MEDIA CORE
A theoretical and practical introduction to the human phenomenon of storytelling, what stories are, their central role in culture from ancient times to the present day, and how storytellers seek and communicate meaning. Particular attention will be paid to the significance of story in the Judeo-Christian tradition and story’s role within the Christian faith. Students will generate numerous story ideas, and with the help of their classmates and the instructor will evaluate those ideas in terms of audience appeal, theme and meaning.
This course introduces students to the diverse world of radio, television, news, cinema, internet, print and advertising. Students will learn how to critically experience such media and analyze its desired results. Students will also explore how media has developed and evolved through history and examine the current influences of media on society from a cultural, artistic and economic perspective. In addition, we will explore what the role of Christians in this new media environment can and should be, and how we can best utilize the opportunities available to us to become who we want to be.
This class will study some of the most important films in American cinema to understand the cultural context in which they were created, the role of the director in the filmmaking process, and the lasting legacy that the various films enjoy.
The course examines the legal relationships in the motion picture and television industries, as well as the legal relationships between artists and their personal managers. It covers the key legal principles that are involved in most media productions. This includes with trade unions, licensing, intellectual property and contract issues. In addition, this course explores ethical challenges students are likely to encounter working in entertainment and guides them through the development of a personal code of ethics that is informed by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
In this course students identify their specialized interest and value within the media industry, and through the creation of a comprehensive career strategy, use specialized knowledge, skills and experience to prepare themselves to be hired by media companies and promote themselves within the media industry. The class will also look at the unique world of freelancing and give students the tools necessary to venture into self-employment.
The senior project is a series of courses (up to three) in which students will work either individually or as part of a team and create or contribute to a significant media project that spotlights their area of emphasis. Class I is the pre-production phase. Instructor approval is required to take this class.
The senior project is a series of courses (up to three) in which students will work either individually or as part of a team and create or contribute to a significant media project that spotlights their area of emphasis. Class II is the production phase. Instructor approval is required to take this class.
The senior project is a series of courses (up to three) in which students will work either individually or as part of a team and create or contribute to a significant media project that spotlights their area of emphasis. Class III is the post-production phase. Instructor approval is required to take this class.
Directing
This class will focus on the basic fundamentals of post-production, which includes picture and sound editing, media management, media capture and the various editing techniques available to editors to communicate ideas. The class will cover the history of cinematic editing and the impact it has had on visual storytelling, as well as the various styles of editing that make up the language of cinema. Students will learn and use editing software to edit various projects and assignments.
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of pre-production and production, and the roles and responsibilities of all personnel and positions that are essential to its success. Students will become familiarized with the detailed preparation required for the shoot and the interdependence of the script, budget, schedule, and breakdown. Students will also learn how a digital video camera works, the characteristics of lenses, how to record clean sound, and how to use lighting to illuminate and shape an image.
In this class, students will work as part of a collaborative production team that will write, produce, film and edit a short-form narrative film. Students will gain an understanding and knowledge of the key personnel positions required to produce a film, and will execute those job functions by taking a project through pre-production, production and post-production.
Course description coming soon
Students learn to analyze and exploration directorial approaches used in film and television, looking particularly at the creative use of cameras, sound, composition, and communication with those in front of and behind the camera. They explore, from a directorial perspective, the expressive potential of the image within. They learn methodologies, which stimulate visual creativity and positioning the image as the fundamental element of cinematic expression. They engage in exercises in the analysis of script and for purpose of directing actors to obtain the best possible performance.
In this production intensive class which builds on the directing fundamentals learned in Directing I, students will work together weekly to create short film subjects, dealing with spiritual and Christian subject matter, in an attempt to connect noble themes to photographed light. Students will be assigned weekly subjects and be expected to present them in class for feedback and analysis.
This course builds on the storytelling fundamentals learned in Story, Genre and Structure, with specific application to writing for the screen. The student will learn the basics of scriptwriting and will combine this with previously acquired writing and storytelling skills to write a spec script for an existing half-hour or hour-long television series. Students will hone their presentation skills to pitch their television story. Class time will be dedicated to covering beginning and intermediate topics including breaking stories, scene writing, dialogue, subtext, direction, giving and receiving notes in a writers’ group, and script format. Students will critique one another’s work in small groups, with instructor guidance. Considerable time will be required for students to write outside of class. Students will read and respond to the required texts as well as assigned episodic television scripts.
ELECTIVES (Pick at least 5)
In this class, students will work as part of a collaborative production team that will write, produce, film and edit a short-form narrative film. Students will gain an understanding and knowledge of the key personnel positions required to produce a film, and will execute those job functions by taking a project through pre-production, production and post-production.
This introduction to screen acting begins by analyzing the similarities and differences between stage and screen acting. Course work continues into exercises that instruct students on basic screen techniques and will evolve into introductory scene work in front of the camera.
Actors collaborate with a select group of directors and cinematographers to craft compelling scenes in a narrative film environment. Scenes are performed and captured on set with active mentorship from faculty to foster fruitful collaborations between actors and directors. Students study their work in post production to develop a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities that exist within narrative filmmaking to craft a dynamic performance.
Actors collaborate with a select group of directors and cinematographers to craft compelling scenes in a narrative film environment. Scenes are performed and captured on set with active mentorship from faculty to foster fruitful collaborations between actors and directors. Students study their work in post production to develop a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities that exist within narrative filmmaking to craft a dynamic performance.
Course description coming soon
This course explores the craft of filmmaking through an in-depth analysis of the work and career of director Christopher Nolan. Students study Nolan's distinct visual style, use of theme, filmmaking philosophy, and the unique career path that lead to his commercial and critical success in the entertainment industry.
