This is a follow up to my first post on Paying for Film School.
Now that I’ve done one quarter at UCLA Film School I have a more realistic idea of how much things actually cost.
This was my budget going into UCLA, based on Film School Confidential’s Pricing Guide.
Here is my revised budget after having attended one quarter of UCLA.
There are some important discrepancies to notice here.
- The price of tuition has gone up. A lot. And will continue to do so. This year they raised tuition by $579 a quarter for the winter and spring. In the fall of next year each film student with the increase in general and professional fees, will pay $3,479 more than they did this fall.
- My estimate for the average first year film costs, based on Film School Confidential, was about half of what they are expected to be. The rule of thumb for budgeting student film is $1,000 a minute. The two-minute costs a little less, but the 6-minute film will most likely run that, unless you get very creative.
- Cost of Moving. Also not integrated into my original budget. I think 2,000 is reasonable. I bought a bike, furniture, and rented a car for about that amount.
- Monthly living expenses. Depending on where you live, whether you drive etc. these will vary. Mine were high I think just because I was in a new city and didn’t know how to save as much money as I could have. Another thing to be aware of is that the food offered to us on campus is expensive, but when you’re working all the time you don’t always have time to cook. Learn to bring you own lunch and take a real ding out of this.
- Additional Expenses: The Ditty Bag and Editing Supplies. These are something I have wanted to comment on for a long time. The ditty bag is your cinematography bag. Every student must DP (Director of Photography), AC (assistant camera) and Gaff (Gaffer) each other’s shoots. This requires some equipment. We receive a large list of the tools we are expected to have for our ditty bags. The most expensive of these is A Sekonic Analogue Lightmeter. There are student discounts at the stores, but not a single store had one available, so I for one had to order mine for $180 on amazon. The other parts of the ditty bag can quickly get expensive as well. Special measuring tapes, lens cleaning solution, it adds up. First year students also need editing supplies, which can run from $150 to $350 dollars, depending on whether you are able to get them new or not. This includes a splicer, various kinds of tape, cleaning solution, a split reel and a take-up reel, editing gloves, etc.
A Split Reel for Winding Film
These are just some things to be aware of when applying to and budgeting for film school. UCLA is still cheaper than USC, NYU, AFI or Columbia, but California’s budget crisis seems to be slowly closing the gap.
