| Business of Entertainment Course Descriptions
JP Catholic will endeavor to offer the courses as outlined below; however, unforeseen circumstances sometimes require a change of scheduled offerings. Students are strongly advised to check the Schedule of Classes before relying on the schedule below.
BUSM 190 Entertainment Media Talent - Case Studies:
This course focuses on "above-the-line" talent, their tasks and responsibilities, and their contribution or hindrance to the success of a project.
Text: Hello, He Lied… and Other Tales from the Hollywood Trenches , by Lynda Obst
Gaffers, Grips and Best Boys: From Producer-Director to Gaffer and Computer Special Effects Creator, a Behind-the-Scenes Look at Who Does What in the Making of a Motion Picture , by Eric Taub
BUSM 201 Entertainment Media Distribution and Marketing:
Examines the entertainment media distribution business in terms of history, business structure, exhibitor relationships, financing sources, sales agents, property selling events and festivals, release patterns, prints and advertising (P&A), and marketing techniques. Describes distribution channels including theatrical exhibition (domestic and foreign), non-theatrical exhibition, pay television, commercial (free) television, home video rental and sell-through. Compares and contrasts studio versus independent distribution business models. It overviews the project timing and proportion of revenues generated from various channels. It examines distribution contracts and describes distribution expenses in comparison to production budgets. Emphasis is that distribution is more important than financing.
BUSM 202 Fundamentals of Production:
Introduces students to pre-production and production, and the roles and responsibilities of the producer, director, line producer, and production manager; familiarizes students with the detailed preparation required for the shoot and the interdependence of the script, budget, schedule, and breakdown; provides exposure to key software production tools and their use; overviews production equipment, including film and digital recording technologies, and what one format over another means to the producer; covers the responsibilities of key above-line and below-line personnel for managing the oft-conflicting creative and business objectives involved in getting a movie "in the can."
BUSM 203 Fundamentals of Film Post Production:
Overviews the history of film finishing beginning with the discovery that narrative film could be shot to mean one thing and edited to mean another, and the history of technological intervention that made editing possible. Covers the basic steps involved in film finishing including: processing, compression, transfer, film printing, syncing dailies, stringing together sequences, rough cuts, dialogue replacement, music scoring, special effects, Foley stage recording, and pick-up photography. Also covers recent developments that have revolutionized post-production including high definition video, non-linear editing, and the digital inter-negative.
BUSM 204 Producing Simulation:
In this class students will experience all aspects of the making of a low-budget feature film. Class will form a development and production team whose goal is to make a feature film by making every major decision that a real production team must make, from intellectual property acquisition all the way through screening of the finished product. Student groups will submit a story treatment to the class with the winning idea being turned into a script. From among themselves, they will appoint all critical roles and responsibilities and begin negotiations with the intellectual property owner, writer, production personnel, actors, directors, locations, editors, distributors, financiers and attorneys. With the students performing all major personnel roles, the script will be shot, edited, marketed and then screened for the entire school.
BUSM 290 Entertainment Media Enterprise – Case Studies:
This course focuses on a business or enterprise and its decisions over time, as well as the contributions of individuals that aided or hindered the enterprise’s success. Students will conduct research on their selected business or enterprise from a variety of sources, including books and industry readings. Students will prepare both written and oral reports on their selected media enterprise and lead a class discussion that will outline the enterprise’s decisions regarding financing, project development, production, marketing and distribution, with particular attention to the elements of success or hindrance. Each student will write a final report personalizing the lessons from all the case studies, will create a practical list of do’s and don’ts to guide their professional careers, and will discuss the type of enterprise that most interests them personally, the reasons for that interest, and the necessary steps to prepare them to work in such an enterprise. Underpinning this course will be an examination of the spiritual and moral challenges, as well as the responsibilities and importance of accountability in peer-to-peer relationships, for Christians working in the entertainment industry.
BUSM 300 Producing for Stage and Screen:
This course takes an in-depth look at approximately 150 tasks and decisions the producer must accomplish during a film project's eight stages: acquisition, development, packaging, production financing, pre-production, principal photography, post-production, and delivery. It looks briefly at the differences for stage, music, and film and television production. Tasks, terms, decisions, and alternatives will be examined as the class follows a real project through the eyes of the film's producer. Guest lecturers will include extended length symposiums with experienced stage, music and screen producers. This course, is not a case study, but could be described as the "definition of terms and options" required for adjudicating a case study.
BUSM 301 Overview of Deal Making:
Covers a brief history and overview of entertainment law, deal making, risk management, depiction and location releases, clearance of rights, literary acquisition agreements, employment contracts, music acquisition and rights, distribution agreements, negotiating tactics and strategies, creative accounting, intellectual property and copyright law, first amendment issues, defamation, privacy, trademarks and unfair competition. Described are the various kinds of distribution deals including negative pickups, production financing, and acquisition. This course overviews the contractual relationship between various parties such as between the creator and their agent or client, and various aspects of the media industry (e.g. writer-publisher contracts, publishing rights and royalties) are examined. Actual contracts are analyzed and criticized. Guest lecturers include active entertainment attorneys and deal makers. Students will examine deal memo’s, long form and short form contracts, and joint venture agreements used by micro budget filmmakers, as well as various union agreements.