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
Students will learn the basics of motion picture production using real-time rendering in Unreal Engine and will leave with a completed project that demonstrates proficiency in both the engine and its application across several stages of production. Additional topics include motion capture and tracking a real world camera.
This course continues to build students' proficiency in motion picture production using real-time rendering in Unreal Engine through several group projects. Additional topics include motion capture, facial capture, and virtual camera tracking.
Course description coming soon
This course will cover the fundamentals of sound and how they are applied in a media environment to communicate a message. The class will address the importance of sound in the pre-production process and how to properly prepare a project with a sound state of mind. In the production environment, students will learn the proper sound tools and techniques and how to use them to record clean, consistent and intelligible recordings.
In this course students will acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively communicate an idea to an audience through the use of a documentary film. Students will view and analyze current and past documentaries and identify the idea, concept and structure that makes up the film. Students will create a documentary film that either records the present using behavioral or anthropological means, or recalls the past using historical or biographical elements, incorporating visuals, statements and interviews with verifiable truths.
Course description coming soon
This class expands on many of the skills learned in the Fundamentals of Production class. Students will learn intermediate camera and lighting techniques and how to use these specific tools to communicate a story visually. Specific emphasis will be on image composition, lens characteristics, codecs and formats, camera settings, specific lighting styles and instruments, and how the camera and lights complement and support the storytelling experience.
This class will build on the skills learned in Fundamentals of Post-Production. Students will analyze different editing styles and techniques for impact and effectiveness. They will apply these different approaches in various exercises relating to pacing, rhythm, emotion, montage and style, as well as the interplay of picture and sound. The application of proper media management and workflow will also be incorporated.
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
Production
This class will focus on the basic fundamentals of post-production, which includes picture and sound editing, media management, media capture and the various editing techniques available to editors to communicate ideas. The class will cover the history of cinematic editing and the impact it has had on visual storytelling, as well as the various styles of editing that make up the language of cinema. Students will learn and use editing software to edit various projects and assignments.
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of pre-production and production, and the roles and responsibilities of all personnel and positions that are essential to its success. Students will become familiarized with the detailed preparation required for the shoot and the interdependence of the script, budget, schedule, and breakdown. Students will also learn how a digital video camera works, the characteristics of lenses, how to record clean sound, and how to use lighting to illuminate and shape an image.
This course builds on the storytelling fundamentals learned in Story, Genre and Structure, with specific application to writing for the screen. The student will learn the basics of scriptwriting and will combine this with previously acquired writing and storytelling skills to write a spec script for an existing half-hour or hour-long television series. Students will hone their presentation skills to pitch their television story. Class time will be dedicated to covering beginning and intermediate topics including breaking stories, scene writing, dialogue, subtext, direction, giving and receiving notes in a writers’ group, and script format. Students will critique one another’s work in small groups, with instructor guidance. Considerable time will be required for students to write outside of class. Students will read and respond to the required texts as well as assigned episodic television scripts.
This course will cover the fundamentals of sound and how they are applied in a media environment to communicate a message. The class will address the importance of sound in the pre-production process and how to properly prepare a project with a sound state of mind. In the production environment, students will learn the proper sound tools and techniques and how to use them to record clean, consistent and intelligible recordings.
In this course students will acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively communicate an idea to an audience through the use of a documentary film. Students will view and analyze current and past documentaries and identify the idea, concept and structure that makes up the film. Students will create a documentary film that either records the present using behavioral or anthropological means, or recalls the past using historical or biographical elements, incorporating visuals, statements and interviews with verifiable truths.
This class expands on many of the skills learned in the Fundamentals of Production class. Students will learn intermediate camera and lighting techniques and how to use these specific tools to communicate a story visually. Specific emphasis will be on image composition, lens characteristics, codecs and formats, camera settings, specific lighting styles and instruments, and how the camera and lights complement and support the storytelling experience.
Course description coming soon
ELECTIVES (Pick at least 5)
In this class, students will work as part of a collaborative production team that will write, produce, film and edit a short-form narrative film. Students will gain an understanding and knowledge of the key personnel positions required to produce a film, and will execute those job functions by taking a project through pre-production, production and post-production.
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
Students will learn the basics of motion picture production using real-time rendering in Unreal Engine and will leave with a completed project that demonstrates proficiency in both the engine and its application across several stages of production. Additional topics include motion capture and tracking a real world camera.
This course continues to build students' proficiency in motion picture production using real-time rendering in Unreal Engine through several group projects. Additional topics include motion capture, facial capture, and virtual camera tracking.
Course description coming soon
The Producer: Planning for Production provides a theoretical and practical introduction to the role of the film producer in five principle areas:
- Creative development
- Packaging
- Financing
- Budgeting, scheduling and hiring
- Marketing and distribution
Students learn to analyze and exploration directorial approaches used in film and television, looking particularly at the creative use of cameras, sound, composition, and communication with those in front of and behind the camera. They explore, from a directorial perspective, the expressive potential of the image within. They learn methodologies, which stimulate visual creativity and positioning the image as the fundamental element of cinematic expression. They engage in exercises in the analysis of script and for purpose of directing actors to obtain the best possible performance.
This class will build on the skills learned in Fundamentals of Post-Production. Students will analyze different editing styles and techniques for impact and effectiveness. They will apply these different approaches in various exercises relating to pacing, rhythm, emotion, montage and style, as well as the interplay of picture and sound. The application of proper media management and workflow will also be incorporated.
This course concentrates on the understanding of how light works, how to manipulate it, and how to use light and its supporting instruments to light in a way that will communicate emotion and help establish the visual character of a film. Students work with various types and styles of lighting instruments, stands, grip equipment and light modifiers as they light a variety of scenes.
