute Scholarship for Film & Television is a need and merit-based scholarship opportunity for underserved/ underrepresented high school students enrolled in grades 9-12 in Spring 2022 who would benefit significantly from a UCLA Film and Television Summer Institute experience.

Both partial and full scholarships are available for high school students enrolled in UCLA Film and Television Summer Institutes including Digital Filmmaking, Writing for TV: Big Ideas for the Small Screen, Cinematography, Traditional Animation, and Media Parks: The Cinematic and Televisual History of Theme Parks.

For deadlines, eligibility requirements, and application information, please visit the Nicholas Endowment TFT Summer Institute Scholarship page.

Nicholas Endowment TFT Summer Institute Scholarship Application Online Form will be available February 15, 2022. Deadlines and acceptances are on a rolling basis.