DESCRIPTION:

This course, the first quarter of a two-quarter sequence, will provide students with the opportunity to learn the fundamental skills relating to video production as a tool for ministry, and will introduce them to the use of various related forms of media (audio production, satellite, web) in ministry. Students are expected to enroll in WS508B the following quarter. The student will explore a theology of media usage and demonstrate its applicability through small group development of a 3 to 10 minute video for use in a church ministry. Students will learn basic skills in storyboarding, script development, and planning of video projects (including computer programs used in production) that can be used in ministry. The collaborative and relational processes of motion picture production will be emphasized. Students will also be introduced to concepts relating to video and audio streaming and web hosting. There will be participation by guest instructors Steven Watts and Martha Copeland with expertise in media and technology.

The twenty-first century church is evolving into a multi-media ministry model that requires ministers to understand and appreciate how to utilize technology as a ministry and outreach tool. This course will provide familiarity with and basic skills relating to the use of media and technology as ministry tools.

The format is designed to allow for the creative time to develop a theologically driven media project as well as to acquire the technical competence to carry the project to completion. The class will meet for a total of eleven two-hour meetings (including a meeting in the exam week) according to a schedule to be distributed in the course syllabus.

Course Reader.

Selected motion pictures, TV shows, and commercials will be viewed (both inside & outside class).

Straczynski, J. Michael. The Complete Book of Scriptwriting. Cincinnati: Writer's Digest Books, 2002 (1st paperback ed.).

Turner, Steve. Imagine: A Vision for the Christian in the Arts. InterVarsity Press, 2001.

Wheeler, Thomas H. Phototruth or Photofiction: Ethics and Media Imagery in the Digital Age. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2002.

Schmitz, B., N. Neubert, and C. Plikat. Navigation for the Internet and Other Digital Media. Ava Publishing, 2002.

Pakstas, A. Komiya, R., ed. Digital Media and Broadcasting: Virtual Reality Technologies: for Future Telecommunications Systems. John Wiley & Sons, 2002.

1. Complete all assigned reading and viewing.

2. Collaborative development of a storyboard, treatment, and script for group production project.

3. One media conversion project (for example, VHS to DVD).

WS500 OR WS507 OR ST539 and permission of the advisor. (Students must be enrolled in the M.A. in Worship, Theology and the Arts; the Worship, Theology and the Arts concentration of the M.Div.; or the M. A. in Theology, Theology and Art format.)

The two-quarter course fulfills the Worship, Theology, and Arts specialized course requirements for the M.A. in WTA and the M.Div. concentration in WTA.