In this production intensive class which builds on the directing fundamentals learned in Directing I, students will work together weekly to create short film subjects, dealing with spiritual and Christian subject matter, in an attempt to connect noble themes to photographed light. Students will be assigned weekly subjects and be expected to present them in class for feedback and analysis.
This class focuses primarily on the role of the cinematographer. Students will learn how to visually communicate an idea through extensive use of the camera and lights. Areas of emphasis will include composition, camera techniques, camera placement and movement, lens characteristics, color, depth of field, lighting techniques, the qualities of light and color temperature.
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
This course is an introduction to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Students will learn techniques for photo enhancement, image compositing, and logo creation through several projects
Course description coming soon
This course introduces students to the motion graphics industry through a study of various trends, techniques and programs, as well as hands-on design and animation projects that will guide students through industry standard workflows using Photoshop, Illustrator and the fundamentals of After Effects.
Cinematography
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of pre-production and production, and the roles and responsibilities of all personnel and positions that are essential to its success. Students will become familiarized with the detailed preparation required for the shoot and the interdependence of the script, budget, schedule, and breakdown. Students will also learn how a digital video camera works, the characteristics of lenses, how to record clean sound, and how to use lighting to illuminate and shape an image.
Course description coming soon
In this class, students will work as part of a collaborative production team that will write, produce, film and edit a short-form narrative film. Students will gain an understanding and knowledge of the key personnel positions required to produce a film, and will execute those job functions by taking a project through pre-production, production and post-production.
This class expands on many of the skills learned in the Fundamentals of Production class. Students will learn intermediate camera and lighting techniques and how to use these specific tools to communicate a story visually. Specific emphasis will be on image composition, lens characteristics, codecs and formats, camera settings, specific lighting styles and instruments, and how the camera and lights complement and support the storytelling experience.
This course concentrates on the understanding of how light works, how to manipulate it, and how to use light and its supporting instruments to light in a way that will communicate emotion and help establish the visual character of a film. Students work with various types and styles of lighting instruments, stands, grip equipment and light modifiers as they light a variety of scenes.
This class focuses primarily on the role of the cinematographer. Students will learn how to visually communicate an idea through extensive use of the camera and lights. Areas of emphasis will include composition, camera techniques, camera placement and movement, lens characteristics, color, depth of field, lighting techniques, the qualities of light and color temperature.
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
ELECTIVES (Pick at least 5)
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
In this class, students will work as part of a collaborative production team that will write, produce, film and edit a short-form narrative film. Students will gain an understanding and knowledge of the key personnel positions required to produce a film, and will execute those job functions by taking a project through pre-production, production and post-production.
Course description coming soon
In this course students will acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively communicate an idea to an audience through the use of a documentary film. Students will view and analyze current and past documentaries and identify the idea, concept and structure that makes up the film. Students will create a documentary film that either records the present using behavioral or anthropological means, or recalls the past using historical or biographical elements, incorporating visuals, statements and interviews with verifiable truths.
Course description coming soon
Students learn to analyze and exploration directorial approaches used in film and television, looking particularly at the creative use of cameras, sound, composition, and communication with those in front of and behind the camera. They explore, from a directorial perspective, the expressive potential of the image within. They learn methodologies, which stimulate visual creativity and positioning the image as the fundamental element of cinematic expression. They engage in exercises in the analysis of script and for purpose of directing actors to obtain the best possible performance.
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
Introduction to the elements and principles of design, composition design, color theory, color psychology, and basic typography. Practical guidance in color mixing and the visual impact of specific color combinations to support traditional and digital design work.
A thorough breakdown of the process of creating from initial concepts to final design taught by professionals in the design industry.
Students will learn the basics of motion picture production using real-time rendering in Unreal Engine and will leave with a completed project that demonstrates proficiency in both the engine and its application across several stages of production. Additional topics include motion capture and tracking a real world camera.
This course continues to build students' proficiency in motion picture production using real-time rendering in Unreal Engine through several group projects. Additional topics include motion capture, facial capture, and virtual camera tracking.
Course description coming soon
This class will focus on the basic fundamentals of post-production, which includes picture and sound editing, media management, media capture and the various editing techniques available to editors to communicate ideas. The class will cover the history of cinematic editing and the impact it has had on visual storytelling, as well as the various styles of editing that make up the language of cinema. Students will learn and use editing software to edit various projects and assignments.
Whether with Christian intent or not, artists of the Western European tradition have for centuries contended fiercely over questions of form, composition, representation, and relationship to tradition. This survey of the heritage and high-water marks of Western visual art brings students to view and analyze individual works, and larger artistic movements, with the wide-angle lens that allows for the best possible appreciation of beauty. Thus, students will build for themselves the foundation they need for artistic engagement with a culture not exactly known for its historical self-awareness.
Study of fundamental drawing techniques used to represent three-dimensional objects on a twodimensional plane and lay a strong foundation for all other drawing and design courses.
This class focuses on applying industry-standard storyboarding and scripting techniques to Animation/Film production. Topics to be covered include the various purposes and formats of storyboards, the basic terminology and concepts used in storyboarding, and the application of storyboarding techniques to the creation of storyboards with or without a written script. Using Scripts, Sound Tracks, and Character Designs provided by the teacher, students create several Storyboards and presentation Animatics (movies of the Storyboard Panels that are timed to the Sound Tracks).
This course will provide the foundational knowledge and skills related to the production of visual narrative art. Students will explore the relationship between story and character development and learn how to sequentially compose and arrange images to present a coherent and emotionally effective story.
