Academics
Faculty       Courses      Internship Areas

Courses
Syllabi are for course approval and reference only. Students will receive up-to-date syllabi when their courses begin.

Advertising and Public Relations Track

Required Courses

COM CM 561 HL Survey of Entertainment Promotion
Entertainment Promotion surveys the strategy, techniques and communication media employed to market the range of entertainment available to the American audience. The course examines the organizations and people who conceive, create and distribute video, film, print, interactive and new technology within the framework of the entertainment promotion landscape. The course demonstrates how advertising, publicity, promotion, research and overall marketing campaigns are created and the impact on the creative and business operations of entertainment companies. 4 cr. Syllabus

COM CM 561 HW Careers in Hollywood for Advertising and Public Relations (Speaker Series)
The course will showcase agents, managers, publicists, and studio executives, among others, who will discuss their role and real life experience in developing and guiding an entertainment project (be it a movie, play, book, or music) to success.  The course surveys the nuts and bolts of taking an entertainment project from the ground up with emphasis on doing so in the digital age of the 21st Century. 4 cr. Syllabus

Internship
COM CM 471/809 Internship in Advertising/Public Relations, 4 cr. Syllabus

Elective Courses

COM FT 552 A1 Creative Life and Television
This is a “real-time” class that will follow the life and death of a television season. We examine what makes it on the air, why it gets there, who creates it, who sells its and who buys it and who is going to pay for it. We look at the cultural, political and commercial forces that shape the creative environment. The course examines the struggle of the networks to survive in a rapidly changing environment and in the face of new technologies. And as the dinosaurs die, we look at the new opportunities this era of change offers for fresh talent. Every week there are news articles and feature pieces emailed to you for discussion in class. You are expected to come in up to date on current television and current events. We have guest speakers from working professionals to share their creative journey, do our own exercises in creative thinking. The course integrates with your internship. The idea is to have you become conversant in TV as it exists now. You are required to watch TV and think about it like a professional. Final paper is an examination of shows that are “On the Bubble”. It is an exercise in reverse engineering/development. What would you have done differently with the show you select? What could help save or improve the show? It is an assignment about creative thinking. 4 cr. Syllabus

COM FT 552 B1 Professional Production Methods
To introduce film and television students to professional quality production techniques, suppliers, and equipment. This will be by field trips and speakers in the PLB classroom and at film and video shoots, vendors, and post-production facilities. The class will consist of, primarily, required excursions; it will also include lectures, guest speakers, screenings, class discussions, and demonstrations. The class meetings will be informal, striving for an open exchange of ideas, points of view, experiences and difficulties encountered in film and video production. Students are encouraged to participate in an open forum of discussions regarding techniques, problems encountered related to directing and producing skills, and so forth. We also discuss potential solutions to problems, some of which are routinely encountered in the film industry. 4 cr. Syllabus

COM FT 566 A1 The Business of Hollywood
A practical analysis of the film & television Industries: a general overview of the business of entertainment and the balancing act between art and commerce; how to evaluate, acquire, develop, package, promote, sell, finance, produce and market motion picture and television product; where to begin, how to apply what you’ve learned in the classroom to the marketplace, how to land your first and second jobs; understanding the personalities and social constructs of the industry; and how to navigate your way through the industry and make a career for yourself in film and television. 4 cr. Syllabus


Total: 16 credits


Film and Television Track

Required Courses:

COM FT 566 A1 The Business of Hollywood
A practical analysis of the film & television Industries: a general overview of the business of entertainment and the balancing act between art and commerce; how to evaluate, acquire, develop, package, promote, sell, finance, produce and market motion picture and television product; where to begin, how to apply what you’ve learned in the classroom to the marketplace, how to land your first and second jobs; understanding the personalities and social constructs of the industry; and how to navigate your way through the industry and make a career for yourself in film and television. 4 cr. Syllabus

COM FT 566 B1 Careers in Hollywood (Speaker Series)
A series of symposium-like evenings with industry professionals speaking primarily on those topics covered in COM FT 566E A1, The Business of Hollywood. Some classes will reflect topics covered in COM FT 552 A1, Creative Life and Television. Students will be given the opportunity for up-close-and-personal interaction with some of the industry’s movers and shakers. An opportunity to network with industry alumni as well as non-alumni professional. 4 cr. Syllabus

