Producing is a high-stakes game that encompasses an eclectic web of disciplines. The pace is fast and a gap in knowledge can mean a project's failure. This utilitarian course offers survival skills--the basic producer chops--required by television, film, advertising, and interactive environments. It is based on a fundamental assumption that collaboration works: in idea development, in project execution, and in amassing specific knowledge upon which success depends. With concrete reference to case studies plus visits with guest practitioners, the course will track these ten steps in the realization of any large project: 1. Conceptualization & Pitching; 2. Defining Resources & Deliverables; 3. Building a Production Plan; 4. Budgeting; 5. Legal Affairs & Business Deals; 6. Staffing & Gear; 7. Creative Management (including how to Manage Up); 8. Production (studio &location); 9. Posting and Special Effects; and, 10. Finishing (Testing, Archiving, Press, Marketing, etc.). Students will partner up in developing and pitching a project of their own choosing. This will yield a full proposal with complete production plan capable of immediate implementation. The class will also work as teams in a collective mapping of media industry sectors and their career opportunities.

Producing is a high-stakes game that encompasses an eclectic web of disciplines. The pace is fast and a gap in knowledge can mean a project's failure. This utilitarian course offers survival skills--the basic producer chops--required by television, film, advertising, and interactive environments. It is based on a fundamental assumption that collaboration works: in idea development, in project execution, and in amassing specific knowledge upon which success depends. With concrete reference to case studies plus visits with guest practitioners, the course will track these ten steps in the realization of any large project: 1. Conceptualization & Pitching; 2. Defining Resources & Deliverables; 3. Building a Production Plan; 4. Budgeting; 5. Legal Affairs & Business Deals; 6. Staffing & Gear; 7. Creative Management (including how to Manage Up); 8. Production (studio &location); 9. Posting and Special Effects; and, 10. Finishing (Testing, Archiving, Press, Marketing, etc.). Students will partner up in developing and pitching a project of their own choosing. This will yield a full proposal with complete production plan capable of immediate implementation. The class will also work as teams in a collective mapping of media industry sectors and their career opportunities.