Course description coming soon
Screenwriting
This course builds on the storytelling fundamentals learned in Story, Genre and Structure, with specific application to writing for the screen. The student will learn the basics of scriptwriting and will combine this with previously acquired writing and storytelling skills to write a spec script for an existing half-hour or hour-long television series. Students will hone their presentation skills to pitch their television story. Class time will be dedicated to covering beginning and intermediate topics including breaking stories, scene writing, dialogue, subtext, direction, giving and receiving notes in a writers’ group, and script format. Students will critique one another’s work in small groups, with instructor guidance. Considerable time will be required for students to write outside of class. Students will read and respond to the required texts as well as assigned episodic television scripts.
Students will continue their study of screenwriting with a focus on writing narrative films under 40 minutes in length. They will screen and analyze multiple examples of short cinema to gain an understanding of the qualities possessed by the best examples of the form. They will write numerous short scripts with the goal of generating one or more short scripts of high quality that can be produced either inside or outside the university setting. Students will critique one another's work with instructor supervision and guidance. Considerable time will be required for students to write. Students will read and respond to the required texts.
This course builds on student understanding of screen storytelling established in Story, Genre and Structure and Writing and Pitching a Script. Students will develop an original feature-length screen story from multiple ideas through idea evaluation and selection, character creation and development, story structure, treatment, pitch and beat sheet. At the end of the course, students will register their work with the WGA (a $20 fee). Students will consider more advanced screenwriting concepts presented in the text and will apply those principles to their developing stories.
This course builds on the work completed in Fundamentals of Story Development. Students will at a minimum write the first two acts of a screenplay. They will read classic and modern screenplays. Class time will be dedicated to covering intermediate topics including scene transitions, writing with subtext, visual writing, and further developing skills in scene and dialogue writing and script formatting, and finding solutions to writer's block. Students will critique one another's work in small groups, with instructor supervision and guidance. Considerable time will be required for students to write.
Students will continue their study of screenwriting begun in Writing for the Screen I. They will complete the first draft of a feature length screenplay and plan and complete a second draft of that screenplay, and they will register their finished work with the WGA. Class time will be dedicated to covering intermediate and advanced topics including rewriting, working with producers, directors and agents, types of professional meetings and how to make the most of them, how to seek buyers for scripted material, and the articulation of a well-developed personal code of ethics in entertainment. Students will critique one another's work in small groups, with instructor supervision and guidance. Considerable time will be required for students to write. Students will read and respond to the required texts as well as to feature screenplays and episodic television scripts.
This course provides advanced writing experience for students who have completed multiple scripts for the screen. Assignments will be individualized based on student experience, interest, and skill, and may include development and writing of feature film scripts, television episodes or pilots, short film scripts, and scripts for web-based distribution. Students may also rewrite existing works for which they've written earlier drafts. Students will read and lead discussions of numerous screenplays. Students will pitch their stories, and may be asked to pitch to students in other courses. Students will critique one another’s work in large and small groups, with instructor supervision and guidance. They will also develop a personalized career strategy as a writer for the screen. The knowledge, skills, and experience gained in this course will serve aspiring writers, writer-directors, and writer-producers for film, television, and new media. Considerable time will be required for students to write and develop scripts outside of class.
This course builds on the storytelling fundamentals learned in Story, Genre and Structure, and Fundamentals of Story Development, with a focus on the principles and skills of adapting for the screen a story which originates in another medium, as well as adapting true stories for the screen. The student will consider the challenges inherent in adapting a story from another medium, and from true life, and will gain skills and experience by writing, developing, and/or pitching multiple stories of this type. The knowledge, skills, and experience gained in this course will serve aspiring screenwriters, as well as aspiring producers, directors, agents, managers, and executives who will involve themselves in the development of story material for the screen. Students will pitch their adaptations and will critique one another’s work in large and small groups, with instructor supervision and guidance. Considerable time will be required for students to write and develop stories outside of class. Students will read and respond to the required text.
ELECTIVES (Pick at least 5)
An exploration of the business and craft of writing for television. Students will study the distinctive characteristics of television storytelling, including episodic structure, character orchestration for television, hour-long versus half-hour writing, group writing and rewriting, spec writing for existing shows, the development and pitching of new series, writing pilots, and launching a television writing career.
Course description coming soon
This course follows Advanced Writing Seminar I and provides additional advanced writing experience for students who have completed multiple scripts for the screen. Assignments will be individualized based on student experience, interest, and skill, and may include development and writing of feature film scripts, television episodes or pilots, short film scripts, and scripts for web-based distribution. Students may also rewrite existing works for which they've written earlier drafts. Students will read and lead discussions of numerous screenplays. Students will pitch their stories, and may be asked to pitch to students in other courses. Students will critique one another’s work in large and small groups, with instructor supervision and guidance. They may also be asked to supervise the script development work of underclassmen. The knowledge, skills, and experience gained in this course will serve aspiring writers, writer-directors, and writer-producers for film, television, and new media. Considerable time will be required for students to write and develop scripts outside of class.
Course description coming soon
This course explores the craft of screenwriting through analyzing and studying successful screenplays in a wide variety of genres and styles. Students read excerpts from numerous masterworks of screenwriting and strive to craft writing samples that achieve artistic and technical excellence guided and inspired by what they have read.
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
Fictional narrative, that human invention that trips so naturally from the tongues of children and grandparents alike, appears simple, even inevitable. Such appearances can be deceiving, however. Any narrative worthy of the name— one employing richly drawn characters and tensile plotting, and set down in lucid and evocative language—functions as a highly complex artistic organism. This course brings students to notice trademarks of excellent and lasting prose fiction, and to engage critically with prominent works so as to discern accurately between a masterpiece and a piece of pulp masquerading as well-hewn literature.
