About Film & Television Production

This unit provides students with both theoretical and practical knowledge of editing and a range of post-production practices. Students will learn to engage with a range of software including AVID Media Composer 8 and Compression programs providing the fundamental skills required to edit and deliver most of their practical productions at JMC Academy.

Whether the production is a drama, documentary or music video, a solid understanding of editing theory, techniques and styles – including continuity style editing and montage theory - will help develop the student’s storytelling skills and creativity in the edit suite.

This unit is an introduction to the creative, technical, administrative and managerial aspects of film and television production. Students gain fundamental skills in the operation of cameras, lights, basic audio equipment and editing software, and engage with both single camera and multi-camera processes. This unit orientates the student to the physical production environment (both studio and location) and develops their essential technical skills for all future production projects.

This unit equips students with the skills and knowledge required to pitch and produce their own short documentary. There will be a range of in-class activities to train students in story development and research techniques, interviewing techniques, sound recording skills, documentary shooting and lighting techniques and green-screen compositing. Many of these skills and techniques will be utilised and then assessed in the final productions. Research, planning and communication skills are crucial to documentary production and students will need to be prepared to crew on each other’s productions and interact with individuals and organisations outside of JMC Academy as their subjects.

There will be a series of assessments throughout the trimester including an initial pitch, production paperwork and the final documentary film, which will be screened in week 13. Reflective practice is an important part of the process, and students will be required to submit an honest appraisal of each production they worked on in this unit.

An awareness of the history of film and television gives new screen practitioners the contextual knowledge to help them understand current technologies and protocols, and predict future trends. In this unit students will be given a broad overview of the major technological and cultural developments in the screen industry since the early days of cinema.

There is a focus on Hollywood, as a dominant influence on cinema internationally, and the Australian screen industry. Students will be introduced to some of the major Western film movements, periods and relevant industry figures. The overall aim is to broaden awareness of the artistic, cultural, political and economic contexts within which the local and international screen industry has developed and operated. Students will also continue to develop their academic research and writing skills in this unit.

This unit provides students with both theoretical and practical knowledge of editing and a range of post-production practices. Students will learn to engage with a range of software including AVID Media Composer 8 and Compression programs providing the fundamental skills required to edit and deliver most of their practical productions at JMC Academy.

Whether the production is a drama, documentary or music video, a solid understanding of editing theory, techniques and styles – including continuity style editing and montage theory - will help develop the student’s storytelling skills and creativity in the edit suite.

This unit is an introduction to the creative, technical, administrative and managerial aspects of film and television production. Students gain fundamental skills in the operation of cameras, lights, basic audio equipment and editing software, and engage with both single camera and multi-camera processes. This unit orientates the student to the physical production environment (both studio and location) and develops their essential technical skills for all future production projects.

This unit equips students with the skills and knowledge required to pitch and produce their own short documentary. There will be a range of in-class activities to train students in story development and research techniques, interviewing techniques, sound recording skills, documentary shooting and lighting techniques and green-screen compositing. Many of these skills and techniques will be utilised and then assessed in the final productions. Research, planning and communication skills are crucial to documentary production and students will need to be prepared to crew on each other’s productions and interact with individuals and organisations outside of JMC Academy as their subjects.

There will be a series of assessments throughout the trimester including an initial pitch, production paperwork and the final documentary film, which will be screened in week 13. Reflective practice is an important part of the process, and students will be required to submit an honest appraisal of each production they worked on in this unit.

An awareness of the history of film and television gives new screen practitioners the contextual knowledge to help them understand current technologies and protocols, and predict future trends. In this unit students will be given a broad overview of the major technological and cultural developments in the screen industry since the early days of cinema.

There is a focus on Hollywood, as a dominant influence on cinema internationally, and the Australian screen industry. Students will be introduced to some of the major Western film movements, periods and relevant industry figures. The overall aim is to broaden awareness of the artistic, cultural, political and economic contexts within which the local and international screen industry has developed and operated. Students will also continue to develop their academic research and writing skills in this unit.

This unit provides students with both theoretical and practical knowledge of advanced editing techniques and a range of post production practices. Students will continue to engage with a range of software including Avid Media Composer 8, Sorenson Squeeze or Compressor, Photoshop and After Effects. Advanced editing skills are required to edit and deliver most practical productions at JMC Academy. This unit will further enhance the skills needed to develop music videos, television commercials, web series and short films. You will explore advanced editing techniques, advanced image manipulation, and be introduced to motion graphics and compositing.

