Undergraduate Courses
As an RTF student, you choose courses that align with your passions and professional pursuits. Media studies and production course offerings are extensive, rigorous and tailored for your career goals.
Spring 2026
For class details, including times, click on "find courses now" on the registrar's page.
Not an RTF Major? See info on non-major courses below or find out details about RTF minors.
Note: If you don’t meet the prerequisites stated in the course schedule, you can contact the instructor to request a prerequisite waiver. This will allow you to add the class if it’s open or to add yourself to the waitlist if it’s full.
LOWER-DIVISION COURSES
RTF 301D MEDIA STORYTELLING/ANALYSIS • SAMUEL BURTON, ANN LAUDICK, YEN-JEN CHEN
This course is designed to help you understand and analyze the basic principles of story structure and storytelling technique through elements of style in contemporary film, television, and video games. Our primary goal is to understand precisely what these storytelling “rules” are, to understand how to use (and break) them when creating our own work, and how to produce textual analysis that critically engages how elements of narrative structure and style produce meaning.
RTF 302D HISTORY OF MEDIA INDUSTRIES • FATIMA BAHJA, JINA LEE, LAURA SPRINGMAN
This course examines the historical development of media industries—film, radio, television and digital. Through lecture, section discussions, readings and screenings, we will investigate historical contexts (cultural, industrial, technological) in which media have been produced and consumed in the US and globally.
RTF 303D MEDIA AND CULTURE • SHANTI KUMAR
This course approaches media as a fundamentally cultural experience. Cultural values, beliefs, and ideologies all shape the media we create as a society and inform how we as individuals and communities interpret the media that surrounds us. In this course, we examine how politics, economics, and social relationships all simultaneously shape and reflect media, culture, and society.
RTF 304D INTRO TO FILM PRODUCTION • ARTURO R. JIMÉNEZ
This course is designed to introduce fundamental production concepts and techniques through lectures, projects, and lab experiences. The acquisition of technical skills will be a priority, as this course is a prerequisite to upper-division production classes. Emphasis also will be placed on developing a storyteller's point of view and the ability to create works characterized by simple yet effective visual, aural and narrative structures. Students will be required to attend hands-on lab sections and to complete one still photography project, one sound-designed still photo project and one sync sound digital video project.
Sports Production/Broadcasting Courses - Open to RTF Majors
LOWER DIVISION
SPB 301 INTRO TO SPORTS PRODUCTION/BROADCASTING I • DAVID SCHNEIDER
This introductory course offers a comprehensive overview of the fundamental principles and practices involved in sports production and broadcasting. Designed for students with little to no prior experience in the field, this course covers essential topics such as live sports coverage, camera operation, video editing, storytelling, and broadcast journalism. Through hands-on practice and theoretical instruction, students will gain the skills necessary to produce and broadcast high-quality sports content. The course will also explore the evolving landscape of sports media, including digital platforms, audience engagement, and the ethical considerations in sports broadcasting.
Students will have access to professional-grade video camera equipment, tripods, and editing software, providing them with the opportunity to apply what they learn in real-world scenarios. By the end of the course, students will have produced their own sports broadcast segments, demonstrating their ability to capture and present sports events effectively.
SPB 302 INTRO TO SPORTS PRODUCTION/BROADCASTING II • JORDAN LEVIN
Success in the world of sports production, broadcasting, and media is heavily dependent on blending an understanding of production practices, engaging storytelling, and developing a strong and specific pov and sensibility. This course will build on the fundamental principles and practices learned in the Introduction to Sports Production and Broadcasting l course, strengthening video editing skills and storytelling, establishing professional post-production protocols and media management processes, developing audio segments for the podcasting medium, and working collaboratively on feature stories, all while deepening an awareness of the current sports media and business landscape.
UPPER DIVISION - MEDIA STUDIES COURSES
RTF 321C HISTORY OF AMERICAN TELEVISION • SLAVEYA MINKOVA
This course surveys the history of American network television during the 20th century. We will explore the complex ways that technological, social, political, industrial, and cultural factors have interacted to shape the form and content of broadcast, cable, and satellite television. Our discussion of industrial practices and regulatory decisions will be balanced with an analysis of representational and formal-aesthetic practices. The semester will briefly conclude with a consideration of the meaning and implications of digital convergence on contemporary American—and global—media culture.
RTF 322D FILM HISTORY 1960 TO PRESENT– Web-Based • CHARLES RAMÍREZ BERG
May count toward the Media Studies Minor and the Latino Media Arts & Studies Minor.
This course is a survey of international film history for undergraduate students who seek an understanding of the history and aesthetics of the motion picture. On a weekly basis, it consists of two 75-minute lectures and a screening of a feature-length film. All RTF majors interested in learning more about the development of the motion picture are welcome, regardless of concentration. The course will cover the history of the medium from the beginning of the New American Cinema in the 1960s (including figures like Stanley Kubrick, Mike Nichols, Steven Spielberg, and Martin Scorsese) to the present. Among the topics and filmmakers covered are the cinemas of Japan (Kurosawa and Ozu), Latin America (the New Latin American Cinema and contemporary Argentinian cinema), Europe (Bergman and Kieslowski), Iran (Kiarostami) and Bollywood cinema, as well as recent developments in US cinema such as directors like the Coen brothers, Wes Anderson, the “Mumblecore” movement, and the rise of Austin as a filmmaking hub (Rick Linklater, Robert Rodriguez, Terrence Malick, Andrew Bujalski, and others).
