FLM 201: Filmmaking Concepts for Digital Media
Explore projects in digital and social media
This multi-faceted course will enhance your filmmaking and digital media skills with an emphasis on planning, producing, and distributing creative work through web-based applications and venues such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitch (livestreaming). You will research, conceive, plan (using storyboards and other planning aids), and produce a variety of creative pieces by applying filmmaking principles such as storytelling, cinematography, directing, and editing to short-form digital media projects to distribute and stream through multiple web-based venues and channels.
About This Course
Project-Based Learning
Throughout this course filmmaking techniques will be employed to produce a variety of digital media pieces including a demo reel to distribute through social media and live streaming such as Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
What Skills Will I Develop?
Students in this course can expect to learn to:
- Explore how filmmaking practices such as storytelling, cinematography, directing, and editing can be applied to the planning and production of short form digital media pieces.
- Edit supplied content to produce different end products with consideration for aspect ratios, segment length, and other specifications.
- Analyze how content creators present their ideas through different social media channels such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitch.
- Research, plan, and produce short form digital media pieces for multiple social media channels such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and live streaming content for Twitch.
- Examine how marketing and promotion concepts are presented and reinforced through short form digital media distributed through multiple social media applications.
- Compare the considerations digital creators make when developing and presenting their content including attention to graphics, lighting, editing, pacing, and other creative strategies.
- Gather digital media projects and produce a promotion piece such as a project trailer or highlighting creative skills.
What Software and Supplies Do I Need?
- A computer with Internet connection (56 Kbps modem or faster).
- Non-linear video editing software such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Avid, Final Cut Pro, or iMovie.
- Projects in this class can be completed using your mobile device, a point-and-shoot, or a consumer-level DSLR. If you have access to a professional camera, that’s great but not required.
- Ability to connect your video device, (as described above) to a computer to capture footage.
- Professional lights are not required for this course. Household, repurposed items, and natural light can be used to complete course assignments.
Are There Course Prerequisites?
FLM 101 Cinematography, FLM 102 Editing, FLM 103 Screenwriting I, and FLM 104 Directing are prerequisites for this course or courses can be taken concurrently.
If you have any questions about this course, please contact Admissions@sessions.edu.
Course Instructor(s)
The course is taught by the following instructor(s):
Natalie La Scala
Natalie La Scala is a Denver-based media artist with 20 years of work experience in creative direction, project management, and higher education. Recent clients include Z1CareerZone, Engage, LLC, and the Performing Arts Academy.
Course Outline
Applying Filmmaking Skills and Concepts to Digital Media
In 2005, three entrepreneurs founded a company because they were frustrated at how hard it was to share videos online. That company was YouTube, and those early obstacles seem to have disappeared, with an estimated 14 billion videos now on the platform. In this course, we will explore how to apply your filmmaking skills to digital media projects to distribute and stream through multiple web-based venues and channels.
Storytelling in Digital Media
In this lecture, the goal is to explore some ideas that will help you develop a creative response to our next digital media project. We will also revisit some tried and true filmmaking production concepts and examine which ones are useful when creating digital media content.
Production for Multiple Platforms
How do you make an effective ad for online platforms? What are some of the factors that make an ad go viral? We will address these questions by examining the explosive growth of online advertising and asking what fundamental principles of advertising still apply. We will cover how to research production guidelines and wrap up with case study on a company that has been successful in cross-platform marketing.
Production for Digital Media Channels
Let's be honest. If you've ever spent time on the video sharing platform YouTube, you've probably thought about hosting your own (wildly successful) YouTube channel. Heck, some of you may have already crossed that bridge. In the next project, we're going to explore how to think about conceptualizing and creating a YouTube channel. This week, we will research a concept for a channel, producing and shooting a 2-5 minute video.
Reaching Your Audience
Throughout the course, we've discussed different ways that creators use digital media to promote their awesome talents. Now it's your turn! You'll choose one of three options for you final project: a movie trailer, a highlight reel, or a creative services ad.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How Do The Courses Work?
Our courses are project-based and instructor-led. In each course you’ll complete a series of lectures, projects, discussions, and critiques designed to stretch your creative skills. Weekly assignment deadlines keep you on track, and with no set-logins or Zoom meetings, you can build your studies around your schedule.
Who Are The Instructors?
Our courses are developed and taught by our industry-leading faculty of creative professionals. This means that you’ll learn in-demand skills, get feedback on your work, and build a portfolio of creative work. View our Student Gallery for featured student projects.
When Can I Start?
Classes start January, April, and August, and this course is completed in a 15-week term. This course is not available for individual enrollment; it can only be taken as part of a program.
Explore our Programs: Bachelor's Degree | Associate Degree | Undergraduate Certificate
How Do I Register?
This course is not available for individual enrollment; it can only be taken as part of a program. To register for a program, complete our program application.
Is Sessions College Accredited?
Yes. Since 2001, Sessions College has been accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC). The Distance Education Accrediting Commission is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a recognized accrediting agency and is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).