Media Industry Professionalization Workshop

1 unit

This one-credit course is designed to supplement hands-on film and media production courses by preparing students for a career in the industry. Students will learn in-person from five veteran media professionals about various industry career paths. In any given semester, invited guests might include directors, writers, producers, actors, production personnel (cinematographers, set designers, etc.), postproduction personnel (special effects designers, editors, etc.), film composers, game developers, project managers, digital preservationists, marketing analysts, and others. Class sessions will generally consist of two parts. First, the invited speaker will lecture about such topics as their own career path(s), the literacies needed for success in their type of career, and strategies for developing this expertise in college, during internships, and after graduation. Second, the speaker will lead a workshop that focuses on practical challenges pertaining to an industry career. Through this multi-modal approach, students are encouraged to visualize their own futures in the industry and receive feedback from experienced professionals. Course readings and written work, to be assigned by Professor Burnett, will 1) prepare students for guest speakers by having students sharpen their sense of the challenges of pursuing an industry career and 2) ask students to reflect on the literacies developed during guest speaker sessions.