While the history of cinema will be looked at from various perspectives (as a technology, an industry, an entertainment medium, and a mode of personal and national expression), particular attention will be given to the evolution and development of film’s formal elements. This class follows RTF 322C-History of Film to 1960; however, that class is not a pre-requisite. Ideally, students would take both courses in their chronological order, but students are free to take only one of the courses, and they may be taken and out of order. Three short written assignments during the semester. Also one short film quiz and one brief lecture quiz are required weekly.
RTF 328C GENDER AND MEDIA CULTURE • SLAVEYA MINKOVA
May count toward the Media Studies Minor.
This course provides an introduction to the critical and theoretical analysis of gender and authorship in global screen cultures. Students will engage dominant and oppositional practices of media production, representation, and reception to investigate the sociocultural mechanisms that shape individual and collective notions of gender in both U.S. and international cinemas. The class will approach the specific topic of Women Filmmakers in a Global Context, with each week of the semester centered on a different filmmaker and their unique contribution to global media cultures. We will dedicate particular attention to experimental media texts and independent cinema approaches, and consider issues around authorship, perspective, and embodiment.
RTF 331P INTERNET CULTURES • MADHAVI MALLAPRAGADA
Open to both Majors and Minors. May count toward the Media Studies Minor and the Media & Entertainment Industries Minor.
The development of the World Wide Web in the 1990s transformed the internet into a popular and powerful tool for communication, commerce, and community formation. With the advent of social media, streaming platforms, and mobile apps, everyday life and culture is increasingly mediated by digital networks. This course will focus on the technological, financial, regulatory, and socio-cultural aspects shaping and shaped by the internet and the web. Drawing on studies of the historical and contemporary web, this course will delve into topics such as digital capitalism, social media platforms, online search, e-commerce, copyright, online communities, digital identity, virtual reality, open-source software, and transnational networks.
RTF 331P VIDEO GAME CULTURE & CRITICISM • BYRON FONG
May count toward the Media Studies Minor.
Games have always been an integral part of our culture, and studies of culture have long been fascinated by our propensity for play. Beginning with a brief historical overview of the inception of the video game industry and arcade culture, this course is centrally concerned with identifying the pleasures of play and engaging with the cultural and academic discourses and debates that surround video games and game culture. While video games have proven themselves as a dominant industrial force within over the past decade, the stigmas and social anxieties that circulate around video games persist. Consequently, one of the primary goals of this course is for students to both become conversant in these critiques and proficient in speaking back to them, acquiring the vocabulary to discuss and analyze the rules that govern our engagement with video games, and our experiences playing them. To this end, in addition to discussing video game aesthetics and mechanics, we will have themed weeks on war and gaming, gender and gaming, and game-based learning. In addition to course assignments analyzing gameplay and considering the representation of video games in film and television, students will be required to collaboratively design and theorize a game as their final project. No player or programming skill set is required, just a willingness to learn through (and about) video games.
RTF 342 STREAMING MEDIA IN ASIA (Hybrid) • SHANTI KUMAR
May count toward the Media Studies Minor.
Through an innovative Global Virtual Exchange opportunity, collaborate with students at Brac University, Bangladesh, as you examine how streaming media industries and cultures in Asia have been transformed by the forces of globalization and digitization in the 21st century!
We will discuss how the entry of transnational streaming platforms such as Amazon, Disney Plus, and Netflix has contributed to the rapid convergence of television, film, digital and mobile media cultures in Asia and in the Asian diaspora. We will also evaluate how the growing collaboration and competition among various major and minor players in Asian streaming industries has challenged the dominance of national media systems and contested traditional representations of nationalism, gender, race, class, caste and sexuality in various film genres and TV programs. In particular, we will pay close attention to how streaming platforms have engendered new avenues for inter-Asian production, distribution and consumption of popular media forms and genres (such as multi-language Indian cinemas, K-Pop music and Turkish dramas).
The virtual exchange includes the following components: (1) sharing course materials, (2) participating in synchronous online sessions (where students from Brac University will join the UT classroom through Zoom), and (3) collaborating on asynchronous activities such as watching/discussing pre-recorded video lectures and screenings, and working together on class projects on Canvas. The goal of the global virtual exchange classroom is to provide students with a range of skills for critically thinking about streaming media across geographic and cultural boundaries.
RTF 345 EAST EUROPEAN CINEMAS 1960s-2020s • SLAVEYA MINKOVA
This class will offer a survey approach to the histories of East European cinemas and screen cultures through an examination of major auteurs and film movements, spanning the decades between the 1960s to the present moment. Through an analysis of relevant scholarship and a variety of media texts – including fiction, non-fiction, and animation – the course will consider both popular and experimental cinematic approaches and aesthetics, as well as production practices, with an emphasis on cross-regional and transnational intersections between the different cinemas emerging from various cultural contexts within the region.
RTF 345 AMERICAN HORROR FILM • MIRASOL ENRIQUEZ
This course focuses on one of the most popular and profitable genres of American cinema: horror. Throughout the course of the semester, we will be examining a variety of film texts, as well as their production and reception, within a range of cultural, theoretical, and historical contexts. Central to our examination will be a consideration of the ways in which the genre reflects American fears and anxieties related to race, gender, and sexuality (among other things), paying particular attention to the concept of difference and "otherness." From the Universal classic monster movies of the 1930s and 40s to more recent examples of "elevated horror," we will cover subgenres such as psychological, body, folk, and comedy horror, just to name a few. We will consider some of the most celebrated auteurs of the genre, such as George Romero, Wes Craven, and Jordan Peele (again, among others), and we will consider important international influences, as well. Overall, this course will investigate the wide range of meanings and pleasures that the genre provides for fans and audiences of horror films. Please be advised that because this course is focused on horror, weekly screenings will include images of graphic violence and a host of other traumatic situations that may be upsetting to some students.
