Visual Media was originally designed by Jerry Goldsmith and Paul Chihara.  The program has two primary goals: to develop the composer artistically and commercially.  The ideal graduate of our program will be a fine composer with a broad and thorough traditional musical background, who is making entry into the business of film composition (whether in Hollywood or as a free-lance composer anywhere in the world).

Guest composers are invited regularly to present their music, and to give private lessons.  Among distinguished composers who have participated are concert composers John Adams, William Bolcom, Richard Danielpour, Derek Bermel, Steven Mackey, David Dzubay, Ken Ueno, Stephen Hartke, Michael Daugherty.  Among famous film composers: James Newton Howard, James Horner, Bruce Broughton, Charles Fox, Mike Post, David Newman, and Alf Clausen.

The seminar M260 A and B is a series required of all Visual Media students, which teaches the basic processes of film composition, with a special emphasis on digital composition.  Orchestral readings and recordings with the UCLA Philharmonia under Maestro Neal Stulberg are also a regular feature of this series (occurring twice a year).  Students are also engaged in meetings with students from the UCLA film and animation departments, and new film projects are an important part of the M260 series.  Students have also worked with AFI projects (where Professor Chihara has regularly taught Workshops in film scoring to young professional film makers).  VM students have been chosen to work as summer interns at the Fox Studios, where Professor Chihara worked for many years.

Though the VM program is less than three years old and has so far only accepted six students, our students have already been accepted to the ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop in Hollywood, participated in AFI Film Screenings, worked with the Gates and Matt Groening Projects with the UCLA Film and Animation Departments, and have found work on major film projects with established Hollywood composers.

Paul Chihara
Chair, Visual Media (film music)