MC 334 (001) Electronic Media Advertising May 22-June 23, 2006; TR Noon to 4:30 pm Classrooms DH 1012/1015 Office DH 1033, Hours as posted Rdonald@siue.edu (618) 650-2236 Course Description: Radio and TV and the Internet as advertising media. Planning, writing and executing ads. Writing commercial scripts and storyboards, production of radio and TV spots included. (Prerequisites: MC 204 and MC 325 or consent of instructor.) Textbook: Designing and Producing the Television Commercial, by Larry Elin and Alan Lapides. If it’s been a long while since you completed MC 204, you may want to review TV production techniques in the MC 204 Textbook, Fundamentals of Television Production, by yours truly and Thomas Spann. You may also want to review Avid Editing, 2nd. ed., by Sam Kauffman. Both books are available at Amazon. com. Additional Production Activities: If has been a while since you finished MC 204, I suggest that you also take this quick refresher course: There is a handy web-based TV production tutorial called Video 101, by Prof. Mike Trinklein. This supplemental aid will help you review the fundamentals you read in the 204 textbook. Go to <http://www.video101course.com/300home.html> Supplies you must provide: Three Mini-DV tapes and two CDRs, which can be purchased at Target in Edwardsville, Wal-Mart in Glen Carbon or on-line. Major Course Objectives: Compared to his/her skill level after completion of MC 325 and MC 204, upon successful completion of MC 334, a student should be able to:

a. employ advanced principles of aural/visual grammar in writing, storyboarding, producing and directing professional quality Radio and Television advertisements; b. employ advanced skills in spot campaign design; c. better understand the process and business relationships utilized in the creation and distribution of broadcast advertising media; d. better understand and critically analyze traditional electronic media advertising, and also have a new appreciation and understanding of newer forms of digital advertising, such as found on the Internet.

The Course Plan: Students will learn to use more advanced principles of aural/visual grammar in writing, producing and directing and campaign creation through actual practice. Students will produce a campaign for the same product or service consisting of one Radio and two TV commercials. Students will understand process and business relationships through book readings and lectures. Students will understand more about Internet advertising through lecture, demonstration and analysis activities.

Mass Comm. 334 Grading Opportunities: (those projects noted with asterisks can be senior portfolio elements): First Radio Commercial script*……………………….……………...25 points First Radio Commercial* ……………………………………………..50 points First TV Commercial script* …………………………………………25 points First TV Commercial storyboard* and pitch ……………………….25 points First TV Commercial* ………………………………………………...50 points TV PSA script (for SIUE Global Village)* ……...………..………….25 points TV PSA storyboard and pitch* ……………..……………………….25 points TV PSA*………………………………………………………………..50 points Second TV Commercial script* ……………………………………...25 points Second TV Commercial storyboard* and pitch…………………….25 points Second TV Commercial* ……………………………………………..75 points Internet ad analysis* ………………………………………………….25 points Tests 1, 2 and 3 on the book (25 pts. each)……...………………….75 points Perfect Attendance……………………………………………………50 points Total points possible ………..550 points Attendance Grading Scale (see notes below): no unexcused absences...........................................…50 points 1 unexcused absence................................................…25 points 2 unexcused absences....................................................5 points 3 unexcused absences.................................................. Ø points How Your final course grade is computed: 495-550 points …………………………………………………A 440-494 points………………………………………………….B 385-439 points………………………………………………….C 330-384 points …………………………………………………D Below 330 points………………………………………………F Summer Session Policies: Summer is different than the regular school year. Punctual attendance at every single class is expected. Missing a single summer class is equivalent to missing a week and a half of a regular Fall/Spring semester course. Miss two classes during summer session and you might as well drop the course. Miss three and you lose a total of 50 points. Miss four and I’ll have to drop you from the class. Also note: A student who attends every class but is habitually late will be marked absent. Absenteeism is not

tolerated in either the advertising or the broadcasting business, and the same goes for this course. Radio and TV production are cooperative arts: You’re expected to be cooperative and dependable as a member of your field production team. Beyond cooperation and dependability, part of becoming a professional is acting like one. So demonstrating professional conduct in the studio and on location, and taking care of our very precious resources, our equipment and facilities, are required. This is not the kind of course you can realistically expect to juggle with another course during this summer session. You must be able to put in the number of extra hours in the studio, in the editing room and on location shoots to get the job done on deadline. Attendance and late submission policy: As stated above, the standard for attendance in such a summer course is simply this: You can’t miss one day! This course is compressed into one month and is experientially-based. Therefore you are given a big incentive toward perfect attendance: A large amount of points, enough to make a difference of entire letter grade, is awarded just for showing up. And remember, you only receive these attendance points if you show up on time. Documented illnesses, family emergencies, and other SIU field trips are the only exceptions, and then you still must find a way to make up the work. If you get too far behind, you will probably have withdraw from the course. Neither learning the new equipment, practicing on equipment you haven’t used for a long time, nor doing your Video 101 tutorials is graded: whatever amount of work you need to do to get the job done in MC 334 is simply expected. Late scripts, storyboards, or projects receive no points. No excuses. If you have a dog, don’t let it eat your tape or script or storyboards. If the computer lab printer is down, take your script to another lab. It’s not an excuse. As it is in summer session, you’ll have very few days from the date a project is assigned until it’s due. Whenever possible, I’ve tried to give you at least a week to get your projects produced and edited. That’s not much time, but then we only have a little over a month for the entire course. Getting sick or experiencing some unforeseen disaster the night before it’s due means you procrastinated. Procrastination also earns you a zero. The electronic media are the kind of businesses where you just can’t procrastinate. If a producer doesn’t come through when expected, there’s a big, black hole in the program schedule, and the producer usually gets fired. If you miss a deadline, you still must complete the assignment – for no credit -- to avoid an “I” (incomplete) grade in the course. Finally, if you’re late for the start of class on a due date because you’ve fallen behind and are still cutting away in the editing room, the assignment is considered late, and no credit is given. A deadline is a deadline. And NOON on T-Th is ours. Just like during the regular semester, the Avid editing lab is open from 8 am to 4:30 pm Monday Through Friday. Factor this into your schedule. The same is true of the Pro Tools labs in the basement. Of course, if you own your own audio/video editing software, feel free to use it at your own pace. But malfunctions caused by your personal equipment are no excuse for late or glitched-up tapes and discs.