RTF 345 ENVIRONMENTAL CINEMA • LALITHA GOPALAN
Landscapes have surfaced in cinema since its inception, highlighting the long shadows cast by painting and photography on composition of panoramas and vistas. Yet, the cinematic apparatus asserts its own singularity by endowing images with movement and duration. As a point of departure, this course considers a range of post-war cinemas to explore how ruins, debris, earthquakes, dust, storms, and waste impinge on anterior concepts of the pastoral. In subsequent decades beyond such obvious periodization, the course assembles films that herald a move towards images of environments and non-human protagonists. Through such a renewed focus on the elemental, the course reconfigures the scholarship on world cinema that has far too long been considered under distinct categories such as national, new waves, festival, experimental, and art cinema.
RTF 345 MUSICALS AND AMERICA • MARY BELTRAN
The American musical has long been a popular genre through which storytellers, performers and audiences reimagine who we are and how the nation defines itself with respect to norms of race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, class, and citizenship. It also has been a forum for stories about social issues of the day, with its conventions as popular entertainment allowing boundary-pushing content to be given voice. Musicals and “America” surveys the genre’s history and evolution, with an emphasis on musical and dance films and television series since the 1950s, and provides tools for critical analysis of musical narratives, performances involving song and/or dance, and the representation of identities across the decades. We’ll watch a number of important films and television series in this history (including Rent, Stormy Weather, Funny Girl, Zoot Suit, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), and read and respond to scholarship on Hollywood, Broadway and television musicals, with a focus on the ways in which cinematic renditions of song and dance make meaning.
RTF 347F CINEMATIC CITIES: MUMBAI• ZELTZYN SANCHEZ LOZOYA
In this class, we'll explore the political, social, and artistic transformations of the global city of Mumbai from the early 20th into the 21st century. Films serve as documentation of the city's evolution from Bombay to Mumbai. Our study will delve into classic texts and film-texts such as Shree 420, Amar Akbar Anthony, Satya, and The Lunchbox. Through analysis of these texts, we'll examine how artists address themes of social inequality, justice, political upheaval, and violence, as well as architectural and cultural changes, and issues of race, gender, and sexuality within Mumbai's dynamic landscape.
We'll examine questions such as: Who claims space within the city, and how? How does film create an archive of the city? What languages does Mumbai speak, and what sounds define its identity? How do buildings, people, plants, and animals interact with and in the city? Who gets to script and map the city and to what political and social effects?
Our analysis of films will be complemented by theoretical, creative, and historical readings. Active participation in discussions is expected from students in this advanced cultural and cinema studies course.
RTF 359 ASIAN AMERICAN MEDIA CULTURES • MADHAVI MALLAPRAGADA
This course is designed to help us understand the role and significance of media such as film, television, radio, the Internet, and social media platforms as they relate to Asian Americans. We will examine a variety of media examples, from the early twentieth century to the present and focus on issues of images, representation, creative roles, industry trends, and production cultures. In our consideration of Asian Americans as media creators, distributors, producers, and audiences, we will explore the significance of mainstream, alternative, and transnational media contexts to contemporary media cultures.
RTF 359S LATINA FEMINISMS AND MEDIA • MIRASOL ENRIQUEZ
This upper-division undergraduate course surveys Chicana and Latina feminist scholarship, activism, and creative expression, with an emphasis on Latina media production and representation in U.S. entertainment media. We will explore the rise and development of Latina activism and feminisms in relation to the Chicana/o, Puerto Rican, and U.S. women’s movements and in relation to historical and social contexts for women and girls of Mexican American and other U.S. Latina heritage. The course will also survey scholarship on Latina participation and representation in mediated popular culture and strategies of resistance enacted through Latina film and media production.
RTF 359S FAN IDENTITIES AND CULTURES • SUZANNE SCOTT
Over the past several decades, fans have been transformed from a stigmatized subculture into a mainstream power demographic, catered to and courted by media industries. This course will survey fan studies from the 1990s to the present, with an emphasis on digital fan cultures and practices, from fanfiction to fantasy football. In addressing fan identities, this course will consider the lingering impact of fan studies’ roots in feminist and queer media studies, and contemplate how identity shapes our discussions of fan labor, fan representations, fannish taste, modes of fan performance and production, and industry/audience power dynamics. Finally, this course will consider what forms of identity work have been elided or marginalized as a result of the field’s focus on gender as its central critical axis, in an effort to move towards a more intersectional conception of fan identity and fan studies. In addition to critically analyzing fans' transformative works, students will mobilize course concepts to produce and theorize fan texts of their own.
RTF 370 COMEDY IN FILM AND MEDIA • KATHY FULLER-SEELEY
This course explores theories of humor and comedy and applies them to media and performance from the early 20th century US to the present. Readings draw broadly from philosophy, cultural studies, cinema and TV studies, race, gender, sexuality, politics, psychology. We will examine producers, texts, performers and audiences across a wide variety of media -- television and film, literature, comics, radio, internet, live performance and other forms. The seminar will be focused on student group discussion and presentation of theories, texts, specific examples of applications, and findings. Students will develop research/and/or create projects.
