Required Materials: 32GB SD Card, Write Speed of 50mb/s minimum, Class 10 (These can be bought on Amazon for $20)

 

Recommended Text:  Television Production Handbook (12th ed.), Herbert Zettl, 2014

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION: An intermediate field and studio television production course featuring planning, producing, and skill development for narrative and journalistic video production. Students are exposed to the terminology, equipment, roles and situations of the television production process. Students in Television Production will produce two television programs as major projects near the middle and end of the course. These assignments require the student to utilize the basic television production skills taught in the course.

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Basic Television Production is designed to provide the student with a working proficiency and understanding of:

1.     The basic terminology of television production.

2.     The basic layout and operation of a television production facility.

3.     The proper operation of lighting equipment, studio equipment, video recording & editing, studio cameras and other tools associated with basic studio productions.

4.     Individual roles and teamwork in the television production process.

5.     The production process itself from the conceptualization stage through scripting, storyboards, production and post-production editing/packaging.

6.     Basic aesthetic principles as applied to television.

7.     The basic process of communicating in a visual medium.

 

Course Activities:  This class will consist of lectures, in and out of class screenings, and audio/video projects.

 

Course Materials and Readings: In addition to the recommended chapters in the text, a number of current articles will be distributed, usually via D2L (these will be required readings).

 

 

Attendance: Each student will be allowed 2 absences for any reason. If you are to be absent on the date a project is due, you must still turn your project in to me on time.  Beyond these two absences, the student will lose 10% of their final semester grade for any absences for any reason that is not university approved.

 

•       THE INSTRUCTOR’S RECORDS REGARDING ABSCENCES ARE THE ONLY ONES THAT COUNT AND IT IS THE STUDENTS’ RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK IN IF LATE.

Course Conduct: Classroom behavior should not interfere with the instructor’s ability to conduct the class or the ability of other students to learn from the instructional program. Unacceptable or disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. Students who disrupt the learning environment may be asked to leave class and may be subject to judicial, academic or other penalties. This prohibition applies to all instructional forums, including electronic, classroom, labs, discussion groups, field trips, etc. The instructor shall have full discretion over what behavior is appropriate/inappropriate in the classroom.  

 

Academic Integrity: Academic integrity is a responsibility of all university faculty and students.  Faculty members promote academic integrity in multiple ways including instruction on the components of academic honesty, as well as abiding by university policy on penalties for cheating and plagiarism.

 

Plagiarism: Academic dishonesty includes both cheating and plagiarism.  Cheating includes but is not limited to (1) using or attempting to use unauthorized materials to aid in achieving a better grade on a component of a class; (2) the falsification or invention of any information, including citations, on an assigned exercise; and/or (3) helping or attempting to help another in an act of cheating or plagiarism.  Plagiarism is presenting the words or ideas of another person as if they were your own.  Examples of plagiarism are (1) submitting an assignment as if it were one’s own work when, in fact, it is at least partly the work of another; (2) submitting a work that has been purchased or otherwise obtained from an Internet source or another source; and (3) incorporating the words or ideas of an author into one’s paper without giving the author due credit. Any writing that is not the work of you or your group members is plagiarism.  Students in this course are expected to adhere to the MSU Student Honor Code.  

 

VIOLATION OF THIS POLICY WILL RESULT IN THE STUDENT RECEIVING A FAILING GRADE FOR THIS COURSE. LAST SEMESTER, ONE STUDENT RECEIVED SUCH A GRADE.

Withheld Grades/Semester Grades Policy: Ordinarily, at the discretion of the instructor of record and with the approval of the academic chair/director, a grade of WH will be assigned only if the student cannot complete the course work because of unavoidable circumstances. Students must complete the work within one calendar year from the end of the semester in which they receive a WH, or the grade automatically becomes an F. If students register for the same course in future terms the WH will automatically become an F and will be counted as a repeated course for the purpose of computing the grade point average.

 

Senior Portfolio Requirement: Please note that all mass communication majors are required to submit a portfolio as part of their Internship course (Internship is a prerequisite to Senior Production). This requirement is a part of MSU¹s reaccreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and is non-negotiable.  Through the portfolio, students are required to demonstrate communication competence through the written word and visual communication; two examples of each competency are required.

 

As you go through this and other classes, you are responsible for saving course work that could be included in your senior portfolio.

 

Please see me, your adviser, the department chair or any mass communication faculty member for handouts with more information ("Mass Communication Portfolio Competencies" and "Mass Communication Portfolio FAQ"). These handouts are also available on our department web page: http://finearts.mwsu.edu/masscomm/.

 

Privacy: Federal Privacy Law prohibits me from releasing information about students to certain parties outside the university. Thus, in almost all cases I will only discuss your grades and other academic matters with you. Do not have your parents call me! You’re college students and will be treated as such. Also, I will only correspond with you via email if your name is in the email address.

 

Disability Support: Please inform me if you are a student with a disability and need accommodation in this class. Students with a disability must be registered with Disability Support Services before classroom accommodation can be provided. MSU provides students with documented disabilities academic accommodation (Disability Support Services, Clark Student Center, Room 168).

 

Final Caveat: The professor reserves the right to change any part of this syllabus for any reason.

Sufficient notice will be given to students if changes to the syllabus are deemed necessary

IT IS THE STUDENT’S SOLE RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN THEY ARE MARKED PRESENT IF THEY ARRIVE AFTER ROLE IS TAKEN.

 

 

Grading

Productions: Each student will complete a variety of single and team productions designed to give a hands-on study of field production techniques including: short documentaries, interview projects, multitrack audio editing, news packages, and event/performance based projects. Talent: Students will have the option of becoming on-air talent, but it is not required.

 

Location Strike: Whenever an outside production is required; it will be the responsibility of all in the class to transport all needed gear to and from the location in a safe and timely manner. All items must be stored properly and returned in working order. If there is an issue with damage or malfunctioning equipment a proper report must be logged before you go out on location.

 

Assignments	Percentage
Quizzes	10
Camera Comp	5
Floor Manager Comp	5
Switcher Comp	5
Inception Deadlines/Stories	15
Campus Watch (producer)	20
Campus Watch (Crew)	15
Short Narrative	25

 

LAB GRADE: This class requires students to attend a lab as well as the lecture.  The Lab is not an optional part of this class. Roughly 60% of the student’s grade in Television Production comes directly from their attendance and legitimate participation in the work done within the lab.  The majority of work during our lab time will be on assignments for that week’s episode(s) of Campus Watch.  Students will work in groups to complete assignments and will either pass or fail as a CREW.  This means that students are expected to conduct themselves with professionalism and courtesy within their crews and are ALL expected to contribute.  Any student not contributing will be held personally responsible for their actions and level of activity.  

 

4 “B’s” of Media Production

 

•         BE CONFIDENT!

•         BE ASSERTIVE!

•         BE CREATIVE!

•         BE A TEAM PLAYER!