COMM 3352: Television Production I
Tuesday/Thursday:
Instructor:
Office: Humanities 151
Department of Mass
Communications and Theatre Arts
State
Office Hours: T/R
W
By Appointment
Telephone: (770) 836-4564
E-mail: byates@westga.edu
My UWG: http://myuwg.westga.edu
Personal 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.
Acknowledgement: 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!
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.
1. Zettl, H.
(2003). Television production
handbook (8th ed.).
*It
is not possible to successfully complete the requirements of COMM 3352 without
reading the textbook and additional materials.
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.
Mass Communications Program Learning
Outcomes:
1.
Students
will be able to understand critically the origin, development, and paramount
economic, legal/policy, social, and effects issues of mass media.
2.
Students
will be able to understand critically structure and process of mass media
industries within economic, legal, and ethical considerations.
3.
Students
will develop the ability to write mass media messages with accuracy, clarity,
and brevity on deadline and within varying style, ethical, and legal
considerations.
4.
Students
will develop proficient use of technology to produce visual and audio messages
for mass media within varying aesthetic, style, technical, ethical, and legal
considerations.
5.
Students
will be able to gain practical experiences to apply and test knowledge and
skills, and to network with professionals.
6.
Students
will be encouraged to engage in interdisciplinary scholarship.
7.
Students
will be provided a foundation for graduate study in communication.
Course Learning Outcomes:
1.
The
student will gain knowledge and exhibit proper use of the broad television
production lexicon.
2.
The
student will gain knowledge and exhibit proper use of studio production
equipment, facilities, and personnel.
3.
The
student will use these acquired skills critically and creatively in the
development and production of both instructor-directed and student-directed
television productions.
Grades earned in this class are based solely
on the following:
Exam #1-100 points
Exam #2-100 points
Production-150 points
Equipment skills
test-75 points
Studio set up and
strike-25 points
A=450-500
B=400-449
C=350-399
D=300-349
F=299 and below
Exams: Two exams will be
administered during the summer session.
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, DVDs, and CD-ROMs viewed in class.
Each exam is worth 100 points toward your final grade.
Equipment Skills Test: 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. You have two
(2) excused absences, so use them judiciously and sparingly (i.e., car
trouble, minor illness, job interview, etc.).
Ten points will be deducted for each absence in excess of two. (For example, you will lose 30 points if you
miss 5 total classes for the semester). (Excessive
absences (more than 9) will result in failure of the course).
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.
You will follow a
production schedule and crew rotation sheet.
Attendance is required during
all TV productions. If you are absent
during a TV production, you will receive a zero
for all graded positions to which you were assigned. 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.
My UWG Campus Pipeline: It will be necessary to keep in contact with
one another via the My UWG Campus Pipeline (i.e., e-mail and WebCT). You will
be responsible for checking the Campus Pipeline (http://myuwg.westga.edu/cp/home/loginf)
on a regular basis for class announcements, assignments, and discussion topics.
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.
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 Dr. David Goff, chair of the Department of Mass Communications
and Theatre Arts, or me and proper action will be taken.
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.
1.
Use
facilities only during class time or under the supervision of the instructor or
TV station personnel.
2.
Do not
operate anything until you understand it.
3.
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.
4.
Never
“force” anything. If you think something
isn’t working properly or is malfunctioning, notify the instructor or TV
station personnel immediately.
5.
Share
the work when flats, risers, props and equipment are to be set up and put away.
6.
Do not
set up or turn on any equipment until instructor or TV station personnel gives
the OK.
7.
NO
EATING, DRINKING, SMOKING, OR TOBACCO CHEWING IN CONTROL ROOM OR STUDIO. ABSOLUTELY NONE!
8.
Do not
step on any cables, video, audio, or otherwise.
9.
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.
10.
Do not
attempt to repair equipment. Do not take
apart any equipment.
11.
Use
courtesy and patience with each other.
Do not physically or verbally abuse other people.
12.
Watch
your time so as not to go overtime and start eating into the allotted time slot
of another student.
TIME
l
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 15-16 students and a limited amount
of studio/class time, so our schedules will be tight. Be ready.
Be on time. Plan ahead.
l
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.
TALK SHOW TIMETABLE
Each student will
be allowed a total of 30 minutes to get his or her production on tape. We will attempt to run 2 student producers
through in a given lab period, with 15 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 30 MINUTES AFTER YOUR SCHEDULED START TIME, EVEN IF YOU ARE IN THE
MIDDLE OF PRODUCTION!
(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. 24-Syllabus
review/General overview of TV production team, studio, control room
Thurs. 26- Section
1.1-What TV production is all about/General
orientation to TV studio/Exercise #1-Equipment start-up and basics
Week Two
Tues. 31-Section
6.1-Camera operation and picture composition/Section 6.2-Framing effective
shots
September
Thurs. 02-Exercise #2-Camera pan, dolly, tilt, focus,
zoom (2 crews in shifts)
Week Three
Tues. 07-Section
19.1-Multicamera studio directing/Explain
switcher
Thurs. 09-Section
9.1-How microphones hear/Section 10.1-Sound controls and how to use them
Week Four
Tues. 14-Exercise #3-Audio Board (2 crews in shifts)
Thurs.
16-Section 16.1-What production people do/Section 16.2-How to do makeup and
what to wear
Week Five
Tues. 21-Exam #1-1.1, 6.1, 6.2, 9.1, 10.1, 19.1
Thurs. 23-Section
3.1-How television cameras work/Section 4.1-What lenses are
Week Six
Tues. 28-Section
5.1-Standard camera mounts and movements/TV
studio exercise introduction
Thurs. 30-TV studio exercise
October
Week Seven
Week Eight
Thurs.
14-Section 8.1-Lighting in the studio/Last
Day to Withdraw with a W
Week Nine
Tues. 19-Discuss Talk Show/Handout rotation grid/Meetings between Hosts
and Guests to prepare for Talk Show
Thurs. 21-Exam #2-Sections 3.1, 4.1, 5.1, 8.1, 16.1,
16.2
Week Ten
Tues. 26-Talk Show taping
Thurs. 28-Talk Show taping
November
Week Eleven
Tues. 02-Talk Show taping
Thurs. 04-Talk Show taping
Week Twelve
Tues. 09-Talk Show taping
Thurs. 11-View and
critique Talk Show tapes/(Yates
tentatively out of town)
Week Thirteen
Tues. 16-Talk Show taping
Thurs. 18- View
and critique Talk Show tapes/Handout on equipment final/(Yates tentatively out of town)
Week Fourteen
Tues. 23- Talk Show taping
Thurs. 25-Thanksgiving Day-NO CLASS!
Week Fifteen
Tues. 30-Talk Show taping
December
Thurs. 02-Talk Show taping
Week Sixteen
Tues. 07-Equipment skills test-By appointment
Fri. 10-Reading
Day
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