Dr. Joe Flickinger
Office: Porterfield 188/189
Office Hours: 1:00-1:50 PM M and F
10:00-10:50 AM T and R
Secretary's Phone: 831-5531
E-mail:jflickin@radford.edu

Course Description: (3 credit hours) The prerequisites are 45 hours of college credit, and satisfactory completion of all courses within the Production Technology concentration including MSTD 146, 226, 246, 346, and 347. This course may be repeated, but no more than 9 hours of Practicum (formerly MSTD 450) may be taken in any combination for credit. The course provides specific, directed activity for advanced students in Media Studies in Production Technology. Opportunities provided on campus for production, reporting, editing, publication, design, and other experiential learning.

Required Text: None, but you must know content from previous texts (e.g., 246, 346/347 texts).

Students with Disabilities: If you are seeking classroom accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, you are required to register with the Disability Resource Office (DRO). The DRO is located in room 32, Tyler Hall and the phone is 831-6350. To receive academic accommodations for this class, you must obtain the proper DRO forms and meet with Dr. Flickinger at the beginning of the semester.

Contract: This is the capstone course for the Department of Media Studies. This means you take this course as one of your last courses in the senior year. This also means you must have completed the prerequisites (MSTD 146, 226, 246, 346, and 347) to take this course. For many students, the next course taken will be an internship…and this practicum course is a prerequisite for an internship.

This syllabus is a “contract” between you (the student) and Dr. Flickinger (the professor). Therefore, read it carefully. The assignments and all other written material (both on paper and on email) that you receive from Dr. Flickinger and/or the Department of Media Studies relating to this course are codicils to this contract. This means they are considered appendixes or additions to this contract. You will be asked to sign a statement (re: last page of this Syllabus) at the start of the semester confirming that you have read, understand, and agree to this contract. Therefore, please read all written material carefully and make sure you understand what is written. If you have questions, always ask Dr. Flickinger immediately. Your success in this course, and therefore your final course grade, will depend on your understanding of the course ’s contract.

Course Structure: Students in this production course are considered to be “employees” of a multimedia department. Your primary duties will be to work as producers, directors, editors, videographers, and studio production crew for a number of different media. In such a department these media platforms are:

1. Video: This is production of TV news. But in the age of digital media, these productions could easily be reconfigured for an online presentation. Also, it is possible to stream full interviews, raw video of an event, etc. online. Your video could be local via cable TV to the entire university campus, or it could be international via the Web. This media will be produced with students in the MSTD 481-01: Journalism Practicum course.

2. Audio: As with video, audio could run online. Some of the audio work may be completed in cooperation with students in Audio Production, Advertising Practicum, and WVRU-FM.

3. Print: Traditionally newspapers and magazines have been the media for distributing printed news and commercial messages. But again, like audio and video, your print productions now can be carried online. Of course the traditional outlets still exist such as The Tartan, The Southwest Times, The Radford News Journal, etc. most already publishing online.

4. Online: One online source of university information for students is Whim (http://www.runet.edu/~whim/). However, there are countless other possibilities for putting your web productions online. Nothing would prohibit you from creating your own Web page for dissemination of your productions.

There will be various faculty and staff from the Department of Media Studies working with you in each platform.

Plagiarism: This is the act of taking credit for the work or ideas of someone else. This is also called cheating. Also, a copyright violation is an example of plagiarism. If you are found to have plagiarized, cheated, or violated a copyright in this course, an “F” will be received as your final course grade. Also, a charge will be filed with the “J-Board”.

Many TV programs, commercials and PSAs have similar themes, but they vary widely in their specific treatment of the subject matter. Be original and avoid plagiarism. Furthermore, copyrights are extremely important in media, and private individuals can be prosecuted, so don't take any chances--especially with any prerecorded material. (You might want to pay attention to recent court decisions on MP3 copyright issues.)

By accepting admission to Radford University, each student makes a commitment to understand, support, and abide by the University Honor Code without compromise or exception. Violations of academic integrity will not be tolerated. This class will be conducted in strict observance of the Honor Code. Refer to your Student Handbook for details.