Internship
COM FT 493/494/953/954 Internship in Film/Television, 4 cr. Syllabus

Elective Courses

COM FT 552 A1 Creative Life and Television
This is a “real-time” class that will follow the life and death of a television season. We examine what makes it on the air, why it gets there, who creates it, who sells its and who buys it and who is going to pay for it. We look at the cultural, political and commercial forces that shape the creative environment. The course examines the struggle of the networks to survive in a rapidly changing environment and in the face of new technologies. And as the dinosaurs die, we look at the new opportunities this era of change offers for fresh talent. Every week there are news articles and feature pieces emailed to you for discussion in class. You are expected to come in up to date on current television and current events. We have guest speakers from working professionals to share their creative journey, do our own exercises in creative thinking. The course integrates with your internship. The idea is to have you become conversant in TV as it exists now. You are required to watch TV and think about it like a professional. Final paper is an examination of shows that are “On the Bubble”. It is an exercise in reverse engineering/development. What would you have done differently with the show you select? What could help save or improve the show? It is an assignment about creative thinking. 4 cr. Syllabus

COM FT 552 B1 Professional Production Methods
To introduce film and television students to professional quality production techniques, suppliers, and equipment. This will be by field trips and speakers in the PLB classroom and at film and video shoots, vendors, and post-production facilities. The class will consist of, primarily, required excursions; it will also include lectures, guest speakers, screenings, class discussions, and demonstrations. The class meetings will be informal, striving for an open exchange of ideas, points of view, experiences and difficulties encountered in film and video production. Students are encouraged to participate in an open forum of discussions regarding techniques, problems encountered related to directing and producing skills, and so forth. We also discuss potential solutions to problems, some of which are routinely encountered in the film industry. 4 cr. Syllabus


Total: 16 credits

School of Management (spring only)

Required Courses:

SMG MG 435 Entertainment Management
Management in the Entertainment Industry surveys the application of management concepts and principles to the film, television, video, new media and music industry. This course examines administration and finance, development, production, and distribution and introduces students to the organizations and people (such as studios, independent production companies, talent managers and agents) who manage, invest, and eventually profit in this creative industry. Much of the class time is spent in discussion of current entertainment industry trends. Students gain the skills to achieve their own entertainment goals. 4 cr. Syllabus

Prerequisites:
BU Students
SMG FE 323, SMG MK 323, SMG IS 323, SMG OM 323

Non Boston University Students
Introduction to Finance, Introduction to Marketing, Introduction to Information Systems, Introduction to Operations Technology Management

SMG LA 430 Entertainment Law
This survey class covers the basics of “entertainment law,” including, constitutional, contracts, labor and employment law and intellectual property rights. Students develop a clear understanding of the applicable laws and how these laws have been applied in the past, how they are applied today and how they might be amended and applied in the future. Students learn applicable legal concepts, practical insights and an appreciation of how to deal with lawyers and the law in their entertainment business futures. It is intended to provide a good conceptual understanding of the law and demonstrate its relevance through case study, reading, guest speakers, field trips, and intense discussion. The application of the law to the “digital now,” the “digital future” and the Internet – now crucial, indeed central, to any discussion of entertainment -- will be included throughout and be the subject of an entire class toward the end of the course. The “law” to be explored will be constitutional, copyright, trademark, contracts, labor, employment and remedies and their application to and use within the entertainment business. 4 cr. Syllabus

Prerequisite:
BU Students
SMG LA 245
Non Boston University Students
Introduction to Business Law

Internship
CAS EC 497 Internship in Business/Economics, 4 cr. Syllabus

Elective Courses (Students choose one)

COM CM 561 HL Survey of Entertainment Promotion
Entertainment Promotion surveys the strategy, techniques and communication media employed to market the range of entertainment available to the American audience. The course examines the organizations and people who conceive, create and distribute video, film, print, interactive and new technology within the framework of the entertainment promotion landscape. The course demonstrates how advertising, publicity, promotion, research and overall marketing campaigns are created and the impact on the creative and business operations of entertainment companies. 4 cr. Syllabus

