| Entertainment Media 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.
ENTM 100 Overview of Story History and Theory (Telling the Story 1):
This course presents a historical and contemporary survey of the story. It examines the historical development of interpersonal communication as story telling and persuasion. It surveys narrative theory and the story's role in transferring and forming a culture's traditions, values, vision, lessons learned, and hope. Correlates fiction and non-fiction distribution channels with oral, print, and recorded transmission. Lecture, extensive student reading and oral reports, and practice in pitching stories. Course surveys language and salience bias, logical fallacies, and the difference between facts and truth in story telling.
ENTM 101 Story, Genre, and Structure (Telling the Story 2):
Students analyze story genres as language and how the structures for each are different based on audience expectations. Literary genres include: Realistic Fiction, Mystery, Fantasy, Poetry, Historical Fiction, Non-Fiction, Autobiography, Biography, Science Fiction, Drama, Folk Tale, and Myth. Journalistic genres include: Top-Down Relevance, Inverted Pyramid, Labov, Waletzky, Semantic, and Syntactical. Movie genres include: Action/Disaster, Adventure, Comedy, Coming-of-Age, Detective, Epic/Myth, Fantasy, Gangster, Horror, Love, Science Fiction, Social Drama, Thriller, Historical Drama, Musical, and Western.
ENTM 200 Fundamentals of Story Development
Read and develop feature film, television and stage play concepts, loglines, treatments, outlines, beat sheets and pitches. Special attention is given to the essential relationship between character and plot which creates story structure, and to character goals, needs and growth arcs. Commercial considerations to be studied include genre, budget, marketing, cast, audience, and foreign markets. Practical writing exercises focus on developing mastery of sentence construction, with special attention given to sentence structure and word choice, crafting descriptive passages, shot headings, dialogue, transitions and scenes. Students learn how to give story notes and write coverage. Each student develops 1) a commercially viable feature film idea, pitch, treatment and beat sheet, or 2) a television series concept and pitch plus a spec episode idea for an existing television series, or 3) a concept, pitch and treatment for a full-length stage play. Students may work alone or with a partner. Students also develop personal credos from which to write. At the end of the class, students are required to register their work with the WGA.
ENTM 201 Writing for Stage and Screen I
Students read classic and modern screenplays, teleplays and stage plays. They master scriptwriting software. They write 1) the first two acts of a feature length screenplay, 2) a spec episode for an existing television series, or 3) the first half of a stage play, and register it with the WGA. Class time is dedicated to covering intermediate topics including scene transitions, writing subtext and visual writing, and further developing skills in scene and dialogue writing and script formatting, including differences in formats for stage, television and film, and solutions to writer's block, goal setting, and writing discipline. Students critique one another's work in small groups, with instructor supervision and guidance. Later class sessions deal with selling the script and project. Considerable time is required for students to write alone or with a writing partner.
ENTM 202 Writing for Stage and Screen II:
Students write and polish a screenplay based on the work completed in ENTM 201. Early class periods cover formatting differences for TV, Film, Stage, dialogue, professional tips and techniques, character introductions, writing techniques, sources and solutions to writer's block, goal setting, and writing discipline. Later class sessions deal with selling the script and project. At the end of class, students are encouraged to register their screenplays with the WGA and copyright their work. Expenses: This course requires approved screenwriting software ($250), WGA registration, and Federal copyright.
ENTM 300 Introduction to Film Criticism, Theory, and Language:
This class introduces the aspiring filmmaker, writer or producer to the practical aspect of film criticism, theory, and language. Examines narrative film in terms of how audiences "read" films and ascribe meaning to their individual and corporate elements. Films are "read" by audiences not always as the filmmaker intends, but as the audience perceives through the lenses of societal histories, ideologies, and personal experience. It provides brief overviews of genre criticism, historical criticism, feminist criticism, semiotics, psychoanalytic semiotics, and audience-oriented criticism. Students write critical papers on well-known films or a group of films and ascribe meaning to their viewing through the lens of Catholicity.
ENTM 302 & 303 Directing I & II:
Students learn to analyze and exploration directorial approaches used in film, and television, looking particularly at the creative use of cameras, sound, composition, and communication with those in front of and behind the camera. They explore, from a directorial perspective, the expressive potential of the image within and beyond the narrative. They learn methodologies, which stimulate visual creativity and positioning the image as the fundamental element of cinematic expression. They engage in exercises in the analysis of script and character for purpose of directing actors to obtain the best possible performance.
ENTM 304 Commercials:
This course gives students the opportunity to explore one very specific kind of filmmaking. Through exploration of advertising, students gain knowledge about what kind of work is salable in American and foreign markets and how to work within distinct confines of commercial genre.
ENTM 306 Sound in Film:
Students explore the concepts and issues that drive creation and use of music in film. They examine the deep collaboration between filmmaker and composer.
ENTM 307 Documentaries:
Students learn various production skills necessary to create video documentaries, culminating in the production of short documentary. They complete of a series of exercises from conceptualization through post-production, as well as view and discussion of selected documentaries.
ENTM 310 Adapting Material for the Screen:
Students learn how to adapting scripts from other sources, such as books, articles and true stories.
ENTM 311 Writing for Short Form:
Students learn how to write for short films and new media (Twitter stories, webisodes, podcasts of oral stories, YouTube shorts, micro features, and micro documentaries, content that can be self-distributed and virally marketed)
ENTM 312 Advanced Writing Seminar(s):
Students spend time, in close individual consultation with faculty, developing and writing multiple scripts for a variety of outlets, chosen by the student.
ENTM 400 Visual Effects:
Students examine the evolution and the current state of the art of visual effects, as well as problems and blessings inherent in constantly evolving technology.
ENTM 403 The Producer: Planning for Film Production:
This class focuses on role of the producer and creative organizational techniques of producing for film and TV. It details the analysis of procedure, problems, and budgets in planning feature-length script for film and television production.
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