This document provides the syllabus for a Digital Media Production course taught in Fall 2013. The course meets on Thursdays from 8-10:45pm in room SO #2032. It focuses on digital media technology and its impact on production. Students will gain experience with video and audio equipment, learn team-based production, and integrate skills for writing, producing and directing media. The course involves field production and assignments include individual and group video projects. Students must reserve and check out equipment in advance. The grading breakdown and policies on attendance, late work, and academic honesty are also outlined.

1. SyllabusFall 2013
COM 3340/81438/Digital Media Production
Kennesaw State University
Department of Communication
Instructor: Amani Channel
Meeting Time: Thursdays, 8p-10:45p
Location: SO #2032, Digital Media Classroom (2
nd
floor)
Office Hours: TBD
Office Location: TBD
Phone: (404) 213-2121
Email (best way to reach me): achanne2@kennesaw.edu or amani.channel@gmail.com
Please do not email me through WebCT.
COURSE/CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
This course focuses on the impact of digital media technology and how it has changed the
production experience. It addresses the principles of shooting, sound characteristics, ergonomics,
and basic techniques for field recording (timecode, audio techniques, videography techniqes, and
mixing). Audio and video formats are examined in the context of non-linear post-production.
PREREQUISITES:
COM 2230 or COM 2205 and IS 2101
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
1. A basic knowledge of video and audio production equipment will be gained by utilizing
cameras, microphones, lighting and editing applications.
2. By working in a full range of crew positions, students will learn the team-based nature of video
production. There will be students acting as producers, reporters, sound operators, etc for the
video project, for instance.
3. Students will learn how to deal with real-world production deadlines by operating in a time-
limited environment.
4. An understanding of terminology, techniques, disciplines and processes related to audio/video
production will be obtained.
5. The student will learn how to integrate the skills necessary to write, produce and direct a media
production.
6. Broadcast delivery will be explored.
7. This course will be field production intensive.
TEXTBOOK:
Roberts-Breslin, Jan: Making Media, Second Edition: Foundations in Sound and Image
Production (Paperback). ISBN: 0240809076
Additional materials for required reading will be made available to students as handouts.
University Provides: camera kits, microphones & non-linear editing facilities.
Student Provides: Mini DV tapes plus blank CDs and DVD-Rs and batteries. External Hard
Drives are strongly recommended (with Firewire and USB connections, 7200rpm). Students will
also need to supply his/her own digital camera (4 megapixel minimum). Certain laptops on
campus will have USB 2.0 connections, but adapters are available.
*This class will also cover mobile videography techniques. If you have a smartphone, there will
be opportunities to use it for certain productions, however additional equipment is required and
will need to be purchased by the student if you wish to use your mobile device.

2. Special Considerations:
1) Students will be required to work on projects outside of class time.
2) No drink of food is ever allowed in any University Lab.
3) You must reserve any equipment/facilities from AVTS at least 24 hours in advance
(http://avts.kennesaw.edu/). You will be reserving “COM GL Camera Kits”. Normally, you can
keep checked out equipment for 3 days. Students are responsible for checked out equipment.
Overdue equipment may result in your loss of privileges and/or hold on your credits. It is
important that the student check that all equipment is in working order BEFORE leaving MDG. It
is also the student’s responsibility (the same student who originally checked out the equipment) to
ensure that ALL equipment is returned in neat and tidy order.
4) Critiques. We will be creating, exhibiting and analyzing our work together as a class. This is
important to grow as a media producer and you shouldn’t take it personally!
5) This is a Learn by Doing environment. Some students have never taken a production/lab
class before. Please note that studying for these classes are mostly based on field work. While
students will have orientations to equipment, the student will be ultimately responsible for using
and learning the equipment in a “hands on” experience in the field. This facilitation is extremely
useful to familiarize yourself before working on graded productions. You will have lab exercises
during class time that you will complete after software/hardware demos or orientation.
6) This class is 80% problem solving. Problems will arise in the field. Ensure you have a
contingency plan and proper time management.
EMAIL COMMUNICATION AND NETIQUETTE
You are expected to use your assigned Kennesaw State email account at all times, because
university-related information will only go to that address.
Please be respectful, courteous and professional in your email communication. Never write an
email in anger or when upset. Take a deep breath or, even better, sleep over it first. I will ignore
emotionally written emails that show disrespect.
To get my attention, make sure to include specific information in the subject line. Be clear in your
writing to make it easy for me to respond. Always sign off with your full name. If this information is
missing you risk that your email will be deleted because it may mimic a virus or Spam.
Usually, I will respond to your email within 48 business hours. Sometimes, I may my hold my
response until the next class meeting if I think that the answer can wait and will benefit everybody
in the class.
ATTENDANCE:
Due to the pace of a Semester, 10 points may be deducted from his/her final grade for each
absence or chronic tardiness. If you are not in class when roll is taken, I have no record of your
attendance, so it is your responsibility to communicate with the instructor. Tardiness is defined as
attending class after roll has been taken and class has started. Chronic tardiness is defined as
two tardy arrivals. ON-TIME Attendance is very important for this course as we often are shooting
in the field and your team will not wait for you and some in-class labs will have a “set” start time.
Your late arrival will disturb your fellow classmates and instructor. Missing more than 15 minutes
of any class counts as an absence. Missing 25% of your classes overall will constitute a final
grade of “F”. Course dates indicating lectures, production demonstrations, and in-class labs are
mandatory. During open lab dates, your production supervisor will set the team’s schedule.
Tardy or absenteeism on project due dates will negatively impact your grade and could result in a
score of “0”.
If you are absent or tardy, you will miss important information you need to know. If you're
absent from a team (group) project shooting or editing session, you put extra work on
your team members. Each group will be graded by each individual group member in addition to
being graded by the instructor. Individual roles in each production team will be assigned.