This course exposes students to the vast wealth of the English-language poetic tradition. Beginning with the micro-sagas, riddles and serenades that populate Old and Middle English verse, students advance to engage with major writers and works of intervening centuries before concluding with the more familiar speech—but also the bewildering disjunction— of the poetry of our modern era.
This course serves as an introduction to the art of short story writing, providing students with the opportunity to produce and share original work while developing their understanding of foundational aspects of prose fiction. Class discussions focus on the work of established masters of the short story form, and regular workshop sessions provide opportunities to explore and critique the stories of classmates, and to build a supportive writing community in the process.
Picking up where Writing Short Fiction I leaves off, this course affords advanced students additional instruction in the demanding art of short story writing. The workshop model continues to frame discussions of original student work, and during other class discussions particular stress is laid on finer aspects of craft and sincere engagement with more recent masters of the form.
This course affords students the opportunity to engage with the art of poetry as practitioners. By increasing each students’ awareness of musicality, artistic process, aesthetic sensibility, and the impressionistic power of language, this course aims to enable the crafting of lasting pieces of literary art.
This course continues where Writing Poetry leaves off, offering students additional engagement with the art of poetry as practitioners. Readings of well-crafted and thought-provoking poetry will inspire original work, and exercises will prompt additional growth in specific areas--musicality, form, contrast, and line, among others. The quarter will conclude with students assembling a collection of original work.
This course is oriented toward the production of a complete, substantial, and complex work of prose fiction. This process of writing a novella or significant prose narrative will provide students with a unique opportunity to learn and master elements of prose fiction such as character, structure, plot arc, narrative voice, and prose style, with the ultimate aim of creating a lasting work of literary art.
Course description coming soon
Producing
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of pre-production and production, and the roles and responsibilities of all personnel and positions that are essential to its success. Students will become familiarized with the detailed preparation required for the shoot and the interdependence of the script, budget, schedule, and breakdown. Students will also learn how a digital video camera works, the characteristics of lenses, how to record clean sound, and how to use lighting to illuminate and shape an image.
This course builds on the storytelling fundamentals learned in Story, Genre and Structure, with specific application to writing for the screen. The student will learn the basics of scriptwriting and will combine this with previously acquired writing and storytelling skills to write a spec script for an existing half-hour or hour-long television series. Students will hone their presentation skills to pitch their television story. Class time will be dedicated to covering beginning and intermediate topics including breaking stories, scene writing, dialogue, subtext, direction, giving and receiving notes in a writers’ group, and script format. Students will critique one another’s work in small groups, with instructor guidance. Considerable time will be required for students to write outside of class. Students will read and respond to the required texts as well as assigned episodic television scripts.
The Producer: Planning for Production provides a theoretical and practical introduction to the role of the film producer in five principle areas:
- Creative development
- Packaging
- Financing
- Budgeting, scheduling and hiring
- Marketing and distribution
This course builds on student understanding of screen storytelling established in Story, Genre and Structure and Writing and Pitching a Script. Students will develop an original feature-length screen story from multiple ideas through idea evaluation and selection, character creation and development, story structure, treatment, pitch and beat sheet. At the end of the course, students will register their work with the WGA (a $20 fee). Students will consider more advanced screenwriting concepts presented in the text and will apply those principles to their developing stories.
Advanced Producing will provide students with an in depth study of the specific tasks and responsibilities of film producers. Students will be responsible for pre-production of a script, including green light analysis and creating a preliminary budget and schedule for a feature film script. Students will gain a better understanding of various types of specialized producing positions.
This course explores the principles of Film Finance including using private equity, tax incentives, distribution, crowd funding and other traditional and emerging methods of funding media projects.
Advanced Distribution and Marketing Strategies is a forward-looking, upper-level course that prepares students with a knowledge of historic and existing strategies for the marketing and distribution of media products in particular as a way to understand the marketing and distribution of all products more generally. The course prepares students to appreciate the rapidly developing opportunities presented by new media, and to devise new marketing and distribution strategies which take advantage of those opportunities.
ELECTIVES (Pick at least 5)
In this class, students will work as part of a collaborative production team that will write, produce, film and edit a short-form narrative film. Students will gain an understanding and knowledge of the key personnel positions required to produce a film, and will execute those job functions by taking a project through pre-production, production and post-production.
This course builds on the storytelling fundamentals learned in Story, Genre and Structure, and Fundamentals of Story Development, with a focus on the principles and skills of adapting for the screen a story which originates in another medium, as well as adapting true stories for the screen. The student will consider the challenges inherent in adapting a story from another medium, and from true life, and will gain skills and experience by writing, developing, and/or pitching multiple stories of this type. The knowledge, skills, and experience gained in this course will serve aspiring screenwriters, as well as aspiring producers, directors, agents, managers, and executives who will involve themselves in the development of story material for the screen. Students will pitch their adaptations and will critique one another’s work in large and small groups, with instructor supervision and guidance. Considerable time will be required for students to write and develop stories outside of class. Students will read and respond to the required text.
This course explores the craft of screenwriting through analyzing and studying successful screenplays in a wide variety of genres and styles. Students read excerpts from numerous masterworks of screenwriting and strive to craft writing samples that achieve artistic and technical excellence guided and inspired by what they have read.
This class will focus on the basic fundamentals of post-production, which includes picture and sound editing, media management, media capture and the various editing techniques available to editors to communicate ideas. The class will cover the history of cinematic editing and the impact it has had on visual storytelling, as well as the various styles of editing that make up the language of cinema. Students will learn and use editing software to edit various projects and assignments.