Summer, 2006, Planned Schedule of Activities

Note: Although you will be working in teams on your TV productions, each student turns in his/her own commercials and PSA. Your partner is there to help you shoot your spot, and can even sit with you while you edit, but you’re the writer, producer, director and editor of your spots. As such, you are responsible for all aspects of the production.

May 23: Intro. to course, check of prerequisites, pass out syllabus, collect phone and e-mail numbers, break up into two-person teams for production work.

Discussion about use of department script and storyboard styles for all Radio and TV commercials. Style examples found on department website (click on “Department Handbook” and scroll down to the bottom). Overview of kinds of electronic media advertising we will cover (essentially Radio, TV, and Internet), and those we have time to actually produce in this course (R & TV). Lecture on Radio advertising. Radio commercial assigned.

May 25: Radio commercial scripts due, read aloud in class. Lect. on TV advertising (4

kinds: TV spots, product placements in entertainment programs, home shopping programs and informercials). TV commercial scripts/boards assigned. Storyboard handout and view Super Bowl ads. View Tony Schwartz video. May 30: Radio spots due, played and critiqued in class. TV commercial scripts also due. (Note: For your pitch and storyboard presentations, you can either create large boards that the entire class can see, or you can display your boards on PowerPoint. If so, of course, use one entire PP screen for each board. We’ll do the presentations in DH 1015.)

Orientation to TV field production gear: Canon XL cameras and review of the use of Lowell light kits. Also, review of studio lighting procedures for in-studio product shots, etc., and distribute test #1.

June 1: Test on first 1/3 of book (chs. 1-3) TV commercial storyboards due, pitched in

class. Field producing and directing techniques for TV commercials (and, of course, field-produced infomercials). Directing, producing, creative editing of TV commercials. The business of broadcast advertising (local ads and sales, station reps, national spot advertising. Lect. on process of network ad from inception at the ad agency through production to delivery of finished spot to network.

June 6: Review test results. View TV commercials as propaganda video. Handout on

commercial appeals. Assignment of TV PSA for airing this fall on SIUE Global Village and discussion of differences between PSAs and commercials. Analysis of home shopping programs: view footage. Brief discussion of product placement in programs and movies.

June 8: 30-sec. commercials with 15-sec. cutdowns due, screened and critiqued in class. Scripts for PSA due, discussed in class. Lecture and analysis of infomercials. Second TV commercial assigned; distribute test #2.

June 13: Test on second 1/3 of book, chs. 4-7. PSA storyboards due, pitched in class. More analysis of Super Bowl commercials. June 15: PSA due, screened in class. Second TV commercial script due, discussed in

class. Lecture and demo of Internet ads. June 20: Second commercial boards due, pitched in class. Catch-up and distribute test

#3. June 22: Second 30-sec. commercial with 15-sec. cutdown due, screened and critiqued

in class. Test on last 1/3 of book, chs. 8-end. Here’s a good deal: If you earn (90 per cent) on your first two book tests, you

don’t have to take the final. You’ll get an automatic 100 per cent on the final and you can use your study time for other purposes.

Academic Policies Relevant policies regarding the following may be found on the University’s web site: http://www.siue.edu/POLICIES/3c1.html Student conduct code http://www.siue.edu/POLICIES/3c2.html Student academic code http://www.siue.edu/POLICIES/3c3.html. Student grievance policy These sites explain student responsibilities and rights and describe SIUE’s disciplinary procedures for misconduct (including instances of plagiarism). As described in these documents, students have responsibility for maintaining an environment which encourages free inquiry and expression and respecting the rights and responsibilities of faculty and staff members -- and vice-versa. Students are expected to follow course or class guidelines as set forth in syllabi and as announced by their instructors. Students who fail to follow classroom instructions may be involuntarily withdrawn from the course. The student grievance policy describes the procedure to be followed if a student files a grievance against an instructor. Dept. of Mass Communications Conduct Code (April 7, 2004)

Individuals enrolled in this course are expected to conduct themselves in a civil and respectful manner, both toward their instructor and fellow students. In accordance with SIUE’s Student Conduct Code (www.siue.edu/POLICIES/3c1.html), acts of misconduct for which students are subject to discipline include, but are not limited to, intentional interference with or disruption of class as well as behavior or conduct which poses a threat to the mental, emotional, or physical well being of self or others. Non-compliance, interference or resistance to this code is considered actionable when a student fails to comply with a reasonable verbal or written instruction or direction given by a University employee (e.g. instructor, teaching assistant or staff member). In such cases of violation, it is the University employee’s right and responsibly to remove the student from class (via the Campus Police, if necessary) and seek out the appropriate sanctions (e.g. suspension, separation, probation, enrollment restrictions, or expulsion from the University) pursuant to the conduct code policy. The Department’s Equipment Policy You may only check out equipment from this department for SIUE Mass Communications Department class assignments. We just don’t have enough equipment for other uses. So you may not check out equipment for your private productions, even if these productions might end up in your portfolio! It’s good experience for you to do media projects for private clients, but when you bid on a project, include the cost of equipment rental in your expenses – then mark up the cost you charge so you can make a profit.