UPPER DIVISION - PRODUCTION & SCREENWRITING COURSES
RTF 333 INTRODUCTION TO SCREENWRITING • STUART KELBAN
RTF 333 will introduce students to screenwriting for both film & television. In lecture, we will study the fundamental concepts behind all screenwriting: story, character, and structure. In section, you will apply those concepts to writing your own original scripts for both features and TV in a workshop setting. Students will follow the same development process as professional screenwriters—from initial premise, through character exploration and treatments, to writing the first draft. The goal of this course is to develop skills to tell strong, engaging stories for the screen. This emphasis on storytelling will not only make you better screenwriters, but also better directors, editors, cinematographers, set designers, i.e., filmmakers.
RTF 340 MULTI-CAM TELEVISION DIRECTING • DAVID SCHNEIDER
This course will examine the techniques of multi-camera live television directing in numerous formats. It will provide an overview of the current technology and how that technology impacts directing decisions. Students will learn how directing styles shape various genres of broadcasts and how the director contributes to a successful production. The course will focus on planning and preparation and elements of production design. The demands of a controlled studio atmosphere will be compared and contrasted with those of live remote sports and entertainment programs. Exercises will acquaint the students with camera placement, shot blocking and shot selection.
RTF 340D/388F PRODUCTION DESIGN BASICS • ADRIANA SERRANO
Understand the role of production design and how the creation and selection of sets, locations and environments contribute to the visual language of film. Explore fundamental elements of story, production, critical analysis, and the collaborative process of film making from the design perspective.
RTF 343 ADVANCED DOCUMENTARY PRODUCTION • ILIANA SOSA
This course involves intensive hands-on work in all aspects of documentary video production, in addition to critical investigations of a variety of contemporary non-fiction forms. Much of the semester revolves around producing a documentary (either individually or in a small group) and completing workshop projects, thus offering experience in project development and conceptualization, camerawork, sound recording, lighting, and editing.
RTF 343 ADVANCED NARRATIVE PRODUCTION • BERNDT MADER
From script to sound design, students spend the semester completing an advanced video production (5–10 minutes). Emphasis is placed on storytelling, strong cinematic style, and production values. Students are not required to direct but must participate in the key crew positions on various projects for full credit.
RTF 343/388P CINEMA LABORATORY • DEBORAH EVE LEWIS
In Cinema Laboratory, you will make ten (or more) short films – some during class and some outside of class – with the emphasis being on making, taking risks, and exploring the cinematic form on an elemental level. Cinema Laboratory’s practice of consistent moviemaking aims to create a space and time where filmmaking efforts are not expensive and precious, but intuitive, brief, engaging, and challenging in a fast-paced workshop setting. Motivated, hard-working, curious, and highly creative students are sought to participate.
Cinema Laboratory seeks self-driven RTF graduate students, upper-level RTF undergraduates (especially those in their last semester at UT), photojournalism students, and students from the School of Architecture, Theater and Dance, and the Art School. The teaching assistant will work with students from non-RTF departments to learn RTF protocol and basic editing, camera, and sound work; however, a basic understanding of shooting and editing video is required.
Please contact the instructor with any questions regarding Cinema Laboratory: deb.lewis@utexas.edu.
RTF 343 SOCIAL JUSTICE FILMMAKING • YA'KE SMITH
The Social Justice Filmmaking class will explore the intersections of film and activism, posing the question to students: how can one use film as a tool for social change? Studying the work from the L.A. Rebellion, including filmmakers Julie Dash, Charles Burnett and Haile Gerima, to name a few, the students in this class will work collaboratively with the professor to create a framework for the “types” of films they’ll produce. The L.A. rebellion took its cues from Italian neorealism and other film movements dedicated to telling provocative narratives that centered on social inequality, intellectualism, the poor and working class, used a mixture of actors and non-actors, were filmed mainly on location and were produced with very low budgets and were rooted in social movements of the time. Using the world around them as inspiration, students will create narrative content with the sole purpose of taking “traditional filmmaking” and flipping it on its head to tell meaningful, impactful and socially relevant stories.
RTF 343C / 388P ACTING FOR FILMMAKERS • ANDREW SHEA
This workshop explores the key elements of basic acting technique through active engagement in a variety of exercises and assignments: improvisation, monologue and scene study, observation, and emotional preparation. The goal is to develop a deep understanding of the job of the actor: to live life truthfully under imaginary circumstances.
RTF 343D CINEMATOGRAPHY • DEBORAH EVE LEWIS
This course explores visual storytelling and the art of cinematography through practice in a workshop environment. We will explore visual expression through a variety of cinema tools including camera and lighting as well as time, movement and color. Students are encouraged to think cinematically in both fiction and non-fiction approaches. A number of readings and exercises are assigned to also increase a student's technical knowledge and understanding of one's tools, leading to greater creative and personal visual expression.
RTF 344C 2D ANIMATION • LANCE MYERS
The study and practice of 2D digital and traditional animation, including its history, artistic theories, and current digital techniques. Hands-on exercises and creative projects include character concept and design, animated figures and walk cycles, lip sync and audio for cartoons, acting and performance for animation, and more. Ultimately, students produce and animate their own 2D animated cartoon. All skill levels welcome. Taught in a state of the art computer animation lab. Watch teaser.
RTF 344M/388F POST-PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES • DAN STUYCK
This course involves intensive hands-on work in digital color grading. It is designed to familiarize students with the entire digital image-making process, whether you are a director or a cinematographer who wants to understand how picture finishing works, to more advanced students who wish to specialize in post production or color correction.
