Spring quarter is upon us. As a 410, or first year MFA Directing Student, this is the first quarter where I have the opportunity to choose some electives. There are many opportunities within the directing, producing, and screenwriting programs. Our pre-selected courses for the spring are as follows:

• Monday: 7-10 PM Editing The directors and cinematographers in the first year are broken up into three separate editing sections. This is to create variety, but also for the simple fact that it takes much longer to watch cuts of 6-10 minute films and critique them than it did for our two minute films in the fall. I am staying with three people from my winter production group and two new people that I haven’t worked with will be joining me.
• Tuesday: 10AM – 1PM Sound Editing. I believe we will be learning to use Protools in this class, as well as editing the sound for our six-minute films. UCLA has rooms available for ADR work, which some of us will no doubt be doing. I shot on location, and heard more than a few airplanes during production, hopefully I won’t have to do too much of this.
• 2:30 – 4:30 PM Symposium. This is our ongoing class with all 21 410 students. It is much shorter this quarter, and I imagine it will answer any questions we have that may arise.
• 6 – 9 PM Final Cut This is a class to teach us about Final Cut Pro, which we will be editing our films on. The flatbeds
• Wednesday: 10AM – 12:50 PM Television Directing

And those are our assigned classes. Aside from editing our films, We can choose to take electives (one is recommended).

The big class I am going for is the 434. 434 is the bread and butter class of the very successful UCLA Screenwriting program. In a 434 class you write a feature length screenplay over the course of a quarter. I have been excited to take one since arriving at UCLA last fall. The process involves pitching a number of different professors of different sections. I will have to remember my own advice on pitching while preparing my two pitches tonight. The teachers are looking for anywhere from one pitchable idea, to two extended loglines, to two three minute pitches. This is my first pitch session since our one in the fall, so I’m excited. Wish me luck!