Course description coming soon
In this course students will acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively communicate an idea to an audience through the use of a documentary film. Students will view and analyze current and past documentaries and identify the idea, concept and structure that makes up the film. Students will create a documentary film that either records the present using behavioral or anthropological means, or recalls the past using historical or biographical elements, incorporating visuals, statements and interviews with verifiable truths.
Students will continue their study of screenwriting with a focus on writing narrative films under 40 minutes in length. They will screen and analyze multiple examples of short cinema to gain an understanding of the qualities possessed by the best examples of the form. They will write numerous short scripts with the goal of generating one or more short scripts of high quality that can be produced either inside or outside the university setting. Students will critique one another's work with instructor supervision and guidance. Considerable time will be required for students to write. Students will read and respond to the required texts.
Course description coming soon
Students learn to analyze and exploration directorial approaches used in film and television, looking particularly at the creative use of cameras, sound, composition, and communication with those in front of and behind the camera. They explore, from a directorial perspective, the expressive potential of the image within. They learn methodologies, which stimulate visual creativity and positioning the image as the fundamental element of cinematic expression. They engage in exercises in the analysis of script and for purpose of directing actors to obtain the best possible performance.
In this production intensive class which builds on the directing fundamentals learned in Directing I, students will work together weekly to create short film subjects, dealing with spiritual and Christian subject matter, in an attempt to connect noble themes to photographed light. Students will be assigned weekly subjects and be expected to present them in class for feedback and analysis.
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
Students will learn the basics of motion picture production using real-time rendering in Unreal Engine and will leave with a completed project that demonstrates proficiency in both the engine and its application across several stages of production. Additional topics include motion capture and tracking a real world camera.
This course continues to build students' proficiency in motion picture production using real-time rendering in Unreal Engine through several group projects. Additional topics include motion capture, facial capture, and virtual camera tracking.
Course description coming soon
A course designed for an aspiring entrepreneur to apply a proven process to generate leads for possible sales. Upon completion of the course, students will be prepared to assess marketing opportunities and target markets, as well as know how to integrate marketing and sales tactics/strategies to support business development. Students will implement a lead generation strategy for their individual venture or example business, and design a multipronged approach to reach the sphere of influence.
Applied Market Research offers students an overview of market research techniques and primary and secondary research strategies informed by a Christian code of conduct. The course is designed to provide them with the principles, vocabulary, tools and practice necessary to identify a market demographic, write a research brief, develop and implement a research study, and analyze the findings.
This course will prepare you to act both strategically and tactically - utilizing social media tools like blogs, microblogs (Twitter), vodcasts, video, and networking sites to engage with your audience and sell your products and services.
The purpose of this class is to review current information about companies and business trends, to learn important lessons regarding the products they’re selling and the markets they’re serving. Students will use real-world and timely experience from a variety of businesses by reading the Wall Street Journal. Students will also become proficient in brief Power Point presentations.
This course will provide hands-on experience building effective and accurate spreadsheet models. The course reviews and strengthens the student’s understanding of applied mathematical concepts relevant to solving problems in accounting and finance. Students will learn basic and advanced functions, and how to practically apply them to business problems.
Course description coming soon
The student will study of ethical problems encountered in business and the foundational principles to inform decisions involving ethical issues. Topics include ethical concepts, personal integrity, conscience, loyalty and responsibility.
Course description coming soon
Post-Production
This class will focus on the basic fundamentals of post-production, which includes picture and sound editing, media management, media capture and the various editing techniques available to editors to communicate ideas. The class will cover the history of cinematic editing and the impact it has had on visual storytelling, as well as the various styles of editing that make up the language of cinema. Students will learn and use editing software to edit various projects and assignments.
Course description coming soon
This class will build on the skills learned in Fundamentals of Post-Production. Students will analyze different editing styles and techniques for impact and effectiveness. They will apply these different approaches in various exercises relating to pacing, rhythm, emotion, montage and style, as well as the interplay of picture and sound. The application of proper media management and workflow will also be incorporated.
This course builds upon the skills and techniques learned in Sound in Film: Production, with an emphasis on post-production. The class will review the fundamentals of sound and how they are applied in a media environment to help communicate a message. Students will learn the element of a film or video soundtrack and how to take the elements from production and combine with created sounds and effects to create a complete soundtrack. Students will mix, process and enhance the soundtrack in post-production using a digital audio workstation.
This course is an introduction to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Students will learn techniques for photo enhancement, image compositing, and logo creation through several projects.
This course develops the artistic and technical skills needed to enhance a story using visual effects. Students become familiar with Adobe's AfterEffects software and apply fundamental concepts such as masking, keyframing, tracking, and time-remapping to craft visual effects. This class is a pre-requisite for ENTM 417 Compositing.
Course description coming soon
ELECTIVES (Pick at least 5)
Course description coming soon
This class will expand the on the student’s application of the art of compositing. The class will evaluate the limits of compositing within an editing software application, and then segue into the more advanced platform of Adobe After Effects.
This course introduces students to the motion graphics industry through a study of various trends, techniques and programs, as well as hands-on design and animation projects that will guide students through industry standard workflows using Photoshop, Illustrator and the fundamentals of After Effects.
This course is a deep dive into Adobe After Effects. Students will learn various advanced animation techniques used in the motion graphics industry, including character rigging and animation. Students will ultimately learn foundational techniques that will give them the technical ability to work on any professional motion graphics project.
Comprehensive introduction to the various components of 3D animation technology including modeling, animating, rendering, and lighting.