RTF 344M WRITING FOR INTERACTIVE GAMES & MEDIA • NATHAN CUTIETTA
Interactive storytelling is a form of dramatic writing, just like theater or television. What makes the medium unique is that the author does not control the story; the audience does. Creatives have only just begun to explore the storytelling possibilities of this field. In this class, you will begin to develop the skills & knowledge necessary to write for interactive mediums such as video games, digital media, VR, and augmented reality. Your final deliverable in this course - a narrative design document - will serve as a writing sample for your portfolio. A limited number of seats are open to non-majors.
RTF 344T GAME DEVELOPMENT CAPSTONE: 3D GAMES • PAUL TOPRAC
The Capstone Game Development course brings together students from Computer Science, College of Fine Arts, and Radio-TV-Film to form small teams in which each student will contribute specialized knowledge to the group creation of 3D games for mobile, online, and social technology platforms. Students will gain a thorough understanding of the 3D game development process, through modeling of the environment and practices that are used in game studios.
*OFFERED IN SPRING SEMESTER. Consent of instructor required.
RTF 346 INTRO TO EDITING • ANNE LEWIS, MATT LENNON, CHRIS ROLDAN
Whether you want to be an editor, director or producer, Introduction to Editing is an essential, hands-on course for any production student. By completing a series of narrative and nonfiction assignments, students will finish this course with increased confidence in, and understanding of, Avid software and editing technique and style. We will view and analyze film scenes to understand how editing contributes to meaning.
RTF 347C INTRO TO THE MUSIC BUSINESS • JOHN PEYTON
May count toward the Media & Entertainment Industries Minor.
Ever wonder what really happens behind the scenes in the music industry? This course pulls back the curtain to show students how it all works. Students will learn about the distinct roles of managers, agents, publicists, promoters, and A&R representatives, and understand why each plays a crucial part in an artist’s career. The class explores record deals, music contracts, touring, concerts, festivals, sync licensing for film and TV, and how AI and the metaverse are reshaping the industry. In addition, the course examines how streaming is transforming the future of record labels, including case studies of both highly successful and notoriously disastrous concerts and festivals. Built on Project-Based Learning (PBL), the course goes beyond theory to provide practical experience. Participants gain hands-on experience running their own small music business, learning how to book, produce, and market a concert event. Along the way, they hear directly from guest speakers who are industry pros, sharing success stories, lessons learned, and career tips in open Q&A sessions. For students passionate about music and eager to understand how the business truly works — from backstage to boardroom — this class offers insider knowledge to help them take the next step.
RTF 347C BUSINESS OF VIDEO GAMES • BEN BAYS
Video Games are the most lucrative and fastest growing entertainment industry, surpassing film, television and music combined. This course explores the contemporary business ofvideo game development from concept to distribution and beyond. Students learn contracts, finance, copyright and licensing, marketing and sales, R&D, acquisitions, and more from invited guests, readings, discussion and projects which focus on building a creative leader at the convergence of business, technology and play.
RTF 347C ADAPTATION FOR FILM AND TELEVISION • MAYA PEREZ
This course will explore the opportunities and challenges of adapting stories from one medium to another for the screen. Through case studies of successful adaptations, students will examine techniques for transforming novels, short stories, articles, video games, plays, and even real-life events into compelling screenplays. Students will write several adaptation treatments from assigned source materials and engage in weekly discussions of each other's work.
RTF 347E ADVANCED EDITING • CHRIS ROLDAN
This course is a further elaboration of the principles and techniques of editing students will have encountered in RTF 346, building a broader technical background for professional development. We will discuss aesthetic, technical, and practical approaches to editing and consider how they might best apply to some (provided) editing challenges. In particular, we'll concentrate on the development of editing styles that are appropriate to a range of material and creative solutions to editing challenges. Taught using AVID software.
RTF 366K DOCUMENTARY PRODUCTION • EM SHAPIRO
This class introduces students to single-camera field documentary video production. During this semester-long documentary workshop, we will screen a variety of documentary works, but our focus will be on making documentary films. There will be group discussions, reading assignments, lectures, hands-on lab instruction, and short documentary exercises, in addition to a culminating documentary project. Students will keep a journal of the documentaries they see and how these films influence the documentaries they make (or plan to make). The primary focus of the class will be working from pre-production to post-production by starting with an idea and finishing with a short documentary film.
RTF 366K EAST AUSTIN STORIES • ARTURO JIMENEZ
Since 2000, as the forces of gentrification and development make profound changes in neighborhoods of East Austin, University of Texas RTF students have made short documentary films about the communities, families, individuals, institutions, and businesses east of I-35. Simply listening can be an empowering act for the filmmaker and for the documentary subject. We will practice basics of production and non-fiction story structure.
RTF 366K NARRATIVE PRODUCTION • DEBORAH EVE LEWIS, SEBASTIAN VALDIVIESO
The class explores the expressive potential of sound and image through the production of digital video exercises and short films. It is an intensive workshop in visual storytelling and non-dialogue filmmaking. It is designed to build upon the fundamental production concepts and techniques that were introduced in RTF 318 and to prepare students for advanced narrative classes.
RTF 366K SOCIAL MEDIA PRODUCTION • BRIAN KALEH
Pursue what you’re passionate about by creating original short-form content and connecting with online communities that share your interests. This course introduces students to the fundamentals of producing video and multimedia content for social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and emerging digital channels.
Blending creativity with strategy, students will explore platform-specific storytelling techniques, content creation workflows, audience engagement methods, and the role of analytics in guiding creative decisions. Through hands-on projects, you’ll learn how to conceptualize, shoot, edit, and optimize short-form video using industry-standard tools.