Format of Written Assignments: Your written assignments (e.g., scripts) must be prepared and presented in accordance with approved script formats (supplied by faculty). If in doubt, ask the appropriate faculty before submission of the material. Unacceptable formats will result in the assignment not being accepted.

Attendance: Attendance is required. This is because our class meetings are similar to production meetings. You simply can't miss or be late for such meetings in this business. You have one unauthorized absence. More than one unauthorized absence will reduce your course grades one full grade per absence. NOTE: Being more than 5 minutes late is normally considered an absence, so don’t be late for class! An example: You have completed all requirements for the course to receive a “B” as a final grade. You have 3 unauthorized absences. The first one will not affect your final grade. The second will lower your final grade from a “B” to a “C”. The third absence will lower the “C” to a “D”. The resulting final course grade for you will be a “D”. To request an authorized absence, you must explain the absence in writing and give it to Dr. Flickinger as soon as possible. Make sure to attach any necessary documentation, such as a doctor's written explanation, a court subpoena, etc. If you have a reason to be absent because of an official Radford University sponsored activity, you must request an authorized absence (in writing with full documentation) from Dr. Flickinger at least a week in advance of the absence.

Assignment Deadlines: You will be held to all deadlines this semester. If problems occur in an assignment, and you need to extend your deadline, you must make your case in writing to Dr. Flickinger in advance. Refer to the Course Schedule for details. This is the same schedule for MSTD 481-01: Journalism Practicum.

Lab/Studio Material: You must have the following items before you can begin this course:

1. A set of headphones. You will be required to take a set of headphones on each video shoot. A simple “walk-man” style is adequate. Many headphones will have a 1/8” stereo miniplug, which will work with some recorders.
2. A 1/4” stereo phone adapter (plug) so you can use your headphones with a variety of equipment.
3. One or Two Super-VHS (S-VHS) videotapes: Unwrap your new tapes with Dr. Flickinger so he can date and sign them. You will have to have appropriately signed/dated tapes before you can use the video lab/studios or field equipment. Dr. Flickinger has labels for you to place on your tapes, which are used for signing, titles, slugs, etc. These labels are required on all tapes used in MSTD Lab/studios and related equipment. You may be able to share the costs of buying a few tapes with MSTD 481-01: Journalism students
4. Two miniDV cassette tapes: These are the tapes you will use in shooting/editing digital video.
5. One 3 _” floppy computer disk: This is the disk you will use in the digital camera.
6. CDs: You will be burning some of your work to CDs this semester.
7. A MiniDisc audio disc and possibly a DAT tape: These will be used to record and edit your radio news stories and program.

MSTD Lab/Studios and Equipment: The MSTD lab/studios and equipment you will be using are part of a larger Media Studies audio and video production facility. Only authorized people (such as students in certain classes) are permitted in these facilities. This means you do not bring anyone into the lab/studios unless you have been authorized to do so by the Department of Media Studies. You must sign in and out every time you use the lab/studios.

Ms. Chris Carter, the Media Lab Coordinator for Media Studies, is responsible for supervising the Media Studies lab/studios. She is not available to work on your assignments for this course. However, if she has the time, she may answer questions about the media lab/studios. She is in-charge of the lab/studios and equipment. If you are in violation of course or department policies concerning the use of the lab/studios and equipment, she will report such violations to Dr. Flickinger. Such violations will result in an appropriate reduction in your course grade. Such a violation of department policy is also considered an Honor Code violation.

MSTD Lab/Studio and Equipment Policies: Media lab/studios are small and get a lot of use by many people. Also, media equipment is limited because of budget constraints. This is true in the professional and academic media worlds. Therefore, some basic policies are necessary to ensure continued functioning of the lab/studios and equipment:

