"Make It" in Hollywood: CAMS Production in Los Angeles

“Make It” in Hollywood: CAMS Production in Los Angeles offers a venue to explore the unique advantages of the country’s largest production hub with an eye toward learning about post-grad career pathways. The program draws on strengths in the CAMS curriculum while maximizing students’ exposure to opportunities available only in LA.

Many of our students, both in CAMS and other majors, are interested in pursuing a career in media. It is challenging to make connections and learn first-hand about the industry from Northfield. Creating opportunities for Carleton students to delve into the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, including alternative and experimental communities, is at the heart of this program. Experiential learning will include collaborative filmmaking and screenwriting, as well as direct engagement with contemporary screenwriters, filmmakers and industry professionals, film festival visits, and explorations of the city of Los Angeles.

Catherine is looking forward to guiding students through the process of making a short narrative film as part of a crew, and to introducing students to the power of role specialization in filmmaking. Together, over the course of her class, students will select ideas for their films, and move through all phases of pre-production, production, and post-production in small crews. Being on location in Los Angeles will provide students with a unique opportunity to cast from a large pool of talented actors as well as a chance to practice their technical skills in specialized equipment workshops.

Laska is particularly excited to share her knowledge and passion for experimental and avant-garde film, and connect students with the rich history and vital contemporary media arts practices in Los Angeles. She will also draw on her interests in romanticism of the American West, collisions between the built environment and natural world, and intertextual representations of cinema history to explore the city through an interdisciplinary lens. In her courses, students will practice keeping a notebook as a place for active reflection and idea generation.

Our third faculty member will bring many years of industry experience to a course on television writing and facilitate visits with tv writers and producers, as well as visits to tv sets and show tapings.

We look forward to welcoming students from diverse majors interested in media production. Please be in touch with any questions.

Laska Jimsen, Associate Professor of Cinema & Media Studies and Catherine Licata, Associate Professor of Cinema & Media Studies

Learning Goals

• Developing knowledge of the film and television industry in Los Angeles
• Expanding technical and conceptual skills in writing and directing film and television through specialized workshops
• Developing knowledge of the experimental and avant-garde cinematic histories and current practices in Los Angeles
• Making creative work drawing on experiential learning
• Exploring Los Angeles as the center of the entertainment industry and a dynamic multicultural city
• Preparing for lives as working artists through contact with writers, filmmakers, programmers, and film craftspeople
• Developing a broader understanding of the possibilities for careers in film, tv, and media production
• Growing in personal responsibility, maturity, and organization as students, artists, and travelers

Prerequisites

This program is open to all Carleton students, but preference will be given to those with a demonstrated interest in media production. Students must take CAMS 111: Digital Foundations in advance of the program. Digital Foundations provides important technical and conceptual background for the creative projects students will complete in LA.

Course of Study

CAMS 272: CAMS Production in Los Angeles Program: Narrative Short Film Production (6 credits, CAMS Elective, CAMS 200-level Production, Arts Practice)

Narrative films are the product of many artists working in concert toward a shared artistic vision. In this course, students will explore the essential crew roles on narrative films and choose an area in which they would like to specialize during the making of a short narrative film in Los Angeles. In addition to a focus on story and directing actors, specialized equipment and craft labs will expand students’ technical skills. Through the term, students will learn the ins-and-outs of filmmaking in Los Angeles while moving through all stages of production, with each student taking on a specific crew position in a collaborative project.
Instructor: Catherine Licata

CAMS 277: CAMS Production in Los Angeles Program: In the Writers’ Room (6 credits, CAMS Elective, CAMS 200-level Production, Arts Practice)

In this course, students will explore the art and craft of writing for television as they learn, from writers’ room insiders, how TV series are conceived and created. We’ll break the writing process into a series of manageable steps, from pilot premise to polishing. Topics will include: story structure, character development, tone, stakes, theme, and more. In-class conversations with working, award-winning television writers, as well as visits to sets and show tapings, will complement the classroom curriculum.
Instructor: Program Staff

CAMS 230: CAMS Production in Los Angeles Program: Iconic Los Angeles (3 credits, CAMS Elective, Literary/Artistic Analysis)

This course explores the second largest city in the United States through its relationship to cinema history. In its complexities and contradictions, romantic notions of “Tinsel Town” coexist with the realities of a multicultural metropolis. Readings, screenings, and field trips will contextualize Los Angeles as a place where the built environment and natural world collide, as well as the center of the American entertainment industry. Short writings will give students the necessary opportunity to reflect and synthesize their experiences.
Instructor: Laska Jimsen

CAMS 229: CAMS Production in Los Angeles Program: Experimental Los Angeles (3 credits, CAMS Elective, Literary/Artistic Analysis)

Los Angeles is well known as the center of the film and television industry. This course will explore the lesser-know experimental and avant-garde cinematic histories and current practices in Los Angeles through readings and screenings. Site visits will include filmmaker and media artist studios, archives, and film festivals. Students will reflect on their experiences with course materials through short writings and creative projects.
Instructor: Laska Jimsen

Housing

Students will stay in shared apartments near the local partner in Burbank.

Excursions

The program will include visits to film festivals, live television tapings, and conversations with industry professionals, filmmakers, and media artists.