Guest speakers from across the industry will share how they tailor their content for specific audiences and offer insight into the future of digital media, including the impact of AI on content creation. The course also examines current trends and the evolving role of today’s content creators.
RTF 366K/388P QUEER MEDIA PRODUCTION • PJ RAVAL
From DIY pixelvision videos to campy drag melodramas, queer artists have long embraced filmmaking as a form of imaginative expression, despite limited resources and sometimes limited training. Often reacting to turbulent times, these queer films have introduced audiences to new narratives, new characters, and new concepts of mediamaking. This course will embrace queerness as an artistic sensibility, mode of artmaking, and a form of creative boundary pushing that will encourage students to collaborate in producing work rooted in the values of community action, unapologetic authenticity, and a bold visionary excitement. Students are encouraged to have previously completed one of the following RTF courses: Queer Media Studies, Queer TV, Gender and Media, Global Trans Media and/or Queer Art & Activism.
RTF 366S AUDIO PRODUCTION INTO POST • TODD THOMPSON
Audio is half of your movie; arguably more than half since it exceeds the limits of the visible frame. It operates at a literal and subliminal level and gives the filmmaker access to deeper parts of the audience’s consciousness. Great audio is a combination of creativity and an understanding of both the science and the tools of the medium. This is the first-level class for audio, a perfect starting point for people who want to know how to better use sound in their projects as well as for those who may be thinking about audio as a lifelong craft. You will learn production mixing, basic post techniques, and the ideas behind them. This will include recording on location using both high-end and low-end recorders, especially recording dialog, set and location problems and protocol, basic sound editing, mix prep, and creating a basic mix. You will become familiar with the operation and use of the Sound Devices 633 mixer/recorder and 744T recorder, other production mixers, and microphones on location and in the studio. You will learn the science behind the tools, and cultivate an appreciation for sound as a creative element in storytelling. You will create mixes in Pro Tools for audio-only projects, as well as fully realized soundtracks synced to picture.
Students are encouraged to have their own headphones. Over-ear headphones are highly recommended, and an industry standard, such as the Sony MDR-7506, is preferred. (Earbuds will only do in a pinch).
RTF 366S SOUND DESIGN AND MIXING • KOREY PEREIRA
Sound as a medium can create a sense of space, time, and set the mood of a film. This course will explore the post-production sound process for film, television, and immersive media. We will develop a vocabulary for talking about sound, as well as provide practical hands-on training on each step in the post-sound process. This includes sound editing, sound design, ADR and foley recording as well as re-recording mixing. RTF 341C is the course for those who seek a career in post-production audio and for those who just want a thorough understanding of the post sound process. A familiarity with Pro Tools or Non-linear editing is preferred, but not required.
Prerequisite: Upper-division standing, RTF 301D and 304 with a grade of at least B- in each, and six additional semester hours of lower-division coursework in radio-television-film. (RTF 341 is NOT required as a prerequisite.)
RTF 367D DIRECTING WORKSHOP • MICAH BARBER, ANDREW SHEA
This workshop explores the role of the director in the process of translation from page to screen, focusing on the director/actor relationship, narrative structure and visual language. Assignments will include the casting, mounting, and realization of dramatic narrative scenes. Special emphasis will be placed on the development of the skills necessary to communicate effectively with actors to achieve authentic and vivid performances..
RTF 367K PRODUCING FILM AND TELEVISION • MICAH BARBER
Open to BOTH RTF Majors & Minors. This course counts towards the Media & Entertainment Industries minor.
Producing for Film & Television will explain and demystify the most elusive, misunderstood, and arguably most fundamental role in all of entertainment – that of the producer. What is a producer, what do they do, and how do they do it? This course will focus on the dual creative and business functions of a producer as they shepherd ideas from inception to reception through the full life cycle of a project, including sourcing material, development, packaging, financing, pre-production, production, post-production, marketing, and distribution. Lecture topics will mirror this project life cycle, while students will concurrently collaborate with one another to profile movies and series and develop pitches and business plans for original film and television projects of their choosing. The course will also incorporate production management processes and exercises— budgeting and scheduling—with the intention for these skills to be applied in other production courses. Throughout the semester, students will build a vocabulary that enables meaningful understanding of the complicated and evolving film and television industry and the unique creative media management strategies that producers deploy to bring ideas to life. Whether or not your goal is to become a producer, understanding the value of producing and what makes a great producer will enhance your professional growth in the field of entertainment and media.
Prerequisites: Upper Division standing.
RTF 368 DRAWING FOR DESIGNERS • JASON BUCHANAN
Improve your skills of visual expression and communication through the act of Drawing. In the course we will experiment with various drawing media, and examine the Principles and Elements of Design through conceptual and observational drawing.
RTF 368D ADVANCED CINEMATOGRAPHY • SEBASTIAN VALDIVIESO
This course is designed for students to explore the art of cinematography beyond the basic principles of camera and lighting. Students will film several assignments designed to help one understand the cinematic tools used to create an overall visual approach to storytelling. A close study of film genre will also be emphasized as well as aesthetic and technical topics such as color, texture, lens continuity, and aspect ratio. We will also explore practical on set strategies and challenges. Undergraduate students are strongly encouraged to take 343 Advanced Narrative Production or equivalent as a prerequisite. Undergraduates who have not previously taken 366K Intro to Narrative Production will not be admitted.
