B2043 Communication and Social Controls

• Shannon-Weaver, the Helix, the Lasswell and the HUB models of Mass Communication
• Define power as opposed to control, degrees of power, direct and indirect forms or order and mastery with specific examples from the Asian region
• Hobbes theory will be contrasted with Machiavelli and post-structionalism
• Asian’s perception of power and control and compare social systems of dominion, the means of achieving a state of power and Wolfe’s definition of autonomy
• Examine the economy of control, involving an investment and having limits, especially with regards to morality and legal standards
• Ffunctions of the state and capital, the definition of pluralism, focussing on interest-group pluralism and elite pluralism, the power elite theory, co-optation, the significance of class identity and interchangeability among those in the state, corporate economy and military
• In post-structionalism disciplinary and sovereign power, various targets of power, the various academic disciplines as technologies of control, systems of command signals, mechanisms of objectification

B2044 Print Production

• The procedure of publication layout by explaining the significance of proof-reading and sub-editing
• Learn the role of the sub-editor on newspapers and magazines, copytasters, the cable editor
• Advances in sub-editing with the arrival of the computer, since most sub-editing is now done on screen
• Necessity of checking for accuracy of facts, refrain from exaggeration, jargon and cliched language, the importance of a simple and clear style
• Terms used in sub-editing and symbols used in proof-reading and will demonstrate an ability to use these
• The process of reading through a story several times to find its newsworthiness, correct the structure and technical faults and polish the presentation
• In typography, students will learn to distinguish between different forms of type, sizes, justification and spacing and their importance in headlines, subheadings, body copy, in setting tone and colour of a piece
• The principles behind writing and laying out the headline of a news story, feature article or announcement
• Focus on the printing process of newspapers and magazines
• Various methods of printing, from Gutenberg’s movable type to direct impression printing, photo typesetting and modern desktop publishing

B2045 Radio Journalism

• The task and challenges of conceptualising and putting together a radio format
• Introduce students to the studio and its elements, the console, its function, operation and application; the turntable and CD player, their structure and operation; tape recording and play back units, magnetic tape, reel to reel machine, cueing a tape, the functions head and tracks, cassette and cartridge machines, the problems involved in usage and the use of digital audiotape
• Examine the basics of sound, functions and how it works; audio and its lexicon; types of microphones , selection and use; audio sources, playback and recording devices
• Look at the magnetic recording and the advantages of digital options over traditional means of recording
• Examine other on-air sources, live interviews and sound bites, music performances; the techniques of physical and digital splicing, dubbing and editing functions
• On-air facilities, production facilities, news production facilities and the integrated radio station will be looked at in the study of studios and control rooms
• Look at recorded production, live/on-air production, using music voice and sound effects, combining elements to produce various formats
• Advanced production techniques, defining the advanced production, directing a production using advanced production tools and analysing production site options

B2046 Television Production

• Study of the basic television system, the expanded television system, production elements and production personnel
• Basics of television production, aesthetics in video and audio and the fundamentals of writing for television
• Major production elements: the function of studio camera, lenses and mounting equipment, lighting, audio elements, video imaging, videotape recording and file, switching, postproduction, editing, special effects and design
• Audio elements, it covers audio properties and sources, audio processing, recording and editing and creativity in mixing and production
• Look at studio layout, studio personnel, the job functions of the director, producer, camera crew, floor manager, talent, postproduction crew, location crew and equipment
• In preproduction students will undertake budgeting and scripting, planning a format, composition, shot sequencing, production planning stages, problems and issues involved with working with crew and talent, holding production meetings and rehearsals

B2047 Film Studies

• The interrelations of the film medium at various levels, from artistry and text to financing and distribution issues, with reference to local, regional and international films as case studies
• The emergence of cinema, its role in society and scientific progress; early film and its influences on and by audiences; film as an art and industry; its global spread; its function in depicting societies, developing imaginative film and fiction
• Coverage on the silent era of movies; Hollywood in the 1920s, the cinemas of Europe in developing movies and cross cultural influences
• Soviet cinema; analyses of early movies; the transition to the sound picture, its impact on moviegoers, film production and personnel and the industry as a whole
• Italian neorealism, Hollywood’s struggle to expand the movie industry, the rise of art cinema in Europe and Asia, with specific case studies will be covered in the post-war transformation
• Examine the expansion of cinema as a medium of change in the presentation of information and entertainment
• Examine the shooting techniques of storyboards, conceptualisation and scripting techniques; creative ways of composing shoots, mastering the basics of framing, following a subject, sequencing, using light and colour to advantage, sound elements
• Coverage on the editing techniques in postproduction, transferring photos, slides and movies to video, editing techniques, aesthetics, hardware in the postproduction suite, using a personal computer with video

B2048 Feature Writing

• The application of the writing process to the story structure of a feature, the investigative methods adopted, finding the right angle and developing the story idea
• Definition of the feature, its purpose, the style of writing as differentiated from hard news, categories of features including profiles, opinion and human interest pieces, investigative or analytical pieces, news, events and specialist or expert pieces
• Exploring the process of reporting, evaluating and interpreting such pieces, from data gathering and usage of statistics from different sources to understanding the communication acts and regulations that need to be adhered to in writing and printing features and news stories, to targetting specific audiences
• Review the elements of good writing and skills necessary in covering hard news stories, the who, what, when, where, why and how of covering essential points of a story
• Explore the structures involved in developing creative feature pieces, the style to be nurtured in clothing a description, language, the use of simple and easily understood English, the importance of developing an accurate vocabulary
• Use of quotes to give credibility to a story, identifying pithy quotes, quoting verbatim, paraphrasing, the dangers of misquoting
• Language will be focused on in terms of colloquialism, English dialects, with emphasis on Singapore English and Australian English
• Students will be taken through examples of such clearly defined feature areas such as sport, entertainment, the editorial and lifestyle
• Explore the different approaches used in writing for magazines, newsmagazines and for a newspaper
• Examine publication deadlines and lead time, target audiences, topics of interest and other factors which differentiate the two