COM CM 561 HW Careers in Hollywood for Advertising and Public Relations (Speaker Series)
The course will showcase agents, managers, publicists, and studio executives, among others, who will discuss their role and real life experience in developing and guiding an entertainment project (be it a movie, play, book, or music) to success. The course surveys the nuts and bolts of taking an entertainment project from the ground up with emphasis on doing so in the digital age of the 21st Century. 4 cr. Syllabus

COM FT 566 A1 The Business of Hollywood
A practical analysis of the film & television Industries: a general overview of the business of entertainment and the balancing act between art and commerce; how to evaluate, acquire, develop, package, promote, sell, finance, produce and market motion picture and television product; where to begin, how to apply what you’ve learned in the classroom to the marketplace, how to land your first and second jobs; understanding the personalities and social constructs of the industry; and how to navigate your way through the industry and make a career for yourself in film and television. 4 cr. Syllabus

COM FT 566 B1 Careers in Hollywood for Film and TV (Speaker Series)
A series of symposium-like evenings with industry professionals speaking primarily on those topics covered in COM FT 566E A1, The Business of Hollywood. Some classes will reflect topics covered in COM FT 552 A1, Creative Life and Television. Students will be given the opportunity for up-close-and-personal interaction with some of the industry’s movers and shakers. An opportunity to network with industry alumni as well as non-alumni professional. 4 cr. Syllabus

Internship Areas
The internship is one of the primary academic and professional pillars of the Los Angeles Internship Program. Students are introduced to industry environments in their respective fields at sites where they will see the work of industry professionals and participate “in the business.” Students are required to intern for a minimum of 20 hours per week, however, they are expected to intern at two companies for up to 40 hours per week. Progress is monitored through student journal entries and a final paper in which students reflect on their education and experience over the semester.

Please note the following are examples of past internship placements only. While BU International Programs guarantees an internship to program participants, specific placements vary from semester to semester and may not always be available. Likewise, internship placements may be available in academic areas not listed.

Advertising/Public Relations
Study marketing techniques, media and consumer behavior, and work in the marketing or PR departments of multinational firms, advertising agencies, or public relations agencies. Previous internship placements have included TBWA-Chiat/Day, Saatchi & Saatchi, Ogilvy & Mather, BWR, mPRm, Initiative, and BNC.

Film/Television
Study communications and society and work for one of Los Angeles’s television networks or film production companies. Past internship placements have included CBS-TV, The Weinstein Company, HBO Films, Paramount Vantage, Misher Films, Film Colony, E!, Warner Bros., The Directors Bureau, and R.S.A.

Entertainment Management
Study the current economic, political, and social issues affecting the entertainment industry. Internship placements have included Paramount Pictures Finance Dept., Essential Entertainment, Shine-Reveille, Fox Sports, NBC-Universal, and Sonic Management.

Acting in Hollywood

The Writer in Hollywood



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Faculty

Mike Benson is senior vice president, Marketing for ABC Entertainment. He oversees all marketing, advertising and promotion for ABC's Primetime and Late-Night programming, while also establishing the on-air tone and brand of the network. He is responsible for the launch of ABC's Desperate Housewives, Lost, Grey's Anatomy and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, amongst other ABC Entertainment programming. For his creative endeavors on behalf of ABC, Mr. Benson was named an "Entertainment Marketer of the Year" in 2005 by Ad Age and in 2000 by BrandWeek magazine. He was also a recipient of the Promax Campaigns of Distinction Award in 2005 and the Promax Brand Builder Award in 2004.

Alan Cohen
is executive vice president, managing director, Innovations  for Interpublic’s  Initiative advertising agency.  He is responsible for creating new ideas to help Fortune 500 companies forge relationships with Hollywood, new media and technology companies and lead them into the future of advertising and media.  Previously Cohen was president of marketing for 20th Century Fox Film Company where he launched the hits Ice Age and Unfaithful.  Cohen spent a number of years running the marketing, advertising and promotion and research departments at Walt Disney’s ABC Television Network.  As Executive Vice President, Marketing, Advertising and Promotion he developed an award winning on-air promotion group launching shows to high ratings, and repositioning the ABC brand with a campaign Time magazine called the best of the year.  Before ABC, Cohen worked for NBC where he rose to Executive Vice President, Marketing.  At NBC he also led an extensive expansion of the NBC brand including pioneering the network’s new media and internet efforts, innovative programming partnerships, and new marketing and advertising platforms.  He was named Entertainment Marketing executive of the year and selected as a top 100 marketing executive three times and won an Emmy at ABC for producing an integrated programming and marketing campaign.

