This course introduces the core concepts and skills for producing dramatic narrative film and video, building on the Hollywood paradigm. No previous technical experience is required, but students should have taken or be concurrently enrolled in Film 220. This course teaches students how films are put together to tell stories, negotiating between the possibilities of cinematic language and the practicalities of working with machines and other people. In order to develop an understanding of filmic narration, students learn the basics of camera operation, lighting, digital video editing, sound design and recording, casting and directing actors, visual composition and art direction, and production planning and organization. These concepts are put into practice through a series of exercises culminating in a creative, narrative short digital video.

This course traces the history of electronic media as they have become the dominant source for entertainment and information in contemporary culture, starting with over-the-air broadcasting of radio and television through to cable and the "narrowcasting" achieved by digital technologies. While some attention is paid to other national industries, the chief focus of the course is on electronic media in the United States to determine, in part, the transformative role they have played in the cultural life of the nation. The course explores the relationship of the electronic media industries to the American film industry, determining how their interactions with the film industry helped mutually shape the productions of both film and electronic media