How do contemporary video and audio producers conceive, record, edit, and disseminate their creative productions? From Youtube to Twitch, from TikTok to Instagram stories, and from amateur home movies, indie music, and podcasting, through to the heightened role of audio and video production in many kinds of employment, media production is increasingly a part of everyday life in our digitally/globally interconnected societies. Along with this change has come the increasing capitalization, omnipresence, and domestication of corporate-owned internet platforms that support (and constrain) these activities in various ways.

In CMNS 226 students will be equipped to navigate the contemporary space of independent media production across these various technical and social contexts. Students will be required to produce their own media, and build a portfolio of production work that they can use to showcase their skills and abilities for securing future employment and educational opportunities in media production. Students will also have the opportunity to screen/display/audition their creations for a general/public audience at the end of the course. This course is designed to be an introduction to the field of Media Analysis and Production. It is a prerequisite for advanced media production classes in other University and College media programs. Students will engage in the production of media (e.g., images, soundtracks, and videos) as a form of experiential learning. The course introduces students to a variety of media analysis traditions, technologies, and techniques. Using an iterative and experience-based learning environment, students cycle through the analysis, research, design, and production of audio-visual media, with the intention of developing a greater understanding of the conventions, meanings, and social implications of contemporary media forms.