Production (Film & Television) Department

The LMU School of Film and Television offers an MFA in Production (Film + Television) designed to enable students to express their ideas on the screen – whether that screen is in a theater, at home or held in the palm of a hand. Beyond the existing television and theatrical feature landscape, new forms of media empower a single person to be both a worldwide broadcaster and a very selective receiver. Digital technologies have created new ways of working that transcend the traditional distinctions between film and television. The MFA in Production (Film + Television) combines the best of both of these fields.

Students admitted to this rigorous field of study are quickly immersed in the art of storytelling for the screen. They encounter and explore great works of world cinema, both past and present, and ponder the ramifications of the emerging media of the future. They receive expert hands-on training in writing the script, directing actors, cinematography, sound recording and design, and editing. In the process, each student learns about the challenging relationship between art and technique, and how both serve each other.

Students master the practical aspects of mounting a production: budgeting, location scouting, casting, set design and construction, post production, and the importance of safety in all aspects of what they do. Complete, premier state of the art equipment and technology are available 24/7, all in service of the story. Through teamwork, students learn an appreciation for all of the artists who labor to serve the story, and the camaraderie that comes from working as part of a crew engaged in a large, collaborative creative enterprise.

Students also cultivate their individual voice, and express their own point of view on projects driven by their own creative choices. Beginning with their work on a series of short and intermediate films, students forge the fundamental skills of visual storytelling and exhibit the culmination of their learning in the Graduate Thesis. Prior to registration for the thesis project, students must come before a Thesis Committee to advance to candidacy based upon the work completed towards this goal. Once advanced to candidacy, the student must take a final thesis course until the project is completed and signed off by the committee in order to successfully complete the requirements for the MFA degree.

Student projects, including the Graduate Thesis, may be entirely from the imagination, or they may document the real world. Works are produced and owned by the student, and many are distributed and celebrated far beyond the confines of our campus, through the exciting world of festivals, theatrical, television, and other channels of local, national and international exhibition.

For complete course descriptions download the Graduate Bulletin, which requires Acrobat. Click here to download from the Adobe website. You may also contact Mary Abshire, Administrative Assistant for Graduate SFTV programs, at 310.338.5991.