This unit gives students essential knowledge required to understand broadcast and film processes, the complexity of the digital video signal and emerging formats. Students are also required to research the current state of TV broadcasting, High Definition production and beyond 1080P.

Students will gain a deeper insight into live production protocols using the 450 Tri-Caster system, the technical necessities of managing equipment operation, and setup procedures including testing and measurement procedures. Students will also gain an insight into new and emerging large digital film production format technologies such as 2K, 4K and 3D acquisitions.

This unit forms part of the Integration program, which can include an outside broadcast event working with music, animation, audio and entertainment business management students. When a major event such as a showcase, contemporary music performance night, conference or seminar is scheduled to be produced, a technical and operations crew will be formed from this unit to run the event. For the outside broadcast event, rehearsals form part of this unit and students will be required to engage in this process.

This unit expands on the knowledge and skills developed in Screenwriting I, and introduces a more sophisticated range of writing tools. The unit explores various avenues of work for screenwriters, from short to long form, and one off films to series television. In the current screen production environment, developing original ideas that have a clearly identified target audience is part of the game. Market potential has a direct relationship to budget, but even writers for the HBO network need to consider the feasibility of their ideas.

Students will learn to analyse the marketplace and audience for their own work, and balance the production requirements accordingly by keeping locations, cast, art department, wardrobe and VFX elements to a minimum.

In this unit, students will develop a synopsis and treatment for a short animated or live action film, TV series pilot or web series, then go on to develop the screenplay. Students are actively encouraged to bring all of their work-in-progress to class for peer engagement and for lecturer comment and guidance throughout the trimester.

The purpose of this unit is to provide students with an in-depth understanding of directing drama. These skills can be used in a number of mediums including; short films, feature films, scripted tv shows, TVCs and music videos.

Students will be introduced to the creative elements of directing such as script analysis, visualisation of the story, casting, directing performances and camera coverage.

The practicalities of being a working director will also be covered, such as how to ‘pitch’ for a directing job, storyboarding, shotlisting, communication with actors and crew while on set and the post-production process.

Some class time will be dedicated to the analysis of acclaimed directors and encouraging students to develop their own distinct directorial voice.

We are surrounded by popular culture. Advertising, television, films, sport, DVDs, music, social media; the list goes on. The productions that students will be involved in producing will most likely be vying for a spot on the stage of popular culture. It is therefore important that students understand what popular culture is, why it is important and how it functions economically, politically and socially. Only by understanding the mechanisms that drive popular culture can they develop from being an audience member into a participant.

This unit gives students the opportunity to broaden their creative perspective with the study of popular culture through observation, reflection, description and critical thinking in order to gain a deeper understanding of the artistic, cultural and political context of national cinemas and television productions around the world.

This unit goes hand in hand with FTV 408 Graduation Project, providing students with the opportunity to devise and collaborate on several major creative projects. The project units are designed to showcase the students’ unique skills and talents. Ideally the production work submitted in FTV 408 will become the student’s ‘calling card’ in the industry.

Graduation projects can include a studio program, short films, web series, television or feature film pilots or documentaries, but regardless of the production type, all projects are subject to time limits set by the lecturer. Productions under 12 minutes will be looked on most favourably, but all projects will be considered on merit. Script or program development, the evolution of a creative vision and pitch, and pre-production are the main areas of focus of this unit, with some productions moving into the shooting stage during this trimester.

All students will crew on each other’s productions, and contribute the appropriate pre-production planning and paperwork required. Each student is required to do one major and one minor role (on separate projects) over the slate of productions, but there is also the option of doing four minor roles if a student wishes to specialise in a specific crew role, or does not want to take on the responsibility of a major role.

This unit examines a range of non-Hollywood national cinemas from a global and transnational perspective. Key theoretical approaches to national and international cinemas are examined, along with significant historical, textual, representational, and ideological issues. Students will also explore the significant differences between Hollywood mainstream productions and the critical challenges posed by local production, distribution and exhibition models, along with those faced by filmmakers within these different cultures.

The purpose of this unit is to draw upon the student’s ability to apply conceptual knowledge and creative and technical skills to a polished professional standard in the production and post production of the Major Production that was pre-produced in FTV404.

This unit provides the student with an opportunity to collaborate on a range of complex, real world projects in both major and minor roles and working to a deadline. This unit completes the student’s professional and practical study at JMC Academy. The student is now in a position to establish themselves as a film and television industry practitioner with a portfolio of work that can become their ‘calling card’ in the industry.

Throughout the trimester, there will be some directed classes, but most weeks students will be expected to attend scheduled post production meetings with their team mates and lecturer.