1. Absolutely no smoking, drinking, or eating (including candy and gum) is permitted in the lab/studios.
2. No unauthorized people are allowed in the lab/studios.
3. Every student is responsible for making sure the lab/studio is clean and equipment is functioning when he or she leaves the lab/studio. If you get to the lab/studio and find it is not in proper order, or certain equipment not working, it must be reported to the lab/studio supervisor and noted on the sign-out sheet before you leave the lab/studio. But first...so you aren't embarrassed...make sure it is not an operator error (i.e., your error!).
4. Cameras, tripods and lighting equipment may be checked out from and returned to the Media Lab Coordinator or the Lab Work-Study students. The student whose signature is on the equipment release form is responsible for seeing that the equipment is returned on the specified day and time. The student or students returning the equipment are required to stay until the Media Lab Coordinator or Work-Study student verifies that everything has, in fact, been returned and is in working order.
5. Because late check-ins and missing or damaged equipment unfairly penalize other groups, students who continually abuse their privileges will have them revoked at the discretion of the faculty as per Media Studies checkout policies.
6. Equipment returned more than 15 minutes after check-in time will be considered late. The specific policies will be discussed in class and these policies will be posted in the lab/studio production area.
7. Students will be held responsible for any missing pieces of equipment. Equipment not found by the end of the term will be replaced at the student's expense. In the case of missing equipment your final grade for the course will be lowered by one-full grade for every day the equipment is missing. If the missing equipment is later found, the student must present a signed and dated verification of its return to the instructor of record. When a student signs the equipment checkout list, he or she is acknowledging that all of the required equipment is in the kit and is functioning. If the Media Lab Coordinator or Work-Study student finds that pieces of equipment are missing or broken when the kit is returned, the student will be held responsible for replacing the equipment based on their signed acceptance of it during checkout.
8. Accidents do happen! If a piece of equipment does not seem to be working properly, please bring it to the attention of the Media Lab Coordinator or Work-Study student when you return it. If the problem was not caused by your negligence (determined by the professor), you will not be held responsible. Also, if there is any question concerning missing or malfunctioning equipment when checking it out prior to use, it is your responsibility to bring the problem to the attention of the Media Lab Coordinator or Work-Study student immediately. The student should not sign the acceptance form if there appears to be a potential problem! If you check out the equipment and then discover something is broken or missing in the field, you will be held responsible. Saying that you discovered the problem after signing the checkout form but, in the words of the immortal Bart Simpson, “I didn't do it!” DOES NOT REMOVE YOUR LIABILITY FOR THE EQUIPMENT. It is NOT an excuse. Your signature on the checkout form means you have accepted the equipment “as is.”
9. It is, of course, desirable for no problems to occur with the lab/studio equipment, but there will be periodic, unannounced inspections of the lab/studio and equipment. If any of the above policies have been violated, your final grade will be reduced accordingly and such violations will be treated as an Honor Code violation.

Grades & Assignments: Refer to the Details on Assignments and Final Grade handout.

1. Briefly: You will not receive letter or numerical grades on your assignments. Rather, your final grade will be primarily determined by successful completion of specific multimedia productions on different media platforms.
2. Deadlines: Because meeting deadlines is extremely important in all media, you are required to turn in all assignments by the due date. You must redo any assignment that fails to meet the minimum standards of acceptability set by the professor of this course in order to receive credit for it. If timeliness of the assignment makes it impossible for you to redo it, you must then receive and complete another assignment in its place.
3. Criteria: The professor will explain the criteria for each assignment. It is your responsibility to make sure you understand the criteria prior to undertaking an assignment. If the instructions are not clear, ask questions. It is not a valid argument to claim you did not understand an assignment after it has been evaluated by the professor! All assignments must receive final approval from the professor to be considered acceptable. If the professor rejects an assignment for any reason, no one in the group will receive credit for it until the problems have been fixed or a similar assignment is approved. This means, for example, the journalism student in MSTD 481-01 will not receive credit for the assignment if you (in MSTD 482-01) do not receive credit for the production…and visa versa.
4. Assignments: In general, you will be working in teams of reporters, producers, editors, videographers, photographers, etc. You will be the production people on these teams. This means you will shoot the video, take the photos, record the interviews, edit the stories for video/audio, direct the newscast, and generally are responsible for the technical and production portion of the completed productions. On the other hand, the journalists (MSTD 481-01) make the news decisions, do the interviews, serve as producer for video/audio stories, write the stories and scripts, and generally are responsible for the content of the completed news assignments.