Upfronts Week 2026

The Business of the Screen: A Guide to Upfronts Week 2026

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If you’re a film or media student, you’ve spent your time mastering the craft, lighting, scripts, and the perfect edit. But every May, the industry shifts its focus from the art of storytelling to the business of it. Welcome to Upfronts Week.
Michael, Project Hail Mary, Rooster

Credits to Be Proud Of: LAFS & LARS Alumni on Michael, Project Hail Mary, HBO’s Rooster & More

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From a wide theatrical release to Marvel's biggest Disney+ debut to a BAFTA Game Award win, alumni from The L.A. Film School & The L.A. Recording School continue to show up in the credits of the industry's most visible work. Here's a look at what's been making us proud lately.
Cannes Marche du Cinema - Festival image

The Cannes Marché du Film Explained: What It Is, How It Works, and How to Get In

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You've heard of the Cannes Film Festival - the red carpets, the Palme d'Or, the prestige. But if you're serious about a career in film, there's another side of Cannes that matters just as much: the Marché du Film. The Marché is where the industry actually does business. Same dates, same coastline, but instead of awards and celebrity photo-ops, you get 12,000 professionals from over 100 countries making deals, financing films, and building careers. Here's everything you need to know.
Jim Scott and Paul Broucek

Grammy Winner Jim Scott and Warner Bros.’ Paul Broucek Tell Students How a Music Career Actually Gets Built

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There’s a version of a music career that looks clean on paper: graduate, intern, get credits, win awards. And then there’s the version shared in the room: careers built over time, through repetition, relationships, and being available when opportunity shows up. According to Jim Scott and Paul Broucek, that path often begins in places most people don’t expect.
Met Gala Costume As Character - Zendaya

Costume as Character: What the Met Gala Teaches Us About Visual Storytelling

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If you’re a film student, you know that a character isn’t "real" until they put on their costume. Whether it’s the rugged leather of a post-apocalyptic survivor or the suffocating silk of a Victorian aristocrat, clothing is a silent screenplay. In cinema, the costume designer is the architect of the subtext. While the actors speak the dialogue, the fabric speaks to the character's social standing, psychological state, and their future.
NAB 2026

NAB Show 2026: Why We’re Still Buzzing About Vegas

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If you’re a film, media, or music student, you know that the "industry" can sometimes feel like this untouchable, distant thing. But every year, the NAB Show in Las Vegas rips that curtain wide open. It’s not just a convention; it’s basically a massive, high-tech playground where the future of how we tell stories is being built in real-time. Walking through NAB 2026 felt like stepping onto a global stage. From AI-powered workflows to the kind of virtual production setups that make your jaw drop, the energy was unreal. Here’s what it was like on the ground.
woman relaxing and recharging creatively

How to Recharge Creatively

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If you’re a creative, your work depends on your attention, curiosity, and sensitivity. But modern creative life comes with deadlines, feedback, and constant distractions, meaning you can easily exhaust what you rely on most. When your creativity is drained, pushing through doesn’t make it stronger, it just wears it down further. The real truth? Your creativity isn’t a faucet you can turn on harder. It’s a battery. And recharging is part of the creative process.  So, where do you start? Try these ideas to help reset your focus and reconnect with your creative energy.
Taylor Black

The Long Game: How Taylor Black Became One of Streaming’s Most In-Demand Colorists

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What do recent streaming hits such as Earnhardt (Amazon Prime), John Candy: I Like Me (Amazon Prime), McCartney 3-2-1 (Hulu), Queen of Chess (Netflix), SHAQ (HBO MAX), and The Menendez Brothers (Netflix) all have in common?  None other than our talented Class of 2004 film program alum and senior colorist Taylor Black, who brought his artistic skills to each of those projects and many others, helping to bring to life the literal vision of directors like Colin Hanks (John Candy: I Like Me) in post-production, setting the visual tone for what we would all eventually see on our screens across the biggest streaming platforms.
Music Video Director: Floria Sigismondi

The MTV Film School: How 8 Music Video Directors Rewrote the Rules of Cinema

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Before streaming algorithms dictated our media diets, the music video was the ultimate creative sandbox. In the 90s and early 2000s, record labels handed young, hungry directors massive budgets and a simple mandate: visually interpret complex audio mixes, aggressive tempos, and raw performances in under five minutes. This era became an unregulated, highly-funded film school. Mastering the rhythm of a song - learning exactly when to cut on a snare hit or how to visualize heavy, distorted guitar riffs - forged the defining cinematic styles of the next three decades. By syncing visuals to different musical genres, these directors essentially rewrote the rules of modern filmmaking.