3. CLASS POLICIES:
1) Instructor may change syllabus and course summary at any time, if so, students will be
notified.
2)Students are expected to attend ALL class meetings and be prepared to work for the entire
class period.
3)Students should always bring to class videotapes, syllabus, textbooks and all handouts to every
class period.
4) If you intend to use our laptops, you will be required to have something to save it (external hard
drive) and headphones (if editing). “Out Loud” is not an option.
5) Students must familiarize themselves with the Digital Media Lab Manual and policies.
PROJECTS:
You are required to use school equipment outside of class time to complete individual and group
projects. You must plan ahead. Time management is key for this course. No one will bail
you out. You can reserve your equipment & facilities (2) weeks in advance. ALL Projects must
be approved by Instructor before you begin shooting. You will be evaluated for shot composition,
production standards (scripts, raw footage, and other production materials), editing, audio and
other elements based on project needs and instructor discretion. Details will be presented in
class.
POLICY ON LATE PROJECTS AND EXAMS:
Meeting deadlines is central to broadcasting if you want to keep your job. For some, this amounts
to a rude awakening when they get into the field. Therefore, in this course, deadlines on
homework and projects will be absolute. Without explicit exemption from the instructor, failure to
take an exam or turn in a project may result in a score of “0”. If you miss a deadline because of a
DOCUMENTED illness or emergency, you must make it up within one week. It is your
responsibility to contact the instructor to arrange this within 24 hours of incident. Otherwise, a
late project will not be accepted and will warrant a score of “0”. Tardy arrival on exam dates will
result in an automatic letter grade deduction if another student leaves before you arrive. An exam
starts at the beginning of class and ends when the last student in attendance turns in their
finished exam or when the class time has ended, whichever is sooner. Predetermined events
of this nature need to be communicated and documentation should be produced as soon
as possible, which would require work to be completed ahead of the deadline (if a non-
emergency).
Late work is defined as assignments not turned in before or at the BEGINNING of the class
period in which they are due.
GRADING/ EVALUATION AND MINIMUM STANDARDS
(Students are responsible for keeping returned assignments, tests, and exams)
The following is how the final grade will be averaged:
Class Participation 50 points
Quizzes 25 points
Project #1 (Photo, PR) 75 points
Midterm Exam 100 points
Project #2 (News, Video) 75 points
Project #3 (Audio, Advertising) 75 points
Final 100 points
500 points total
(5% deduction in grades may occur if students consistently receives poor peer evaluations).