RTF 368P PRODUCING SHORT FILMS • TBD
Short films are often seen as an excellent calling card for first time filmmakers. But it’s much more than just a way to practice your craft or make something that is shorter or cheaper than a feature film. Though the principles and steps involved to produce a short film is no different than producing a feature film, it is also a unique discipline of its own. How do you tell an interesting and compelling story in a short film? How do you translate a minimum budget into maximum quality on screen?
This course will examine all fundamental aspects of development, pre-production, production, and distribution of producing a short film. Students will practice the step-by-step processes of physical production such as script breakdown, scheduling, budgeting, location scouting, crew hiring, working with cast and crew, etc. Using weekly lectures, homework assignments, course readings and class workshops to reinforce each class topic, students will put together a final production binder for a short film
RTF 368S FILM PRODUCTION THESIS • RICHARD LEWIS
This course is for filmmakers wishing to create a narrative or documentary film that demonstrates and showcases advanced filmmaking skills.
The class accepts DIRECTORS and PRODUCERS only (exceptions to this rule noted below), and students should apply in two-person directing/producing teams with the intent of working together to shepherd the project from beginning to end. From pre-production to sound mix, students will complete a short film (under 12 minutes in length) with the most advanced equipment available to RTF undergraduates. Emphasis will be placed on storytelling, strong cinematic style, and production values. Teams should plan to enter the class with considerable story work already completed.
Apply by 5 pm, Nov. 1. See thesis page for details.
RTF 368S SCREENWRITING THESIS • MAYA PEREZ
The class is run like a graduate screenwriting class where advanced students will develop and write either a feature-length screenplay or an original tv pilot. Applicants must have already taken a 369 Screenwriting class and should submit a sample (a feature or pilot) and a one-page statement as to why they are interested in this class. We will also be reaching out to the applicant’s former or current instructors to find out how they performed in their workshop.
Deadline to apply: Midnight on Friday, November 8, 2024. For more information and how to apply, see: https://rtf.utexas.edu/undergraduate/courses/thesis#Screenwriting
RTF 369 ADVANCED SCREENWRITING: ANIMATION • JUAN CARLOS GUTIERREZ
Combine your love of animation with the craft of storytelling! Develop and write an original animated feature film screenplay or television pilot and receive structured support along the way. This course will function like a writing workshop: you will read and provide constructive notes for your classmates’ work as well as receive feedback from your peers. We will also study a range of animated films and series.
RTF 369 ADVANCED SCREENWRITING: FEATURE FILM • STUART KELBAN
In this class, students will complete a feature-length screenplay (90-120 pages) by the end of the semester. In addition, they will read and comment on their classmates' work.
RTF 369 ADVANCED SCREENWRITING: INDIES • TOM WILLETT
This workshop class is focused on writing screenplays designed for micro-budget, independent production. As students write their own feature-length scripts (90-120 pages) throughout the semester, they will study and analyze completed micro-budget films and their production methods. In addition, they will read and comment on their classmates' work.
RTF 369 ADVANCED SCREENWRITING: SHORTS • RICHARD LEWIS
What makes a successful short film? For starters, a great script! Hone your skills and understanding through writing three short scripts and rewriting at least one of them. In addition to instructor feedback, you will receive and give peer support, reading and commenting on your classmates' work. You may choose to produce these scripts in RTF production classes or for projects outside of UT.
RTF 369 ADVANCED SCREENWRITING: TV PILOTS • KAT CRAFT
Each student will create a brand new television show (30- or 60-minute, network or cable) from the ground up: researching the setting and historical moment, inventing the characters and relationships, and ultimately designing the conflicts necessary to propel a show through multiple seasons. Students will then distill all of this work into a single showpiece episode - a pilot - that demonstrates the artistic and commercial potential of the new show. We’ll also be looking at a range of produced pilots (both aired and unaired) and discussing what makes the best of them work.
RTF 369 ADVANCED SCREENWRITING: WRITERS ROOM • CINDY McCREERY
Students will act as a television writers' room to create and write an entire season of original television. The class will partner with David Schneider's Multi-Camera Directing class to produce the pilot and several additional episodes of the series.
RTF 369P SCRIPT TO SCREEN: COMMERCIALS • SCOTT RICE & LAURA BRIGHT
From SalesForce to Lincoln, Script to Screen: Commercials takes students behind the scenes of Matthew McConaughey’s latest commercial work. By studying campaign briefs, early concepts, scripts, storyboards and exclusive behind the scenes footage, students will garner insight into the making of major advertising campaigns. Script to Screen: Commercials is cross-listed with the Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations, and it offers many experiential learning opportunities. Students will explore the production of commercials as well as the development and distribution of advertising campaigns from the ad agency perspective. Script to Screen: Commercials is an essential “how-to” for students who are serious about advertising, marketing, producing or directing.
Digital Game Industries Courses - Open to RTF Majors
COM 134 GAME USABILITY ANALYSIS • BEN BAYS
Usability, or the measurement of how easily a user can accomplish their goals in a product or service, is a tenet of user experience design which can be transposed onto video games. In this course, students will "play" a variety of different games, examining, evaluating and analyzing the different dimensions and components of the experience then articulating their analysis in terms that are actionable in game development.
Sports Production/Broadcasting Courses - Open to RTF Majors
SPB 322 STORYTELLING IN SPORTS PRODUCTION/BROADCASTING • JORDAN LEVIN
In this topics course, students will explore the art and execution of storytelling across all forms of Sports Production, including live event broadcasts. From the classic pillars of sports journalism to ABC’s pioneering flagship “The Wide World of Sports” to ESPN’s landmark “30 For 30” series to the most memorable calls in sports history, storytelling has been the consistent thread that has enraptured audiences to sporting events, the athletes who pursue immortality, and the arenas in which they compete. Appreciating and understanding core sports narrative strategies and their underlying spiritual foundation, along with the unique opportunities and challenges arising from live, real-time storytelling, is critical to learning how to create successful sports productions and broadcasts.
