Program: B.A., Cinema and Television Arts
Screenwriting
Overview
Screenwriting Option: Conceptualization, structuring and writing of scripts for film, television and new media.
Program Requirements
All Lower and Upper Division courses taken toward completion of the CTVA major must be completed with a grade of C or better.
In addition, students intending to continue in the Screenwriting Option must pass CTVA 220 with a grade of B- or better.
Lower Division (12 units)
CTVA 100 Introduction to Mass Communication Arts (3)
CTVA 210 Television-Film Aesthetics (3)
CTVA 220 Foundations of Media Writing (3)
CTVA 230 Fundamentals of Audio Production (3)
or CTVA 240 Fundamentals of Video Production (3)
or CTVA 250 Fundamentals of Film Production (3)
NOTE: Students intending to continue in the Screenwriting Option must pass CTVA 220 with a grade of B- or better.
Upper Division (33 units)
Required Courses (12 units)
CTVA 309 Film as Literature (3)
CTVA 320 Writing for Film and Television (3)
CTVA 420 Screenplay Adaptation (3)
CTVA 425 Advanced Screenwriting (3)
Select one of the following courses (3 units):
CTVA 301 Design of the Media Message (3)
CTVA 319 Criticism in Cinema and Television Arts (3)
Select one of the following courses (3 units):
CTVA 305 History of Broadcasting (3)
CTVA 310 History of American Cinema (3)
Select one of the following courses (3 units):
CTVA 327 Writing for Industrial Media (3)
CTVA 428 Writing Screenplay Comedy (3)
Select one of the following courses (3 units):
CTVA 350 Film Directing (3)
CTVA 440 Theory and Techniques of Television Directing (3)
Additional Units
Select 9 additional units in CTVA or an allied field, with the approval of an advisor, as prescribed in the official departmental advisement form for Screenwriting, or CTVA 329C, CTVA 494C or CTVA 494F.
General Education
CTVA 100 can be counted toward GE Lifelong Learning and the major.
Total Units in the Option: 45
General Education Units: 45 (Does not include CTVA 100, which is required in the major.)
Additional Units: 30
Total Units Required for a B.A. Degree: 120
Contact
Chair: Jon Stahl
Manzanita Hall (MZ) 195
(818) 677-3192
www.csun.edu/ctva
CTVA Advisor: ctva411@csun.edu
Student Learning Outcomes
At the end of a program of study, students will (as reflected by the curriculum in their individual Option) be able to:
- Understand and articulate the history, theories and critical models of cinema and the electronic media;
- Conceptualize, structure and write dramatic and nondramatic scripts for cinema, television and new media;
- Employ pre-production, production and post-production techniques for all electronic and digital media formats in both the studio and the field;
- Conceptualize, produce, direct, edit and distribute cinema projects for both entertainment and informational purposes;
- Operate and manage business structures, personnel, budgets, advertising, sales, research and regulation of independent, studio and network electronic media.