4. LETTER GRADE ASSIGNMENT
Numerical grades will translate into letter grades as follows:
A = 90-100%; B = 80-89% C = 70-79% D = 60-69% F = 59% and below.
Academic Honesty
Kennesaw State University and the Department of Communication are
committed to the highest standards of academic and professional ethics. We
expect our students to adhere to those standards. Academic honesty is
fundamental to the activities and principles of a university. All members of the
academic community must be confident that each person's work has been
responsibly and honorably acquired, developed, and presented. Any effort to
gain an advantage not given to all students is dishonest independent of whether
or not the effort is successful. Please see the Student Handbook for details on
academic honesty.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Kennesaw State University does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the
admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its programs or activities. The
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Public Law 101-336, gives civil rights
protections to individuals with disabilities. This statute guarantees equal
opportunity for this protected group in the areas of public accommodations,
employment, transportation, state and local government services and
telecommunications.
If you have a visible or invisible disability and will require academic
accommodations in this course, I would be happy to discuss your needs.
Accommodations are coordinated through Disabled Student Support Services. If
you have a documentable disability is your responsibility to contact Carol Pope at
cpope@kennesaw.edu or call 770-423-6443. This must be documented through
DisAbled Services before your first graded assignment and cannot be
retroactively initiated.
FERPA
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a Federal law that
protects the privacy of student education records once the student has reached
18 years of age (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99). Under that law we cannot
release your student ID number, grades, performance evaluations, or any other
personal or academic information to anyone but you, unless you provide written
permission to do so. Also, I cannot discuss grades with you or anyone else over
unsecured lines such as email or phone.
Children on Campus
According to the KSU Staff Handbook (504.3c Children in the Workplace), the
University cannot acccommodate children of employees and students on campus
during normal operating hours. Children are welcome to make brief visits and to
attend scheduled events.

5. Special thanks to Dr. Stephen Neil for providing assistance with this syllabus.
COURSE OUTLINE AND SCHEDULE
Subject to change
Aug 22
First day attendance is mandatory for this course.Overview of the course
including issue of syllabus along with introduction of students.Chapters 1 &
2.Assignment: Post Photo displaying proper framing on WebCT.
Aug 29
Chapter 2 continued, Chapter 3. Shot composition, aesthetic, and outdoor/indoor
lighting will be discussed. Assignment: Bring Digital Camera (or smartphone
with acceptable camera) for Photo Assignment. Photo Assignment is given and
teams are formed. The rest of the class is Open Lab for Photo Assignment.
NOTE: Video production groups will be assigned on this date and a camera
pack must be checked out before September 6 class.
Sept 5
Open Lab – Digital Photography. Photo Assignment due next week. Bring
MiniDV tapes and AA batteries to future classes.
Sep 12
Students will present their Photo Assignment at the beginning of class.Post all
assignments to the class blog http://www.ksudigital.blogspot.combefore this
deadline. The video camera’s manual functionality will be discussed (Zoom, Pan,
Focus, Tilt). Soundbites, Voiceover, b-roll and standups are all discussed. In-
Class Camera Quiz.
Students will review Camera Quiz with instructor. Chapters 5 & 6, including
types of microphones and sound conditions (indoor and outdoor). Assignment:
Groups will be assigned to write a short news piece that will be shot in the
following class session.
Sep 26
Groups will go out to shoot and record indoor/outdoor dialogue and Nat. sound
along with DV cameras and mics. Scenes should feature three key shots and all
components of news package. Class discussion of chapter 6 including the
correct way to use a boom and lavaliere microphones. Time code will be
discussed. Project 2 is assigned with Scripts due next class period.
Oct 3
Open Lab – Project 2
Oct 10
Midterm Examination on chapters 1-6 and in-class notes.
Optional Meeting time with Instructor (Project 2). Students use additional class

6. time for continued production on Project 2.
Oct 17
Mandatory Editing Demo – Final Cut Pro. Students will begin optional in-
class Project II editing. To accomplish this, student must bring camera
pack and firewire, necessary firewire external hard drive with at least 7200
rpm, AND HEADPHONES. Students may also use outside editing or
computer facilities.
Oct 24
Chapter 9 and 10, Editing Project II. Open Lab
Oct 31
Open Lab – Exporting Project II.
Nov 7
Project II due with optional in-class screening. Non-linear audio editing is
introduced along with audio recording configuration. Project III is assigned.
Assignment: Students must interview clients and compose a script BEFORE
next week's class.
Nov 14
SFX, vocal effects and audio mixing are explored, using Audition.
Students will begin editing Project III. Students will record voiceovers in the
recording booth, followed by sweetening Assignment: Add music and sfx to
commercial before mixing down. Project III due December 6.
Nov 21
No class, fall break
Nov 28
Project III due. Students will receive review for Final.
December 5
Final Exam: Chapters 7-11, in class notes and handouts.