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Act, write, and produce a short film in this 2-week film program for high school students on UCLA’s campus.
Rated 4.3 out of 5 for course experience by high school students surveyed across the broader program in 2026.
Course Description
A short film starts long before the camera rolls. Give a story a shape, then make the choices that bring it to the screen.
In this course you will develop characters and a logline, a brief statement of the story, before writing and revising screenplay pages. Analyze short films and scripts, create storyboards, assign crew roles, and build a filming schedule.
Workshops introduce scene study, audition self-tapes, producing, directing, camera operation, lighting, sound, and equipment. Rotate through roles on both sides of the camera. Reviewing dailies, footage from a day’s filming, helps you decide what needs another take.
Editing reshapes the story again. Refine assembly, rough, and fine cuts, identifying reshoots or voice-over needs. Music, effects, graphics, and pacing become decisions about meaning. Your team writes, performs, directs, produces, and edits an original short film, then discusses how those choices changed it. Trying several roles helps you explore where your interests might lead.
This two-week full-day academy for high school students takes place at UCLA in Los Angeles, California. The program is developed by UCLA and offered in partnership with Summer Discovery. Students focus on one academy for the full program. Residential and commuter options are available.
What You Will Do
• Analyze short films and write a logline and screenplay draft
• Turn scenes into storyboards, crew roles, and a filming schedule
• Practice scene study and record an audition self-tape
• Operate camera, lighting, and sound equipment during production
• Review dailies and plan reshoots or voice-over recording
• Edit assembly, rough, and fine cuts into an original short film
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Develop a short-film concept through screenplay, storyboard, and production planning
• Perform and collaborate in defined cast and crew roles during filming
• Edit picture, sound, and graphics into a coherent final cut
You’ll leave with your team’s completed short film and a certificate of completion.
Why Film Skills Matter
Film combines creative vision with a demanding production process. A scene only reaches the screen when writers, performers, directors, camera operators, sound teams, and editors understand the same intention and coordinate their work.
Students practice turning an idea into instructions another person can use. A storyboard clarifies composition. A schedule forces realistic choices. Reviewing dailies develops a critical eye, while editing reveals how timing and sound change meaning. Acting exercises strengthen interpretation and communication. Together, these skills support storytelling, collaboration, planning, and revision. They are useful for film and media study, but also for any project where a team must create something coherent under practical limits.
Who Should Attend?
For students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade.
A scene you’d like to write or an effect you’d like to understand can be your starting point. This academy lets you try the work on both sides of the camera. Writers, performers, and students still discovering their interests can explore several cast and crew roles.
The short film is a shared project. Expect creative feedback, equipment and deadline responsibilities, and more revision when a scene needs another approach.
Recommended by More Than 4 out of 5 Students
Based on students surveyed in Summer Discovery’s 2026 UCLA high school program.
Your Summer at UCLA
UCLA places film-industry study in Los Angeles, where studios, production companies, agencies, streaming platforms, and independent creators shape how stories reach audiences. That setting helps students see film as both an art form and a working industry, connecting creative development with the business, technology, collaboration, and decision-making behind the screen.
Students learn alongside peers, navigate a large campus, and gain independence through everyday choices and responsibilities. Time outside class expands the experience through friendships, campus life, and a city where entertainment is part of the economic and cultural landscape. For families, UCLA offers a valuable combination of substantive academic exploration, personal growth, and clearer direction about whether film, media, production, writing, or entertainment business may be worth pursuing further.
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive