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Professor Rick Worland, Division Chair
Associate Professors: Pamela Elder, Sean Griffin, Kevin
Heffernan, David Sedman. Assistant Professors: Carolyn Macartney,
Derek Kompare, Mark Kerins. Lecturer: Kelli Herd.
The Division of Cinema-Television is located in the Umphrey Lee Center, which houses faculty offices, audio and video production areas and media support areas. These include basic video/audio modules, video logging rooms, off-line editing rooms, nonlinear editing labs, film editing suites, storage and equipment checkout, digital audio rooms, editing labs, seminar room, graphics lab, viewing rooms and TV studio and production classrooms. Two additional screening classrooms equipped for film, video and DVD projection are located in the Greer Garson Theatre.
To be admitted to the graduate studies program in Cinema/Television, an applicant must have obtained a bachelor’s degree from a four-year accredited college or university, must have achieved a B average (3.00 on a 4.00 scale) in her or his major during the last two years of undergraduate coursework, must submit recent GRE scores with verbal score achievement of 450 and must have the approval of the graduate faculty in Cinema/Television. An applicant whose G.P.A. or GRE score is below the required level may be admitted conditionally at the discretion of the graduate faculty in Cinema/Television.
Several types of financial assistance are available to help meet the needs of students admitted to the graduate program in Cinema/Television. In addition, Guaranteed Student Loans and some grants may be available to students with demonstrated need.
This 36-hour program in media history/criticism/theory is designed to be completed during a four-semester (two-year) period. Within the course requirements, the program is divided into one-third required courses, one-half electives and one-sixth thesis work.
At the end of each student’s first year, he or she will select a committee of at least three faculty members. This committee will monitor the student’s progress, provide feedback as the student moves toward and creates a thesis and serve as the final examining board after the thesis project has been completed. Additionally, one member of the committee will be selected as the student’s primary adviser; this designation may change over the course of the student’s career. A faculty adviser, most likely one of the student’s committee members, will monitor all thesis project credits.
Credit Hours
Core subtotal: 12
Electives
Thesis
Thesis subtotal: 6
TOTAL CREDIT HOURS -- 36
M.A. candidates are required to register for the Critique/Presentation course every semester that they are enrolled in the program.
If a student applies with a degree from a field other than television-film, broadcasting or telecommunications, the division has the discretion to require him or her to complete undergraduate courses in film/TV history courses (which may include Film/Video Aesthetics, Survey of Television and Media, International Film History or American Film History) or the undergraduate production course Basic Video/Audio Production. These courses will not count in the degree plan, but are especially helpful in preparing students for advanced study in fields with which they may not be sufficiently familiar. Such courses must be passed with a grade of C or better.
All M.A. candidates in Cinema-Television will complete a written thesis project. This project will be a research and theoretical/analytical paper and will have been developed in consultation with the student’s faculty adviser. The completed thesis will be presented to the student’s faculty committee for an oral defense. The defense is to establish that the M.A. candidate’s work is of sufficient depth and rigor, as well as to insure that the student’s general knowledge of critical and historical issues is at the level expected of a M.A. candidate. After this defense, approval of the thesis may be granted as is or the committee may grant provisional approval contingent on necessary revisions. Once the thesis gets final approval from the committee, the student will receive his or her degree at the graduation ceremony at the end of the term.
Graduate History/Criticism/Theory Courses
CTV 6375 Postwar European Cinema
CTV 6390 Italian Cinema
CTV 5110, 5210, 5310 Directed Studies
CTV 5301, 5302, 5303, 5304 Topics in Cinema-Television
CTV 5328 Media Management
CTV 5330 Media Sales
CTV 5339 Television Criticism
CTV 5361 Media Programming
CTV 5390 Technology and Mass Media
CTV 5395 History of Broadcasting
CTV 5399 International Broadcasting
CTV 6100, 6200, 6300, 6301 Thesis
CTV 6304 History of Documentary
CTV 6310 Advanced Screen Artists
CTV 6311, 6312, 6314, 6315 Great Directors
CTV 6313 Introduction to Research Methods
CTV 6317 Historiography
CTV 6328 Media Economics
CTV 6335 Seminar in Media Theory (I)
CTV 6336 Seminar in Media Theory (II)
CTV 6360 Social Effects of Mass Media
CTV 6361 Electronic Media Policy
CTV 6099 Critique and Presentation
This 60-hour program is designed to be completed over a five-semester (two-year) period, although, given the variance in time it takes to complete a film or video project, some students may need a sixth semester. Within the course requirements, the program is divided into 40 percent required courses, 35 percent electives and 25 percent thesis work.
At the end of each student’s first year, he or she will select a committee of at least three faculty members. This committee will monitor the student’s progress and provide feedback as the student moves toward and creates a thesis and serve as the final examining board after the thesis project has been completed. Additionally, one member of the committee will be selected as the student’s primary adviser; this designation may change during the course of the student’s career. A faculty adviser, most likely one of the student’s committee members, will monitor all thesis projects.
Credit Hours
CTV Production Core
Other Core
Core subtotal: 24 credits
Electives
Electives subtotal: 21 credits
Thesis
Thesis subtotal: 15
TOTAL CREDIT HOURS: 60
M.F.A. candidates are required to register for the Critique/Presentation course every semester that they are enrolled in the program.
If a student applies with a degree from a field other that television-film, broadcasting or telecommunications, the division has the discretion to require him or her to complete the undergraduate production course Basic Video/Audio. This course will not count in the degree plan, but is especially helpful in preparing students for advanced study in a field with which they may not be sufficiently familiar. This course must be passed with a grade of C or better.
All M.F.A. candidates in Cinema-Television will complete a thesis project. This project may be either a single film/video/television piece or a combination of several pieces and will have been developed in consultation with the student’s faculty adviser. It is expected that students will work collaboratively with other students and/or a professional cast and crew, but the M.F.A. candidate must have served as the director and primary creative force behind all components of the thesis project.
Once the thesis project has been completed, the student’s faculty committee will interview the student. This examination is to establish that the M.F.A.’s creative work is of sufficient maturity, as well as to insure that the student’s general knowledge of critical and historical issues is at the level expected of a M.F.A. candidate. At this time, students will be expected to present an oral defense or explanation of the thesis project.
After this examination, approval of the thesis project may be granted as is or the committee may grant provisional approval contingent on necessary revisions. Once the thesis committee has approved the finished project, each student must then arrange for a public exhibition of his or her thesis project on campus. This exhibition must include a public screening of the entire thesis project and an opportunity for the audience to question the candidate about the work. After this exhibition, the student must provide the division with a production book for the thesis project and copies of the finished film/video/TV project as specified by the division. Once the exhibition and the faculty examination are completed and approved and the required materials have been turned in, the student will receive his or her degree at the graduation ceremony at the end of that term.
CTV 5110, 5210, 5311, 5312 Directed Studies
CTV 5301, 5302, 5303, 5304 Topics in Cinema-Television
CTV 5316 Producer’s Seminar
CTV 5318, 5321 Seminar in Producing/Directing
CTV 5325 Internship
CTV 5335 Film Exhibition & Distribution
CTV 5374 TV Production Process
CTV 5393 TV II: Remote
CTV 6000, 6100, 6200, 6300, 6301 Thesis Project
CTV 6303 TV I: Studio
CTV 6306 Documentary Production
CTC 6308 Non-Linear Editing
CTV 6313 Intro to Research Methods
CTV 6355 Film Production I
CTV 6356 Film Production II
CTV 6358 Directing the Screen Actor
CTV 6333 Advanced Film Seminar
CTV 6340 Graduate Seminar: Production
CTV 6350 Advanced Screenwriting
CTV 6357 Cinema/TV Lighting
CTV 6393 Advanced Audio
CTV 6099 Critique/Presentation
5110, 5210, 5310. Directed Studies. Opportunity for individual studies by advanced students.
5301-5304. Topics in Cinema-Television. A graduate-level focus on a specific topic pertinent to cinema-television. Topics vary from term to term and may include the areas of film-TV history, critical theory or the film-TV business.
5316. Producers Seminar. Lectures and discussions by both faculty and guest speakers from the industry provide an overview of the basic business and legal aspects of film and television production.
5318-5321. Advanced Television Workshop. Through various exercises and a final project, students share in varied production experiences.
5325. Internship in TV-Cinema.
5328. Media Management. The relationship between the theory and practice of broadcast and cable management with emphasis on the legal and economic constraints on these media outlets.
5330. Media Sales. An examination of the contemporary world electronic media sales. Goals are to combine strategic thinking with creative thought while keeping the target audience/client in mind.
5339. Television Criticism. An examination of various contemporary critical methodologies as they apply to mass communications media.
5361. Media Programming. An analysis of the development of program ideas and the research and strategies involved in programming media outlets. Discussions and readings deal with regulatory aspects of broadcasting, cable, telephone and personal communication services and wireless communications.
5374. TV Production Process. An examination of the process of program production from conception to completion with an emphasis on the various elements that affect the process: staff, genre, format and technology. A field study of a production is a required part of the course.
5390. Technology and the Mass Media. An examination of the way in which technology develops and is assimilated into the mass media.
5393. Television Production II. Basic principles and practices of electronic field production and video editing techniques. Students rotate through various exercises to become familiar with many facets of field production and post-production, including computer editing.
5395. History of Broadcasting. The origins and development of the electronic media with an emphasis on the key people, events and issues that influenced their development.
5399. International Broadcasting. The interrelationship between broadcasting media in various areas of the world and the system of government under which they developed.
6100, 6200, 6300, 6301. Thesis or Project in Cinema-Television.
6303. Television Production I. Basic principles and practices of television studio production. Students rotate through the various studio positions in a series of television production exercises.
6304. History of Documentary. An overview of the development of the documentary mode in cinema and television, offering a survey of the nonfiction film and video provided by newsreels, training films, propaganda movies, wartime documentaries and “reality” TV.
6306. Documentary Production. Advanced level course in documentary film/video production, including both conceptual and practical study. Through writing, shooting and editing, individually or in groups, students will create nonfiction productions.
6308. Non-Linear Editing. Focuses on the techniques of nonlinear editing and digital post-production in the media world. Teaches the art of editing by using professional digital editing systems like the Avid and Final Cut Pro. Emphasis on cutting scenes, studying major films and reviewing the latest technological advances.
6310. Advanced Screen Artists. An examination of the questions of authorship pertinent to the cinema with a focus on the works of one or more film artists. The specific directors, producers, screenwriters and other artists treated by the course will vary from term to term.
6313. Introduction to Research Methods. Survey of research methods used to assess the effects of print, broadcast and film communications on audience attitudes, opinion, knowledge and behavior. Basic concepts of research design and data analysis in communications research. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
6317. Historiography. The practical and philosophical issues central to writing the histories of film, television and new media. An examination of the formulation of research questions relating to historical investigation, research methods and the use of primary documents and the ascription of cause and effect to people, events and institutions.
6328 Media Economics. An examination of corporations and industries involved in the mass media. Emphasis is on understanding the interplay of markets, buyers, sellers, consumers and costs. Microeconomic and macroeconomic analysis is used in studying media organizations and industries.
6333. Advanced Film Seminar. Students in this seminar take film or video already shot and, through editing and restructuring, create a film for their portfolio for job hunting or other purposes.
6335. Seminar in Media Theory I. Theories and philosophies of communications systems and their roles in cultural systems. Communications phenomena and principles of communicating.
6336. Seminar in Media Theory II. An overview of major theoretical writings on the cinema and television (including work of theorists such as Andre Bazin and Sergei Eisenstein) to demonstrate the application of various analysis to films and TV programs.
6340. Graduate Seminar: Production. Through various exercises and a final project, students share in varied production experiences.
6350. Advanced Screenwriting. Through weekly story conferences with the instructor, each student develops a complete feature-length screenplay ready for submission to a producer or agent.
6357 Cinema-TV Lighting. An examination of all major aspects of feature film as well as television studio production lighting. Detailed analysis of selected features/TV shows and a brief overview of the history of film and video and its ever changing technology.
6358. Directing the Screen Actor. Theoretical background and practical experience in directing performers for film and television productions. Blocking action, camera placement and movement lines deliveries, action scenes, hitting marks, props, costumes, lighting and makeup, dubbing and the “Method” and other acting theories will be studied, discussed and practiced on videotape through a series of exercises.
6360. Social Effects of Mass Media. Critical analysis of research on the influence of mass media messages on individuals and groups. Attention is focused on communication theory and how society puts such theories into practice in using the media for information, entertainment and persuasion.
6361. Media Policy. Contemporary regulatory policy in the media. Discussions and readings deal with regulatory aspects of broadcasting, cable, personal communications and wireless communications.
6394. Advanced Audio. A course in the business and creative aspects of audio production.
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