Our Pathway

Television Production and Digital Moviemaking is a one-year pathway, covering years one and two of the VDOE's Career & Technical Education Television and Media Production requirements. Competencies include, but are not limited to, extensive scriptwriting, single vs. multi-camera operation, on-camera performance, digital editing and live audio/video switching, which are all essential skills for work in the competitive motion picture industry. Industry jobs can range from broadcast, sound, lighting and video technicians to scriptwriters, actors, editors, camera operators, and more.

This rigorous, performance-based course is designed to help students interested in movies and television programs get acclimated with the technical, entry-level aspects of what goes into making digital media.

This course is geared more toward the technical, rather than creative, aspects of television and filmmaking. This is not a film analysis class. We tackle film and television concepts primarily from an editor’s perspective with hands-on practice and performance-based projects for assessment. Students are expected to operate equipment, write extensively and perform professional roles that demonstrate various technical skills in different types of film and television production settings, which include the following:

• Short Film Production
• Sitcom Production
• Talk Show Production
• Commercial/PSA Production

Our Requirements

Prerequisite: Grades 11-12; Competitive application process; Strong communications/language arts/writing skills; Good hand-eye coordination; Ability to operate, carry and lift production equipment and studio set materials; Some technical acumen. This program works well for detail-oriented students with a strong work ethic who exhibit a primary interest in the technical side of film and television, who work well under pressure, and who plan to attend college and/or intend to begin independent careers immediately after high school. 

Instructor: Tara Wall

Student Prospects

Upon successful course completion and industry credential assessment passage, students earn a workplace certificate in Digital Production, and are prepared for immediate work and/or a post-secondary degree path in a field where employment in media and communication occupations in general is projected to grow 4 percent from 2019 to 2029. That is about as fast as the average for all occupations, and will result in about 46,200 new jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Demand stems from the need to create, edit, translate and disseminate information through a variety of different platforms. For film and video editors and camera operators, growth is estimated at 18 percent, and growth for producers and directors is expected to be 10 percent, faster than the average for all occupations. Production companies and video freelancers are working with new content delivery methods from mobile devices to online TV, while strong public demand for more movies, television shows and U.S. produced films for foreign audiences continues to drive growth in the motion picture and video industry. The number of Internet-only platforms, such as streaming services, is likely to increase, along with the number of shows produced for these platforms. This growth may lead to more work for editors and camera operators. This presents a strong outlook and wide-ranging opportunities for students pursuing this exciting career field. Entry-level jobs, as well as paid and unpaid college internships exist in this field for motivated individuals with strong high school/college academic skills and technical expertise.

Many of our students have been accepted into two- and four-year Film Programs including, NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, George Mason's Film and Video Studies, VCUarts Cinema, UVA Media Studies, NOVA Film & Media Studies and more.