Topics in Film/Video/Audio Production (379-0-22)
Topic
Showrunners as Creative Producers: Who’s Running t
Instructors
Felicia Denise Henderson
Meeting Info
Locy Hall 214: Tues 6:00PM - 9:00PM
Overview of class
From television narrative pilot concept to series greenlight, students will explore the creative management of one-hour drama and half-hour comedy television series. The course will unpack the responsibilities of a show's creative manager - the executive producer-showrunner-head writer. As the overall success of a series depends on meaningful collaboration between those who create shows (writer-producers) and those who fund them (studios), students will also gain insight into the complicated negotiation between the two, which will include a discussion of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.
Learning Objectives
Students will learn the overall work flow of a narrative television series from pre-production - to principal photography - to post-production. They will also delve into a showrunner's decision-making process when hiring a writing staff (or casting the writers' room); how a writing staff breaks stories that eventually become episodes; how a writers' room is run (or managed); considerations for interviewing and hiring production team department heads; the challenges of working with a rotation of directors, as well as what determines a successful working relationship between actors and showrunners, and the processes and responsibility of overseeing story consistency over the course of a season.
Teaching Method
Through critical reading of television pilot scripts, lecture and discussion, pilot episode screenings, guest lectures, participating in a mock writers' room, weekly dilemma problem-solving assignments, and sharing feedback on the instructor's real-time production challenges, students will investigate the responsibilities associated with the creative management of content making.
Evaluation Method
Students will be required to complete a Series Bible that contains all the information that a showrunner might need. They will also be required to present an oral presentation in mock meetings with a studio and network/cable/steamer to receive their notes. Class participation is also mandatory.
Class Materials (Required)
Course readings, including excerpts from The TV Showrunner's Roadmap: Creating Great Television in an On Demand World by Neil Landau, and The Executive Chair: A Writer's Guide to TV Series Development by Kellie Edwards, will be provided via PDF on Canvas.
Enrollment Requirements
Enrollment Requirements: Prerequisite: Students must have taken and passed RTVF 190-0.