FILM PRODUCTION AND MASS MEDIA
Mr. Feltham

Film and Video Production
Course Description

Introductory and intermediate training in digital media production.

You will learn script construction, production organization, camera operation, sound recording, basic film lighting, basic picture editing, basic sound editing including music and sound effects, titling, and finishing. You will also be screening and analyzing excellent films, roughly once every two weeks.

In the first semester, you will plan, adapt, shoot, and edit one action scene (provided to you in book form), and one narrative short film with actors. In the second semester, you will make one documentary, and one music video.

September: Camera operation, setups and shot types, story boards, editing for continuity, basic story structures, script page layout. Written test on all these areas. Turn in production breakdown, and shot list.

October: Once the shot list is accepted, shoot one-scene action sequence. Edit sequence and present to class. Lighting techniques, Video sound recording. Develop script for production of 5-6 minute narrative film (not necessarily an original script. It can be adapted from a story). Turn in script (for a grade) breakdown, story board, production breakdown, shot lists, and scheduling, Written test on these areas, and marks for script, schedule. Start shooting.

November-January: Pickup shooting and video editing using iMovie 6 - picture, dialogue, sound effects, titles, music. Learn more lighting, camera operations. Turn in finished project. Grade on final project based on script, production, camerawork, sound, edting. Screening of all projects for all production classes.

Every project will require, and get a grade for:

Outline
Storyboard
Script
Production breakdown and schedule
Shot list
Dailies (must have all shot types, good focus, exposure, sound)
Edited, finished video. This is based on quality of photography, sound, editing, titles, and script.

Maximum size of a team is four. If you use a school camera, shooting must be done during the period and the equipment returned by the end of the period. If you have your own digital camera, you may shoot when and where you want. All editing must be done here on our iMacs.

There will be a school-wide screening of the projects toward the end of the second semester, and we as well enter the most promising productions in other film festivals.

- Narrative (story) film (Fall semester) 5-6 minutes
- Documentary with narration. (Spring semester) Time limit:5-6 minutes
- Music video. (Spring semester)Important to match rhythm to visual cuts, with visual content matching the audio content
- Must be clean language only in all projects. Any project which does not follow this rule will get a fail.

Mass Media Course Description
Social and Economic Effects of Mass Communication

Fall Semester

Communication Theory
The nature of communication, symbols, referents,
signal, noise.

The Infomation Explosion
History of mass communication

Media Literacy
Media Power, economics, regulation, ownership
Government regulations: FCC

News Media
Defining news - who decides each day?
Managing TV News
News as popular culture

Advertising
Why advertising exists
History or Evolution of advertising
Language of advertising
Analysing techniques of advertising
Advertising, emotions, and popular culture

Spring Semester

Newspapers
Sources of editorial content
Freedom of Information Act
Trends in Newspaper industry

Magazines
Origin of magazine content
Magazines and marketing

Film
Economics of the film industry
Film criticism

At the same time, students make as teams of four

-Two Power Point presentations, as "filmy" as possible
-Two video commercials, as misleading as possible while still legal

Parallel to the above, every day students research and write three paragraphs on mass communication events from international Internet sources, such as The Guardian, Agence France-Press, Japan Times, La Opinion, Truthout, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, Mediawatch, Grade the Media, and PR Watch.

About the Instructor:

Mr. Feltham is a California clear-credentialed English teacher who did his graduate work at Stanford University in Mass Communication. He is also a director member of the Directors Guild of America, an Emeritus member of the Writers Guild of America, and ex co-chairman of the Canadian University Press. He was awarded the 2008 Best Buy "Teach" award for innovative curriculum. In his previous life, he worked as a producer, director, and writer at Paramount, where he was associate producer of Shogun, and at Warner Brothers and MGM. He won the Jury Prize at the Cannes and Berlin Film Festivals, produced and directed some forty documentaries for the BBC, CBC, and German Television. Anybody who is interested in more film details can Google "Kerry Feltham”, or go to www.kerryfeltham.com.

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