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of pre-production and production, and the roles and responsibilities of all personnel and positions that are essential to its success. Students will become familiarized with the detailed preparation required for the shoot and the interdependence of the script, budget, schedule, and breakdown. Students will also learn how a digital video camera works, the characteristics of lenses, how to record clean sound, and how to use lighting to illuminate and shape an image.
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
Course description coming soon
Students will learn the basics of motion picture production using real-time rendering in Unreal Engine and will leave with a completed project that demonstrates proficiency in both the engine and its application across several stages of production. Additional topics include motion capture and tracking a real world camera.
This course continues to build students' proficiency in motion picture production using real-time rendering in Unreal Engine through several group projects. Additional topics include motion capture, facial capture, and virtual camera tracking.
Course description coming soon
Students learn to analyze and exploration directorial approaches used in film and television, looking particularly at the creative use of cameras, sound, composition, and communication with those in front of and behind the camera. They explore, from a directorial perspective, the expressive potential of the image within. They learn methodologies, which stimulate visual creativity and positioning the image as the fundamental element of cinematic expression. They engage in exercises in the analysis of script and for purpose of directing actors to obtain the best possible performance.
In this production intensive class which builds on the directing fundamentals learned in Directing I, students will work together weekly to create short film subjects, dealing with spiritual and Christian subject matter, in an attempt to connect noble themes to photographed light. Students will be assigned weekly subjects and be expected to present them in class for feedback and analysis.
In this class, students will work as part of a collaborative production team that will write, produce, film and edit a short-form narrative film. Students will gain an understanding and knowledge of the key personnel positions required to produce a film, and will execute those job functions by taking a project through pre-production, production and post-production.
In this course students will acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively communicate an idea to an audience through the use of a documentary film. Students will view and analyze current and past documentaries and identify the idea, concept and structure that makes up the film. Students will create a documentary film that either records the present using behavioral or anthropological means, or recalls the past using historical or biographical elements, incorporating visuals, statements and interviews with verifiable truths.
Course description coming soon
General Education
THEOLOGY
Recent popes have emphasized the necessity of personal encounter with Jesus Christ. This exhortation raises questions, however, for individual Christian disciples. For JPCatholic students, specifically, this course considers how such an encounter can be fostered within a university community, and how it might be lived in an ongoing way. It therefore doubles as an introduction to university community and to Catholic theological study, and connects faith principles with lived experience so as to bolster faith and spur evangelization.
What is it to believe? Is it merely intellectual assent, or something more? Building out from the first section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, this course systematically unpacks the rich and challenging Catholic doctrines contained in the early creeds of the Church, presenting students with a faith that invites assent of all their heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Our redemption was accomplished by a God who entered history. As a consequence, Catholics understand communion as something that occurs in a context of tradition. Faith is handed down over centuries by the successors of the apostles; we read and interpret Sacred Scripture according to long-established understandings and principles; our prayer to the Father through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit bears a striking resemblance to that of the first Christian communities. This course examines sacramental ritual and considers the perennial necessity of personal prayer, enabling students to better understand the power of this ancient faith. In its essential elements it never changes—which is precisely what allows it to change us.
It is all too easy to see one’s own desires as what really matters, and to live accordingly. With his Theology of the Body, however, Pope St. John Paul the Great offers a fresh perspective, one that dares to lift us above the confusion and malaise wrought by this era’s remarkable selfishness. This course affords students an opportunity to explore this theological treasure given to the Church by our university’s patron, and to better see how an individual human life can be lived not selfishly, but as a gift received from God and intended for others.
In this course the student explores the Scriptures, particularly the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) to understand the person of Jesus Christ. This Scripture course serves as the starting point for JPCatholic University’s religion curriculum. While examining some of the basic literary and historical issues relating to Scripture study, the course also introduces students to the theological principles of Catholic biblical exegesis. The course also explores ways the study of Scripture enhances the life of prayer.
PHILOSOPHY
In this course students learn about the basic structures of sound reasoning, focusing largely on classic Aristotelian logic. The course serves to help students think and argue with clarity as well as to effectively analyze arguments of others. The course includes a careful analysis of the operations of the intellect, i.e., understanding, judgment, and reasoning, focusing on their products, i.e., term, proposition, and syllogism.
This course is a detailed study in the various understandings of nature, beginning from the mythology of the Enuma Elish as a primitive attempt at grasping the world, to the classical understanding found in Aristotle’s Physics and 141 Parts of Animals and their Medieval development in Thomas Aquinas’s The Principles of Nature, to foundational texts in modern natural sciences such as those of Descartes, Galileo and Newton, to discussions of evolution found in Darwin, and finally to near contemporary physicists such as Heisenberg. The contrast between the classical stress on substantial form and formal causality and the modern method of material causality and mathematical law will be brought to the forefront, as will the emphasis on technology as a mastery of nature in modern science and the question of teleology, whether nature acts for a purpose.
After providing an overview of the basic principles of the Philosophy of Nature, this course examines the nature of the human being, beginning from the Epic of Gilgamesh, continuing through the Classical period by means of Aristotle, the Middle Ages in St. Thomas Aquinas, the Renaissance via Blaise Pascal, and concluding in the modern period in Nietzsche, Freud and T. S. Eliot.
This is a course in the various understandings of metaphysics, or the nature of being as being, beginning from Plato’s Timaeus, continuing through the Classical period by means of Aristotle, and the Middle Ages in St. Thomas Aquinas. The course continues by covering several related questions, beginning with Natural Theology (discussing the traditional proofs for the existence of God, the Divine Attributes that can be understood using reason alone, the analogy of being, and the act of creation), continuing with the “problem of evil” and the question of free will
HUMANITIES
As this course engages apparently timeless literary works from the classical tradition, it situates them within specific historical contexts. This approach enables students to better appreciate the enduring power of story even as they recognize the complex relationship art to its surrounding culture. Masterworks of pagan antiquity (Homer and/or Virgil) give way to key texts of early Christendom (Augustine, Beowulf, and others) in order to further illuminate the impact of Christian theology and anthropology on artists and thinkers in myriad disciplines.
