Television and Video Production Major
Overview
The Television & Video Production major provides an innovative and comprehensive hands-on experience in producing television, film, and video. From cinematic productions to live broadcasts, students engage with every production element in a wide variety of television, film, and video genres and formats. Through classes and practical experiences students learn to develop, shoot, edit, promote, and perform in various audiovisual media formats taught by experienced and invested faculty.
Hands-on Production Experiences
From their first production class through their internships, students spend their time at EIU producing television, short films, and a wide variety of video content. Multiple talented full-time faculty members with both production experience and advanced degrees in media mentor students through every production.
Specialization & Customization
Students learn the building blocks of producing television, film, and video and then specialize in one of the three main content areas found in the industry:
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Narrative & Creative: Narrative and character-driven television programs, over-the-top episodic content, and filmic content for a variety of channels.
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Documentary & News: Both short and long-form reality and actuality-based programming in both the television studio as well as off-line in the field.
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Commercial & Advertising: Promotional media content in a variety of audiovisual forms, from spots to corporate video to branded entertainment.
Students also customize their skills and explore media interests through course options from other departments. This can include performing on-air/on-screen, learning about the latest digital media technologies, examining film history or animating programs and graphics.
100% Media Courses
Unlike many other television and video majors, all required courses focus on the art, science, and business of media. Our focus on depth leads to an unparalleled technical and symbolic understanding of television, video, and film. Additionally, we offer the second most video production courses in the state including such choices as Studio Production, Documentary Filmmaking, Television Genres: Production & Development, Audio Production I & II, Broadcast News and many more.
Resources
We provide the professional mentoring and technical support necessary for student success.
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Television, Radio & Video Job Fair: Each year employers from around the Midwest come to EIU looking for interns and full-time positions.
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On-campus professional development: Students can gain professional experiences while on campus at WEIU-TV, shooting for the OVC digital network for ESPN+, being a production assistant at Panthertech, and doing brand development for a variety of campus organizations.
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Technical resources: EIU is home to an Emmy Award-winning television station, video production labs with professional-level equipment for television, video, and independent film, and audio production facilities.
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Student organizations: The Alternative Television & Film Club at EIU (Alt TV) and the nightly newscast (NewsWatch) provide just two of the opportunities for production students to connect outside of the classroom. In Alt TV, students provide the cast and crew for each others' productions and each episode airs on YOUR 13 (local cable channel).
Explore the major's full course sequence and Areas of Specialization or view the full Plan of Study (both two and four year) which includes graduation requirements and sample coursework plans.
Degree: B.A.
Completion time: 51 hours required for the major and 120 hours required for graduation
Resources
- Program Information in EIU
Catalog