• Guest Posts

    Broken Refrigerator = Creative/Collaborative Challenge

    My name is William McDonald and I am chair of the Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media. And I have something very important to tell you: My refrigerator broke down last week. Let me repeat that: My refrigerator – in this heat – broke down – last week. Last Thursday had been a long, hot day, made longer and hotter by a commute home that ordinarily takes 40 minutes, but took two hours. Then, around 9:30 that evening, my lovely wife Pamela and I noticed food and drink we were taking out of the fridge were not very cold. Fearful of what this might mean, I was willing to…

  • Guest Posts

    A Film Professor Answers an 8th Grader’s Questions

    Occasionally a student will write a letter or email to my husband Bill McDonald, who is a professor in UCLA’s Department of Film, Television and Digital Media, and say that they are interested in filmmaking and have some questions. Bill’s plate is always overflowing but if he sees that the student has taken the time to compose a list of thoughtful questions, he will take the time to answer the query. He recently received just such a letter from an eighth grade student who was going to be making a presentation at her middle school. He shares his answers to her questions here. You may also want to read our…