With the help of a department chair, the UCLA student-produced
show and class, “UCLA: Next,” continues for a third
season despite major budget cuts in funding for the arts
programs.
The show, which is a cross between a reality show and a
documentary, was created entirely by a crew of about 40 UCLA
graduate and undergraduate students from various majors.
The format of the half-hour show has changed since it first
aired two years ago. The magazine-style program has expanded its
coverage to include not only UCLA, but also the southern California
community.
Due to budget cuts, “UCLA: Next” was going to be one
of the programs cut from the curriculum.
But due largely in part to the efforts of Barbara Boyle, the new
chairwoman of the Department of Film and Television and Digital
Media, the program was salvaged.
The predicted success of this year’s program comes
unexpectedly to many after the uncertainty surrounding the
program’s budget.
This past summer, Boyle encouraged two of the original
producers, Julie Ann Sipos and A.J. Lewis, to raise funds to save
the show.
Sipos and Lewis, with the help of Boyle, worked to sign on
private donors and sell corporate sponsors so that the show could
continue.
Boyle became the new chairwoman in April and has had a
distinguished career in Hollywood, having produced such feature
films as “Instinct” and “Phenomenon.”
The aim of this year’s season of “UCLA: Next”
is to depict how UCLA students represent their surrounding
community, said Sipos, who is also a teaching assistant for the
course.
“The show offers an opportunity to have your work air on
national TV and have some professional prime-time credit,”
Sipos said.
Some examples of future shows include a look at UCLA students
who assist Hollywood stars and a documentary of UCLA community
activists and their outreach.
This year, the show will be licensed by a broadcaster for local
and national commercial broadcast via DirecTV and DISH Network for
the first time, allowing it to be self-supporting and possibly
generate income for the film and television school.
In order to air, the show needs a minimum of $20,000. Though the
department has not raised all the money, Boyle, who is also one of
the sponsors helping to fund the show, has let classes start as
some of the sponsorship commitments have already been made.
Thelma Vickroy, who teaches the “UCLA:Next” Film and
Television 187A course and is a professor at California State
University, Northridge, said if the class would have been cut, a
lot of hard work would have been wasted.
“We have worked hard for two years, and I am glad we are
able to work hard for another year,” Vickroy said.
Kevin Wheeler, a graduate student in film school and one of the
student producers for the show said he is glad that the program was
not cut.
“(The show) provides hands-on experience and gives me a
chance to produce a pilot for a TV series,” Wheeler said.
Kenneth Ho, a second-year biology student, took the class to
gain some film background.
“It opens doors for anybody who wants to experience
working on TV,” Ho said.
Many of the show’s past students have gone on to become
MTV VJs and have produced shows for the Bravo and Showtime
networks.
The show is currently in production and will start shooting in
January 2004.