Jere Hausfater is the former executive vice president of Miramax International. Before joining Miramax, he held a number of executive positions in the industry, with more than 250 features to his credit, including "Pulp Fiction," "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," "Runaway Bride," and "Adaptation." At Miramax, he has successfully released countless films overseas, including the "Kill Bill" series, "Starsky & Hutch," "The Aviator," and "Finding Neverland." Mr. Hausfater is now a consultant in the international film marketing realm.

Benjamin Laski received his M.S. degree in Mass Communication from Boston University and his J.D. degree from Boston University School of Law. In 2003 he formed his own entertainment law firm in Santa Monica representing music, motion picture, television, and internet clients. At the same time, he formed Sonic Management where he manages and assists talented musicians in their careers.

Marcia Lewis has produced or written hundreds of hours of broadcast television that span everything from network specials, to reality series.  Immediately after graduating Boston University, she went to work for David Frost and the BBC.  Lewis was part of the creative team that developed Entertainment Tonight, and stayed on for the first year as the Coordinating Producer and produced the Weekend Edition.  From Paramount she went to Disney, to help start up the Disney Channel as one of its original producers.  She have done network specials with Phil Donahue and Mary Tyler Moore and The Museum of Television and Radio, original programming for HBO and Showtime, as well as several years with Bob Hope, traveling his shows to New York, China, Australia and the deck of an aircraft carrier.  Lewis was Creative Consultant to the Academy Awards for two years.  In addition, she has produced many of pilots, including a memorable adventure with Ringo Starr.  Most recently, she has been directing documentaries and managing regional political campaigns.

Bill Linsman: born and raised in Los Angeles, and having been a director and producer of television commercials for over thirty years, Bill Linsman, knows the ins and outs of professional film production. He has worked with actors (including numerous celebrities), award-winning DPs, and all the major camera and equipment suppliers in Hollywood. Linsman has taught at BU’s Dept. of Film and Television, NYU’s Department of Broadcast in the School of Continuing Professional Studies, at New York Film Academy, and the International Film & Television Workshops in Rockport, Maine. He has directed over 2000 commercials, including hundreds for Procter and Gamble (worldwide) and dozens for Honda motorcars. Linsman is also currently the Director of B.U. in L.A..

Robert Shampain (Lead Faculty/Coordinator), is a 1980 graduate of CFA in acting, and has worked as an actor, director and teacher ever since. He has performed in theatres around the U.S. and Great Britain, and has worked in films, TV, radio and commercials. Since 1990 he has been Director of BAYFEST (British-American Youth Festival Theatre), an international youth theatre training and cultural exchange program, through which he has taught and directed extensively on both sides of the Atlantic. Other teaching credits include: BU’s Summer Theatre Institute (Assistant to the Director), New York University’s Summer Theatre Institute, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center Institute, The Barrow Group Acting School (NYC), California Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Children’s Theatre, National Youth Theatre of Great Britain, and Bangor College, Wales.

Brian Walton, attorney-at-law, is a consultant to entertainment attorneys, writers, producers, agents, guilds, and companies in the U.S. and abroad. Walton was the chief negotiator for the Screen Actors Guild in its talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the three traditional broadcast networks for the SAG Television and Theatrical Minimum Agreement. He has taught "Intellectual Property Law and the U.S." and "International Intellectual Property" at the University of Utah College of Law and Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. Walton has also worked as a consultant for the Writers Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America.

Lawrence I. Weinberg, J.D., Loyola Law School, has performed legal, business affairs, and project-packaging services for a variety of entertainment companies, and has produced several high-profile independent motion pictures. He has lectured and taught film and television production at Boston University, USC, UCLA, Sundance Film Festival and the Entertainment Law Section of the California Bar, on matters related to entertainment law and the business of film.

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