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California residents pay $46 per unit. With campus fees, a full-time load of 12 units comes to about $575 a semester for students who aren't on financial aid.

The California College Promise Grant can waive enrollment fees for eligible students, and there are scholarships through the LACC Foundation and other sources. See Resources for details.

Gear is free to check out for enrolled production students, and for any student who needs a specific piece of equipment for their coursework.

Not at all. Our program runs head to toe, start to finish: from the basics through advanced techniques. You'll have a camera in your hands in your first semester, and whatever story you want to tell, you can learn to tell it here.

Yes. Students transfer to schools such as UCLA, CSUN, USC, Chapman, and AFI, often with more production experience than their peers.

Classes start in fall, winter, spring, and summer, with day, evening, and online options. Apply any time; register early because classes fill.

Join the waitlist and email the instructor. You may get a permission code in the first week. Most courses run every semester.

Take the Metro B Line to Vermont/Santa Monica. The station is a short walk from campus.

No, and no. Enrolled students check out cameras, lighting, grip and sound gear from the equipment room. A laptop is handy but not required: the equipment room lends laptops for a full semester.

Software is covered too. DaVinci Resolve is free, and students get Avid Media Composer plus discounts on Adobe Creative Cloud and Final Draft.

Yes. Many students start with one course to try filmmaking before committing to a certificate or degree.

Enrolled production students borrow cameras, lighting, grip and sound gear, and laptops, for their coursework. Sign the new user agreement once, then reserve gear and pick it up at the counter.

The Equipment Room page has the full guide: hours, how checkout works and the rules for returns.

Absolutely. We build our schedule around what students ask for, with day, evening and online sections, and many students take classes part-time while they work.

Need a schedule we don't offer yet? Tell our department chair, Dr. Krystle Klein, through the Contact page. Student requests shape what we run next.

People. The industry is huge, but it works like a small town: most jobs come from someone who has worked with you and liked it. The people who last show up with a good attitude, say yes to opportunities, keep learning and stay curious.

Build your network on purpose:
- Keep a list of everyone you meet. A simple spreadsheet works: name, role, where you met, how to reach them, and the last time you talked.
- Follow their work and their socials, and check in every 4 to 6 months. Congratulate them on what they've made, tell them what you're working on, and ask if they need help on their next project.
- Make every set count. Be on time, be easy to work with, and leave a good impression.

Keep doing that and your contact list turns into steady work, all year round.

Crew on student and indie sets first. Paid jobs go to people with some experience and someone who will vouch for them, and volunteer days give you both.

Many of our students crew on thesis and class films at AFI, USC School of Cinematic Arts, New York Film Academy and Chapman. Those students are building their own careers fast, and they bring the crew they trust along with them.

Do a handful of those sets with a can-do attitude. As the directors and producers you helped move up to bigger, paid projects, they start hiring you.

Not to start. Most people work non-union for a while first, and unions are hard to get into until you have real set experience. Once you're there, they're a great resource: better pay, health and pension benefits, and safety standards.

Each union and local sets its own rules. In Los Angeles, many IATSE crafts (camera, grip, electric, editing and more) place new members through the Industry Experience Roster, run by Contract Services. For many jobs that means about 30 days of qualifying work within 365 days, plus required safety training. Non-union productions that "flip" to a union contract are a common way in, so keep building your craft and get on those sets.

Rules change and vary by craft. Check the local you want to join and Contract Services (csatf.org) for the current requirements.

Anything that shows what you've made or what you can make. The worst reel is the one that doesn't exist. Cut together what you have now, keep it short, and update it as you go. Once it exists, you're already halfway there.

It's half and half. You can't work in this industry without knowing people, and it's hard to meet those people without being around others who want the same thing you do. School gives you both: the core skills and a room full of future collaborators.

The core knowledge you need is here at LACC, at community college prices. Whether you continue to a four-year school after that is up to you. Some of our own staff say that if they did it again, they'd have spent less on more school and more time in LA building connections early.

The entry-level jobs nobody who spent $100k on film school thinks they should take: production assistant, grip and electric, assistant editor, colorist. They're in demand, they pay, and they get you on sets and into edit bays with working professionals.

Each of them can start with a single LACC class. Many students take Stage Grip, for example, and start working on vertical series, other students' short films, commercials and music videos while they finish their degree.