COMM 3352 Syllabus
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COMM 3352 Syllabus
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COMM 3352: Television Production I Tuesday, Thursday: 2-3:30 p.m. Rooms 132C (TV Studio) and 202, Education Center Fall 2000 GENERAL INFORMATION Instructor: Bradford L. Yates, Ph.D. Office: Humanities 308
Office Hours: T/R 9:00-11:00 a.m. W 9:00-11:00 a.m., 2:00-3:00 p.m. By Appointment Telephone: (770) 836-4564 E-mail: byates@westga.edu Web site: http://www.westga.edu/~byates Important Note: Read this entire course syllabus carefully. You are responsible for all the information contained herein. Ignorance of the policies of the class will not be an acceptable excuse. OFFICE HOURS I am available to address matters of concern during my office hours. If those hours are not convenient, please schedule an appointment with me. If you visit my office at other times, I may not be available because of other duties I must attend to. If you have problems in the class, it is YOUR responsibility to initiate contact with me. I cannot help you if you do not communicate with me. Let me know of any problems early in the semester. I will not accept excuses for poor performance or missing exams, especially late in the semester. TEXT Zettl, H. (2000). Television production handbook (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. *It is not possible to successfully complete the requirements of COMM 3352 without reading the textbook and additional materials. ABOUT THE COURSE COMM 3352 is an introduction to TV control room procedures and studio production practices. You will learn how to perform basic production skills in all positions encompassing studio production. You will also learn operation of studio production equipment by producing two projects in class. Objectives: By the end of the course you will be able to:
GRADING Grades earned in this class are based solely on the following: Chapter Exams (2) 200 points Talk Show Production 150 points Final Exam 75 points Studio Set Up/Strike 25 points Attendance/Participation 50 points Total 500 points Grading Scale: Points needed to receive grade A 450-500 B 400-449 C 350-399 D 300-349 F 299 and below Exams: Two (2) exams will be administered during the fall semester. The exams will be a combination of Multiple Choice, True/False, and Fill-in-the-Blank and will cover textbook chapters, lectures, handouts, films, tapes and CD-ROMs viewed in class. Each exam is worth 100 points toward your final grade (200 points total). There is a lot of reading in this course. Begin reading the chapters immediately so you do not fall behind. The Production: You will produce a 9-minute talk show that is already partially scripted for you. Details will follow on handouts. The production will be worth 150 points toward your final grade. Final Exam: The final exam will consist of an equipment skills test in the studio. You will make an appointment to take the exam. Attendance: Your attendance counts as 50 points toward your final grade. You are expected to attend all regularly scheduled class sessions. 0 absences = 50 points 1 absences = 40 points 2 absences = 30 points 3 absences = 20 points 4 absences = 10 points 5 absences = 0 points It is critical that everyone attend every class because you will be a team, dependent on each other to carry out specific tasks for class projects and graded productions, so PLEASE BE HERE. If you are absent for someone’s production, this will affect your grade for your particular production project. Please see Policy on Absenteeism (p. 8). You will follow a production schedule and crew rotation sheet. Some crew positions are worth points and others are not. Attendance is required during all TV productions. If you are absent during a TV production, you will receive a zero for any and all graded positions to which you were assigned. You will receive a –1 for any non-graded positions. Teamwork is important and your presence or absence can make or break another student’s production. There will be no make-ups for missed exams or missed productions. A grade of incomplete will not be given in this course except in extreme cases involving prolonged and documented illness or emergency. Set up and strike: You may easily earn 25 points toward your final grade by taking an active part in studio set up and strike. It is very important to maintain a neat and tidy studio in order to protect equipment and help other studio users locate and operate equipment without difficulty. If you do not participate in set up and strike, you will lose points. Handouts: You are responsible for collecting all handouts at the time they are distributed. If you are absent, you have ONE WEEK to collect the materials. After one week, do not ask me for copies of handouts. I will not keep extra copies! It is also YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to take notes and take exams as scheduled, especially if you are a graduating senior. