Though graduation is oncoming, three fourth-year students in the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, Katrina Frederick, Ian Arthur and Lauren Slusser, are hard at work on a last student film. For film students, graduation can be seen as an end to the comforts of Melnitz Hall’s soundstages and a beginning to their uncertain futures in the film industry.
Frederick, the writer and director of the film, said that she wanted to squeeze in one more film before graduation.
“You never know if it’s going to be the last film you make that is actually completely yours,” Frederick said.
Frederick said she will continue after graduation working with a sound designer she is currently interning for ““ an internship she found through connections formed with her classmates.
“Who knows if that will be the end-all be-all, but it’s something. For now it’s a job,” Frederick said.
Arthur, who is helping on the set of Frederick’s film, also said that classmates are a great resource for networking.
“The good thing about this school is that it is a very small program, so you get to know everybody really well. That’s what I got from this school, the people that I’ve met, my classmates,” Arthur said.
Arthur emphasized the importance of connections when talking about his own post-graduation plans.
“A lot of the advice or what we are told from the professionals that we meet is that you need talent, but what you need more of is luck and connections,” Arthur said.
Slusser, who is also helping on the set of Frederick’s film, initially used the film school’s website to find an internship ““ one which led to her future internship.
“After graduation I am interning at Nickelodeon with “˜Dora the Explorer’ because my professional goal is to work in children’s television. This is the dream internship for me,” Slusser said.
According to UCLA graduate film students, other aspects of the film school have helped start their futures in the industry. Joaquin Baldwin, a graduate film student, expressed the importance of UCLA’s location as graduation looms near.
“We don’t have specific networking events, but being in Los Angeles, it is so easy. You just talk to one of your classmates and they know someone at Sony, someone at DreamWorks, and it is easy to keep in touch,” Baldwin said.
Faculty members are another important resource for the job search. For Kimberly Townes, another graduate film student preparing for graduation, being a mentee benefited her.
“I would be very fortunate to have faculty mention me to a colleague of theirs as their mentee. And then that colleague would introduce me to someone else,” Townes said.
According to Jordan Auten, another graduate film student preparing for commencement on Friday, the film school’s structure teaches students an attitude necessary for the industry.
“It’s our responsibility to be proactive and really approach the outside world. If you are going to be in this industry and choose to pursue this career, that’s what it’s all about anyway,” Auten said.
As Auten said, UCLA’s film school breeds filmmakers who understand the importance of being active students. It is a place where independence is taught.
“In the real world, no one is going to hand me anything. You have to earn it and you have to work hard to achieve it. I think UCLA film school did a really good job of preparing me for that.” Auten said.