This course tracks the development in European art and thought during the transition from the High Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Special attention is paid at the outset to the tensions arising from, surrounding, and even bringing about this epochal shift, especially as evidenced in Dante’s Divine Comedy. When the course later shifts its focus to texts produced by Shakespeare and other authors in Renaissance England, students find these tensions now located in increasingly realistic and complex human figures and dramas. Through these explorations students come to see the distinctive groundwork being laid for what will later be recognized as the modern period.
This third course in our Cultural Foundations series tracks the rise of modernity against the backdrop of various 18th and 19th century upheavals. In order to best appreciate the dynamism and complexity of this period, students will immerse themselves in the literary form most characteristic of the 19th century: the novel. By applying order to an increasingly dissonant world, the great novels of the European tradition illuminate daily life amidst revolutionary change in a uniquely personal way, and they capture in their progress both the subtlest movements of human consciousness and the most profound transformations of human hearts.
This course studies a wide variety of global cultures by listening to indigenous voices expressing themselves in cultural products that include novels, films, music, poetry, essays, speeches, and journalism.
This course examines how media and business shape the attitudes, practices and beliefs of individuals and groups, and develops in students a rich understanding of the subtle and powerful cultural currents swirling around them, so that they can make valuable contributions to the development of future cultures. Students will consider critically how media and business shape them, learning to recognize the attitudes, assumptions, arguments and ideas promoted by media and business enterprises and products. They will develop a full, thoughtful and practical understanding of what cultures are and how they grow, and of the university’s mission to Impact Culture for Christ. They will gain an understanding of how Christians are perceived by the cultures around them, and appreciate how one gains the privilege of participation in the shaping of cultures. Finally, students will learn to articulate what of value they have to offer the cultures around them, and how they hope to make that contribution over the course of their lives and careers.
This course will emphasize the use of correct grammar, usage, spelling, punctuation, and mechanics. Students will be required to apply these skills to writing assignments.
This course will build on the skills learned in HUMA122 College Writing I.
(* Must take one of these two courses)
SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS
This course provides students with concepts and strategies related to practical financial and personal decision-making. Taking a holistic approach, students will be given the tools to manage not just their personal finances, but their investments in time, service, etc. Topics will include budgeting, spending, hsaving, borrowing, investing, time management, tithing, and giving.
This course will familiarize students with fundamental scientific concepts and explore how the application of those concepts affects society and global economics. Topics include: the structure of the atom and its applications in biology and physics; circuits, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet of Things; DNA, diseases, and vaccines. Each topic builds towards the question, "what does Catholic teaching tell us about how we as Christians live and participate in this rapidly changing world?"
BUSINESS
In today’s world there is a need for strategic thinking and business vision based on a different paradigm. Competition is not only between products and services, but also between business models. Students will learn about innovation-driven business strategies and methodologies to develop business designs to successfully compete in the new economy.
This course teaches the principles of project management that are commonly used to plan and measure projects in industry. It presents the project management mind-set, tools, and skills for successfully defining, planning, executing, monitoring, controlling, and reporting a project. Topics covered include: the project life cycle, fundamental PM processes, development of the project plan, interpersonal management skills, and managing changes during project execution. Case studies are from technology and media applications.
This course focuses on introducing the idea of “entrepreneurial marketing” and is aimed at students who plan to start a new venture or take a job as a marketing professional pursuing an innovative marketing approach. Students will study a full spectrum of marketing strategy and tactics that are especially suitable for entrepreneurial firms aiming for high growth and innovation yet faced by limited resources and uncertain industry dynamics. Students will work in teams on marketing plans for their own venture or for other high profile entrepreneurs or executives. The focus of this course is on hands-on experiences and practical relevance of innovative marketing concepts.
In this class students get a “big picture” look at the ingredients of a start-up firm and the process of creating one. The class details those ingredients, discusses the stories (good & bad) of people who have done it, and learn the process by going through it with a self-select team. Students learn: the business planning process, which maps how to move from an idea to an actual enterprise offering an actual product/service/apostolate; How to craft a compelling and clear business story that captures the true essence of your business; and finally acquire inquisitiveness as to how the world of business really works. The class deliverable is a complete Business Plan created by student teams along with a presentation of the plan.
This course teaches students to meet and resolve objections and conflicts that result from written and oral proposals and pitches. Emphasis is on resolving customer obstacles before addressing your own. Topics covered include: Wants vs. Needs; Win-Win Strategies; Best Alternatives to Agreement; Schedule vs. Quality vs. Cost; Progress vs. Perfection. The class progresses through carefully structured, progressively more complex negotiation exercises. Students learn how external and internal negotiation has become a way of life for effective managers in a constantly changing business environment.
This course is an introductory-level course for students. Its intent is to give an in-depth understanding of the differences between – and similarities of — leadership and management. The course focuses on the major traits of leaders and managers, and augments these with examples of great historic leaders, including George Custer and Jesus Christ. The course also studies the many leadership traits of Abraham Lincoln, and looks at how these can be applied in modern business to improve management techniques. As part of the learning process, students give summaries of Lincoln’s leadership lessons, using short, Power Point presentations.
This course will teach students how to write and speak effectively in business and other communication.
* Must take one of these two courses
Please note that course offerings and course descriptions are subject to change. Current Students: Please reference the relevant University Catalog to find the course listings and descriptions applicable to your cohort.