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY Academic dishonesty is NOT tolerated. It will result in failure on assignment(s) as well as possible disciplinary sanction(s) as stipulated by university rules. State University of West Georgia Student Conduct Code defines academic dishonesty as cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and facilitating or allowing academic dishonesty in any academic exercise. Cheating using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids Fabrication falsification or unauthorized invention of any information or citation Plagiarism representing the words or ideas of another as one's own. Direct quotations must be indicated and ideas of another must be appropriately acknowledged. Academic dishonesty in any form compromises your grade and lowers the quality of your diploma. A fellow student who cheats may actually lower your grade, sometimes causing unfair and inflated grading scales. I hope each of you values your college education enough to protect yourself from dishonest classmates. If you are aware of cheating taking place, please contact me or Dr. Chester Gibson, chair of the Department of Mass Communications and Theatre Arts, and proper action will be taken. SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS I will make special arrangements for students with special needs. Don’t wait until after the first exam to talk with me! Don’t try and "wing it" without telling me about your particular problem or needs. If you need special accommodations for exams, let me know early, not a few days before the exam. I am here to facilitate your learning, but I need to be informed to do so. RULES FOR STUDIO AND CONTROL ROOM Use facilities only during class time or under the supervision of the instructor or TV station personnel. Do not operate anything until you understand it. Put equipment and supplies where they are to be properly stored when you or the class are finished using them. The student assigned to a piece of equipment during the last production of the day’s rotation must put that equipment away in the proper place, or be penalized points for that rotation. Each cameraperson puts away his/her camera; floor manager puts away intercom system and time cards; audio person puts away all mics and cables; all others put away props, sets, platforms, rugs, furniture, plants, graphics stands and cards, etc. Never "force" anything. If you think something isn’t working properly or is malfunctioning, notify the instructor or TV station personnel immediately. Share the work when flats, risers, props and equipment are to be set up and put away. Do not set up or turn on any equipment until instructor or TV station personnel gives the OK. NO EATING, DRINKING, SMOKING, OR TOBACCO CHEWING IN CONTROL ROOM OR STUDIO. ABSOLUTELY NONE! Do not step on any cables, video, audio, or otherwise. Respect equipment as if it were your own. It is expensive and crucial to your successful completion of this course. If you abuse equipment, harsh academic and/or financial consequences could result. Do not attempt to repair equipment. Do not take apart any equipment. Use courtesy and patience with each other. Do not physically or verbally abuse other people. Watch your time so as not to go overtime and start eating into the allotted time slot of another student. TIME Time is a critical element in TV studio production. Each student is responsible to be ready for class and for productions on time. If it is your turn to do your production, be ready. There will be no postponements. Make sure your script, props, talent, etc. are ready to go when it is your turn. If you fail to do your production when it is your turn, you will get a zero for that production. No delays or rescheduling will be done. There are 15 students and a limited amount of studio/class time, so our schedules will be tight. Be ready. Be on time. Plan ahead. I will be well aware of the clock during our class meetings. I will be respectful of your schedules and will not purposely keep you longer than our allotted time; however, there may be occasions that we complete our tasks for the day, but still need to strike the studio. Everyone is required to help strike the studio or suffer a grade penalty. Please note that this class is scheduled for 1 hour and 30 minutes (2-3:30 p.m.). TALK SHOW TIMETABLE Each student will be allowed a total of 35 minutes to get his or her production on tape. We will attempt to run 2 student producers