Video Production
| SMAD 302: Video Production |
| Section 1: Monday/Wednesday 1:50pm – 3:05pm, Harrison Hall, 0241 or the Studio G290 |
Course Syllabus Spring 2025
| Instructor: Olivia Booker Office: Harrison Hall, G263 Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday: 1:00pm-3:30pm or by appointment |
| COURSE DESCRIPTION: Principles and practices of high-definition video production and editing. Focus on production planning, visual composition, lighting, recording sound and sequencing of shots. Emphasis on single camera videography, and editing for broadcast, non-broadcast and multimedia applications. Prerequisite: SMAD 202 or permission of the instructor. |
COURSE OBJECTIVES-
- Develop competency in the operation of high-definition video cameras.
- Develop competency in the effective use of video lighting equipment and location audio recording gear.
- Develop basic digital non-linear editing skills.
- Identify and define production terminology and concepts.
- Develop competency in the planning and execution of a production project.
- Recognize the technical/aesthetic possibilities, and limitations of each medium in the production process.
- Generate a strong foundation in creative visual media story telling.
COURSE MATERIALS- Required Texts (O’Reilly Books online)
Voice and Vision, 2nd Edition by: Mick Hurbis-Cherrier; Publisher: Focal Press
Cinematography: Theory and Practice, 3rd Edition I By: Blain Brown; Publisher: Routledge
Required Equipment
- 1-128 Gig SD card which can be purchased online at b&h video photo: http://www.bhphotovideo.com
- 1 pair of good closed back headphones (Senal, Sony or Sennheiser) http://www.bhphotovideo.com
- Course materials as assigned.
Course Cameras: Canon C-70
COURSE REQUIREMENTS-
- Attend all classes and labs.
- You are responsible for all lecture material and film excerpts screened.
- Read each week’s assigned essays/chapters before class to facilitate discussion.
- Participate in class discussions.
- Complete production projects on time.
- Endure public screenings and critiques of your work.
GRADING AND COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Grade Scale & Assignments:
| Grade Scale | ||
| Assignments Project #1-Doc Edit…… 5% Project #2-Shooting………………….10% Project #3-Process…………………..5% Project #4-Interview…………………5% Project #5-Micro Doc ……………….15% Project #6-Dialogue Scene………….10% Project #7-Scene…………………….5% Project #8-Final Short Film………….….35% Quizzes ………………………………..10% Total: 100% | A | 94-100 |
| A- | 90-93 | |
| B+ | 87-89 | |
| B | 83-86 | |
| B- | 80-82 | |
| C+ | 77-79 | |
| C | 73-76 | |
| C- | 70-72 | |
| D+ | 67-69 | |
| D | 60-66 | |
| F | 0-59 | |
| Tentative Course Outline |
Note: The schedule is subject to change but is a reasonable reflection of the topics to be covered, and the time devoted to each topic. Always check the Canvas home page for updates.
| Day | Activity | Assignment | Location |
| Wed, Jan 22 | Course intro and Overview | Assign Project 1- Doc Edit | 0241 |
| Mon, Jan 27 | Organizing an edit project, FCP X: basic tools, trimming, audio basics, text tools, l-cuts, and exporting. | 0241 | |
| Wed, Jan 29 | Camera demo I: Basic operations & controlling exposure. | Assign Project 2 Quiz 1 Due *Bring SD cards | Studio |
| Mon, Feb 3 | Camera demo II: Exposure, monitors & color temperature *Bring SD cards | *Bring SD cards | Studio |
| Wed, Feb 5 | Camera demo III: Advanced operations & compositions. *Bring SD cards | Due: Quiz 2 & Project 1 | Studio |
| Mon, Feb 10 | Coverage and shooting techniques for processes/montage | Assign: Project 3 | Studio |
| Wed, Feb 12 | Project 2 Critique Location audio, mic selection and placement. | Due: Quiz 3 Due: Project 2 | 0241/Studio |
| Mon, Feb 17 | Lighting I: Interview Set-up/Techniques. | Assign: Project 4 & Project 5 | Studio |
| Wed, Feb 19 | Lighting II: Interview set-up cont. & interview exercise. | Due: Quiz 4 | Studio |
| Mon, Feb 24 | Critique Process & Micro Doc Session | Due: Project 3 | 0241 |
| Wed, Feb 26 | Lighting III: Difficult Locations, & Exercise. | Due: Quiz 5 | 0241 |
| Mon, Mar 3 | FCP X Lab- Adv. audio, monitors, color correction and adjusting exposure. | 0241 | |
| Wed, Mar 5 | Critique Interview Projects; Micro Doc Work Session | Due: Project 4 | 0241 |
| Mon, Mar 10 | Micro Doc Work Session | 0241 | |
| Wed, Mar 12 | Critique Micro Doc Projects | Due: Project 5 Assign: Project 6 | 0241 |
| Mon, Mar 17 | Spring Break – No Class | ||
| Wed, Mar 19 | Spring Break – No Class | ||
| Mon, Mar 24 | 2 Person Dialogue set-up, coverage & lighting | Due: Quiz 6 Assign Project 7 and 8 | Studio |
| Wed, Mar 26 | 2-Person Dialogue II/ Lens workshop | Studio | |
| Mon, Mar 31 | 2–Person Dialogue Projects Critiques & Work Session | Due: Project 6 Due: Quiz 7 | 0241 |
| Wed, Apr 2 | (0241) Pre-Production, project decks, story development, & the Pitch. | 0241 | |
| Mon, Apr 7 | Pitch Short Films and Feedback | Due: Project 8 Pitch Deck and Pitch Due: Quiz 8 | 0241 |
| Wed, Apr 9 | Advanced lighting workshop | 0241 | |
| Mon, Apr 14 | Review script breakdown & production notebooks. | Due: Quiz 9 | 0241 |
| Wed, Apr 16 | Critique Scene Project | Due: Project 7 | 0241 |
| Mon, Apr 21 | Production positions and roles Working w/ talent/crew, set-management, & on-set/location etiquette. | Due: Quiz 10 | 0241 |
| Wed, Apr 23 | Class work session | 0241 | |
| Mon, Apr 28 | Festivals, distribution, & breaking into the industry. | 0241 | |
| Wed, Apr 30 | Sound design, sound Mix, & finishing. | 0241 | |
| Mon, May 5 | Teams meet with instructor for rough cuts | Due: Project 8 Rough cuts | 0241 |
| Wed, May 7 | Cla ss work session/ post-production troubleshooting | 0241 | |
| Fri, May 9 | Final project screening and critique 1:00pm- 3:00pm | Final Project due and production notebooks | tbd |
Olivia Booker 