Welcome to my website.  Information on all classes and updates will be available on this website.  Please don’t get scared by the length of some of my Syllabi.  Students always seem to look for a loophole and I just have to keep plugging them up.

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The State of California has mandated through the Title 5 statute, that every Community College Course requires students to know, learn and apply computer skills.  As a first step in my courses, all course documents from your course Syllabus, to handouts, to Resources, can be found on my website.  You would be wise to visit it daily to see the latest updates to your current courses.  As an example, any field trips that will be arranged will also be posted here (with maps) for the various courses once they have been finalized. TV 4 and 9 also require that you use the bundled DVD that came with your textbook and further, require that you periodically email me your progress with your Zettl file as an attachment during the semester.  If you lack these skills mentioned above, you should enroll in a basic computer class here at LACC.  No time will be spent in class teaching basic computer skills.

Some documents open as PDF files.  Others may download as MS Word files or even encrypted  documents to protect my intellectual property rights.  In those cases, all students who have emailed me their email address, will receive any passwords required.  Be aware of where, on your computer files are downloaded.  It might be the desktop (if you’ve set it up that way), or maybe to another folder buried in your computer.

There’s a Document Print and Save Instructions Page in the top menu.

REAL IMPORTANT!

The only email address that I have on record with you, is the one you gave the LACCD when you first registered (if you even gave them your email address).  I routinely contact students via email.  As an example, I may in the beginning of the semester, contact you via email to welcome you to my classes.  Please be sure and verify that the LACCD has your current email address on file, or revise it as soon as possible.  Be aware that in an emergency, if I send out only ONE email, and I use the one the LACCD has on file, you may not be notified of any class cancellation, etc.

Even if you have never had an email address before, LACC has already created one for you!  Contact Admissions to find out how to access it and use it during your enrollment here at LACC.

You may, of course, send me an email and let me know the following:

1. A.   What class(es) you will be taking with me
   

2. B.   Indicate what your new email address is, and be sure and update your new email address with the LACCD.
   

Important Announcements (check daily)

Update 11/24/09

Join me in congratulating TV 4 & 9 students:

Kevin Flemming

Robert Nakano

Don Abernathy

and Ryan Azevedo

for landing paid positions at IMAX working on the distribution of James Cameron’s AVATAR!

Update 9/29/09

There is the very real possibility that some of the Television courses will be day classes beginning with the FALL 2010 Semester.

At one time there were multiple sections of courses offered during the daytime and evening.  As enrollment began to drop, these individual, multiple, sections were in jeopardy of being cancelled.  The Cinema/TV Department decided that canceling the day classes were a safer bet due to the higher enrollment in evening courses at the time.  However, there were always complaints from students that wanted day classes.  Although the LACCD is strapped for funds from the state still prohibiting offering multiple Television sections, it was decided, in lieu of the overwhelming 135% increase in TV student enrollment this Fall, to attempt to service both day and evening students once again.  The Cinema/TV Department will attempt this compromise by offering a Daytime Track of TV courses and a Evening Track of TV courses.  How will this work?  If you take TV 4 & 9 as an evening course one semester, then the following semester, the intermediate course, TV 46 and the advanced courses (TV 48/49) will also be in the evening.  However, TV 4 & 9 will be in the day time track, followed by a Daytime TV 46, 48/49 the following semester.  This new arrangement has not yet been finalized by LACC and the Department so, keep checking here for any late-breaking news.

Some changes to the Resource Page have been made including the addition of some hot keys to other valuable websites, and the separation of some information into Categories that can more easily be searched. Check it out!

General Update for FALL 2009

Click on your Course number above to be taken directly to your Course Webpage.  There you will find downloadable versions of your course Syllabus and Schedule of Classes and any other documents you will need for your course.

Hey!  If you’ve completed TV 9 (or about to), now is the time to go online and sign up for TV 46!  If TV 49 is offered, you should sign up for it also.  However, you’ll need a challenge for from me to get into TV 49.  See me as soon as possible to pick up your challenge form.

Which classes should I sign up for?

TV 1, 4, and 9 are all beginning classes that do not have any pre-requisites.  Many TV students do not finish the TV program because they leave LACC for employment in the Television Industry.  There’s work going begging IF you are smart, motivated, have talent, and know the equipment.  There is NO excuse for not making it in the Television Industry except your own limitations.  There is only one Hollywood but, there are over 2,005 Television stations located in 50 states and U.S. Territories.  They need Camera Operators, Producers, Editors,  Lighting and Sound Technicians, Support Staff, and other entry-level positions.  Write your own ticket now and see the U.S.!  Enroll in Television Production classes now!

Although all my Syllabi are posted on my website, due to subtle, unscheduled changes in Title 5 rules, regulations and guidelines, the updated Syllabus for your class may not be revised until shortly before the semester starts.  However, please feel free to peruse the current Syllabi as any changes should be minor.  Having said that, the syllabus of record for your class WILL BE the one with the most current revised date.  Be sure THAT is the one you download and reference in class once the semester begins.  Take note that revisions may even be done during the semester!

The movie industry is NOT like school.  Deadlines are more often moved UP than back and you would be expected to meet them in real life.  Meeting deadlines is a sign of a true professional.  You may counter my comments by saying something like, “When I start getting paid I’ll act like a professional.”  The problem with that statement is, “How do you know if you can be a professional if you’ve never tried it?”  The industry has a very high work ethic which takes commitment seriously.  Your first jobs may very well be non-paying or very low, working on non-union shoots.  Instead of saying to yourself you are being taken advantage of, try to appreciate all the free education and experience you’re gaining.

As of now, you are all required to download any Exercises or Handouts required for your class meetings.  Look at your Class Schedule of Classes (located just below your class Syllabus).  This document lists everything we are going to be doing on a day-by-day basis.  Be sure and read this document so you know what expected reading you have to do before the next class meeting.  The Schedule also lists which Exercise sheets you need to bring to the next scheduled class meeting.  Frankly, it would be a good idea to download and print a copy of the Syllabus, the Schedule of Classes, and copies of all the class Exercises for a quick reference.  Copies of the Exercises are essential because you will be turning them in for credit.