through in a given lab period, with 20 minutes left for set up and take down. Since you will only be doing a 9-minute show, this should leave you plenty of time to get ready and have one rehearsal before actually taping your show. If you start into your time block late, you have simply shortened your rehearsal time. WE WILL PULL THE PLUG ON YOU EXACTLY 35 MINUTES AFTER YOUR SCHEDULED START TIME, EVEN IF YOU ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF PRODUCTION! With 15 students in the class, we will therefore need four and a half weeks to run the project all the way through the rotation grid. CLASS SCHEDULE (This schedule is subject to change in order to accommodate guest speakers and maintain some flexibility. Additional reading and viewing assignments will be made throughout the semester. You are responsible for all material assigned.) August Week One Tues. 22 Syllabus review
Thurs. 24 General orientation to TV studio Handout on exercise #1 on equipment start-up and basics
Week Two Tues. 29 Section 6.1-Camera operation and picture composition Section 6.2-Framing effective shots Thurs. 31 Meet in TV studio for camera exercise #2 using pan, dolly, tilt, focus, zoom
Read Section 19.1 September Week Three Tues. 05 Section 19.1-Multicamera studio directing Explain switcher Read Section 9.1
Thurs. 07 Section 9.1-How microphones hear
Week Four Tues. 12 Meet in TV studio for audio board exercise #3 (2 crews in shifts)
Thurs. 14 Section 16.1-What production people do
Week Five Tues. 19 Exam #1-1.1, 6.1, 6.2, 9.1, 10.1, 19.1
Thurs. 21 Section 3.1-How television cameras work
Week Six Tues. 26 Section 5.1-Standard camera mounts and movements TV studio exercise introduction Thurs. 28 TV studio exercise
October Week Seven Tues. 03 TV studio exercise View TV studio exercise tapes Thurs. 05 TV studio exercise
Week Eight Tues. 10 TV studio exercise
Thurs. 12 Section 8.1-Lighting in the studio
Week Nine Tues. 17 Discuss Talk Show Handout rotation grid
Thurs. 19 Exam #2-Sections 3.1, 4.1, 5.1, 8.1, 16.1, 16.2 Week Ten Tues. 24 Talk Show taping, rotation A Thurs. 26 Talk Show taping, rotations A & B Week Eleven Tues. 31 Talk Show taping, rotations A & B November Thurs. 02 Talk Show taping, rotations A & B Week Twelve Tues. 07 View and critique Talk Show tapes Thurs. 09 Talk Show taping, rotations A & B Week Thirteen Tues. 14 Talk Show taping, rotations A & B Thurs. 16 Talk Show taping, rotations A & B Week Fourteen Tues. 21 View and critique Talk Show tapes Thurs. 23 Thanksgiving Day-NO CLASS! Week Fifteen Tues. 28 Talk Show taping, rotations A & B Thurs. 30 Talk Show taping, rotations A & B December Week Sixteen Tues. 05 View and critique Talk Show tapes Handout on equipment final View sample exam tape Week Seventeen Tues. 12 Equipment Final Exam-TV Studio, 2-4 p.m., by appointment
POLICY ON ABSENTEEISM In order for you to learn the material presented in this course, your attendance is considered very important. The instructor recognizes that there may be times when you cannot attend class for very good reasons. An excused absence will be given for the following reasons:
Proof must be presented to the instructor on the next class day that you attend, if you wish to receive an excused absence. An excused absence will not be given without the following evidence for each of the absence conditions stated in number 3 above:
Student will be allowed to make up missed work for excused absences, but may be given an alternate form of a test which has already been administered to the rest of the class. Student must make every attempt to get caught up as quickly and as completely as possible For conditions of serious and prolonged illness late in the semester, beyond the period of a legitimate withdrawal, the instructor may agree to grant a grade of incomplete for the course. A grade of incomplete is rarely given and will be considered on a special case-by-case basis. Note: I wish to acknowledge and thank Dr. Glenn Novak for allowing me to use parts of his syllabus to design this one. His materials and advice are greatly appreciated!
AGREEMENT FOR COMM 3352 PARTICIPATION I, , have read the syllabus for COMM 3352 and (print your name) understand the requirements and regulations. I hereby agree to those and other requirements and regulations that are stipulated by the instructor of COMM 3352. I also accept financial responsibility for the cost of repair or replacement of equipment and supplies if it is determined by the instructor or TV station personnel, in conjunction with the department chairperson, that damage or destruction of such equipment and supplies is a result of my actions or behavior, except when such damage is clearly an accident.
SIGNED DATE
© B.L. Yates 2000 |