BUSM 302 Trends in the Global EM Industry:
The class will look at the global impact of emerging trends in the Entertainment media industry. Students will discuss the ramifications to the industry of the illegal digital duplication and Web trade of copyrighted video and music. They will assess legal and legislative shields versus developing novel music delivery methods and pricing schemes, as well as the leveraging of music assets and talent to create new revenue streams. Students will contrast the historical trend of horizontal acquisitions, whereby EM companies assembled varied collections of media assets, with the new trend of vertical integration, resulting from the technical convergence of media content and distribution. Students will explore the benefits of these vertical mergers either on the basis of: (1) economies of scope, with saving in transactions cost, or on the basis of enhancing market power through the creation of heightened entry barriers; or (2) synergies, where revenue creation and profits are enhanced by joint operations.
BUSM 303 Advanced Production:
This course builds on the introduction course and broadens the students experience at hands-on production.
BUSM 304 Advanced Post Production:
This course builds on the introduction course and broadens the students experience at hands-on editing and post production.
BUSM 305 Mobile: Business and Media:
This course focuses on the unique business models and media formats that will bring widespread video distribution to the mobile platform. Specific emphasis will be placed on building and marketing a specific media production to the mobile market.
BUSM 310 Digital Television, Radio & Music - Case Studies:
This course uses case studies to: review the history of the television industry; the current digital transformation: and the new opportunities and challenges as cable and satellite operators and television networks deploy with emerging digital technologies. Cases will illustrate how traditional business models are being reinvented, and what business models will work for interactive services and video-on-demand (VOD). Additional topics explored include: impact of digital video recorders (DVR); getting a competitive advantage in the fight between cable and satellite; the growth of satellite, digital and Internet radio; audio streaming on the Internet; "niche" broadcasting; impact of these developments mean for consumers, broadcasters, content owners, advertisers and regulators; the impact of digital technology on the music industry, and the challenges and opportunities in the recording industry; successes and failures with incorporating technology into the music business; viable business models for selling music online.
BUSM 400 Advanced Development and Packaging Strategies:
This course is a student symposium on identifying development and packaging elements that position a film project for success. Success will be measured in terms of box office tickets, home video rentals and ancillary sales. Critical elements considered will be story, above-the-line talent, financing, and distribution. Students will research a variety of modern film projects that have been successful and similar projects that have not been successful. Each student will select a different pair of similar projects and compare and contrast their development and packaging, coming to conclusions about what worked and what did not work. Their findings and conclusions will be presented in papers that will be distributed and discussed among the other students.
BUSM 402 Advanced Distribution and Marketing Strategies:
Some of the greatest stories of film lore are the breakout hits of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING, and THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. All were independent productions that, at first, could not seem to get distribution. Yet, all were phenomenal successes. This course will look at the unique distribution and marketing strategies of these and other successful films that began with no distribution budget, but still wildly succeeded. In a symposium setting, students will research distribution and marketing elements that are generally not followed by the big studio releases and compile a list of successful and inexpensive strategies accessible to the independent film project.
BUSM 403 Demo Reel, Self-Marketing, Representation & Management:
Whether the student wants to be an agent or talent manager, or have nothing to do with them, everyone in the Entertainment industry must learn to negotiate and work with agents and managers. Agents and managers are perhaps the most harried, and busy individuals in the entertainment business. If a student wants to work outside the agent system they need to understand self-marketing and promotion. In service to either plan a comprehensive high quality demo reel will be developed.
BUSM 404 Elements of Success:
This course reviews the elements that position a project for success with the public and why such elements are different for critics.
BUSM 390, 391, 392, 490, 491, 492 Media Production Launch:
At the beginning of the sequence all EM students will meet together for a "Pitching Conference" to hear pitches from other students who have a project that they want to see produced. Some projects will be screenplays that were written over the previous two years. Based on interest and the relationships established, students will form small project teams (and legal business entities) that will work together for the next two years to produce a property. Teams will negotiate deals between themselves, write a business plan, and sign contracts that will involve all major deal points of an entertainment project, including ownership, responsibilities, estimated schedule, estimated budget, and distribution of revenue if the completed project is sold. A project publicist will also be assigned to document the project process for later use in promotion.
BUSM 391 EM Project Packaging: Teams will breakdown the script, create a detailed budget, recruit and attach above-the-line talent, scout locations, and begin the search for financing, distribution.
BUSM 392 Production Planning: Teams will begin storyboarding, detailed production planning, acquire or build props and sets, secure locations with contracts, and continue to promote the project to distributors and financiers. They will also put together and contact potential crew assignments and other below-the-line personnel for the fall production.
BUSM 490 Pre-Production and Production (Principal Photography): At the beginning of the year, each team will participate in a "Green Light" meeting. At this meeting all production requirements will be accounted for and permission will be given to proceed with production or principal photography. Teams will then begin pre-production and initiate all final agreements with cast and crew, schedules, detailed budgets, releases, insurance certificates, script breakdowns (production boards), and logistic requirements. Production or Principal Photography will then commence. Throughout the publicist should be documenting the process on video.
BUSM 491 Post Production: This stage will necessarily overlap with Production as dailies are logged, digitally captured, and editing begins. Music, special effects, sound effects, will be produced and added. Dialogue may need to be re-corded or re-shoots of some elements may be required. As editing continues marketing and distribution promotional materials will be created with production elements and the material collected by the project publicist, including "the making of" video.
BUSM 492 Marketing and Project Sale to Distribution: If the project has been pre-sold (i.e. prior distribution has been arranged) the team will be involved in co-marketing efforts with the distributor or festival to promote the film to the pubic. This may mean producing a "making-of" video, creating press releases, cast and crew interviews, making personal contacts with friends, relatives and industry contacts, and press outlets in hometowns. If the project has not been sold or placed in distribution, team members will do many of the same things listed above, but the target audience will be distributor, sales agents, and festival committees.
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