SPB 370 STUDIO PRODUCTION • DAVID SCHNEIDER
This course offers an in-depth exploration of studio-based sports production, focusing on the skills and techniques needed to create professional live and live-to-tape content. Students will gain hands-on experience in directing, technical operations and show production while working with industry-standard equipment. Through collaborative projects, they will develop expertise in designing rundowns, the overall workflow of a professional studio.
Emphasizing both creative storytelling and technical precision, the course prepares students for roles in sports media, from studio producers to on-air hosts. Guest speakers and real-world assignments will provide insight into industry trends, while lab sessions and critiques will refine students’ ability to produce compelling, polished sports programming.
INTERNSHIPS
Learn more about RTF Internships
COM 134 FILM FESTIVAL CIRCUIT INTERNSHIP - Web-Based • TERESA VALENTE
This internship course introduces students to the film festival circuit through weekly 1-hour Zoom sessions with industry professionals. Speakers from programming, marketing, development, operations, distribution, and filmmaker relations will share insights into their roles and career paths. Students will reflect on each session through weekly assignments and complete a final project connecting classroom insights with real-world experience.
RTF 130N INTERNSHIP IN THE MEDIA INDUSTRIES - Hybrid/Blended • MICAH BARBER
The purpose of this 1-hour internship for RTF majors and minors is to provide practical work experience in the media industries (film, television, radio, video games, and/or digital media). Students must make their own arrangements to secure relevant internships in the Austin area, though remote internships may be accepted, depending on need and opportunity. In addition to providing practical experience in the vocation of your choice, this course is designed to help you develop the resources and routines necessary to succeed in the contemporary media industries. The course meets weekly for one hour, in addition to the student's off-site internship. This course is offered on a pass/fail basis only.
The purpose of this 3-hour internship for RTF majors and minors is to provide practical work experience in the media industries (film, television, radio, video games, and/or digital media). Students must make their own arrangements to secure relevant internships in the Austin area, though remote internships may be accepted, depending on need and opportunity. In addition to providing practical experience in the vocation of your choice, this course is designed to help you develop the resources and routines necessary to succeed in the contemporary media industries. The course meets weekly for one hour, in addition to the student's off-site internship. This course is offered on a pass/fail basis only.
The purpose of this 6-hour internship for RTF majors and minors is to provide practical work experience in the media industries (film, television, radio, video games, and/or digital media). Students must make their own arrangements to secure relevant internships in the Austin area, though remote internships may be accepted, depending on need and opportunity. In addition to providing practical experience in the vocation of your choice, this course is designed to help you develop the resources and routines necessary to succeed in the contemporary media industries. The course meets weekly for one hour, in addition to the student's off-site internship. This course is offered on a pass/fail basis only.
NON MAJOR COURSES
Note: In addition to courses listed below, which are open to non-majors, there are courses listed on this page that count toward minors in Media Studies, Media and Entertainment Industries, or Latino Media Arts & Studies.
RTF 301I FUNDAMENTALS OF FILMMAKING • TBD
Restricted to non-radio-television-film majors. Learn how to make a movie! Study the principles of film, television, and digital production concepts and techniques. This course covers the basics of visual storytelling and the logistical concerns and practical applications of the filmmaking cycle from pre-production to production to post-production.
RTF 303C INTRO TO MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES • ALISA PERREN
Fulfills a social & behavioral sciences core curriculum requirement. May count toward the Media & Entertainment Industries Minor. Open to BOTH RTF Majors & Non-RTF Majors.
Using Hollywood as our primary focus, this course surveys the social, cultural, political, and economic contexts within which entertainment media are produced, distributed, and monetized. We will both survey the breadth of companies and stakeholders involved in shaping film, television, and digital media content and consider key challenges being faced by industry professionals today. A special focus will be placed on how media workers are navigating changing technological, economic, creative, and regulatory conditions in the streaming era.
RTF 304 STORYTELLING IN FILM AND TV • TERESA WARNER
Restricted to non-RTF majors.
In this introduction class, students will be given the fundamentals of story structure for Feature Films and Television. This will include analysis of three act structure, character development and the language of screenwriting.
RTF 306 INTRO WORLD CINEMA HISTORY - Web-Based • CASEY WALKER
Restricted to non-RTF majors. Fulfills a Visual and Performing Arts core curriculum requirement for the 2025–2026 academic year. Qualifies for the Media Studies Minor and the Latino Media Arts & Studies Minor.
Love the movies? Join us and explore how the movies developed from a circus amusement to multinational industry as well as how film can be understood as socio-cultural , technological, aesthetic and economic artifact. Global in scope, this course will sample a variety of “national cinemas” in order to compare and contrast how moviemaking developed uniquely in different parts of the world.
RTF 329C DIGITAL MEDIA PRODUCTION - Web-Based • BEN BAYS
Open to BOTH RTF Majors & Non-RTF Majors.
Animation, Visual Effects, Digital Painting and CGI are used to produce content for a variety of media including live-action film, classical and 3D animation and interactive formats like video games and XR. This course will teach you the industry standard tools and practical techniques of digital media production, no experience necessary. The course is self-paced, non-linear and offers a variety of options. Students choose their area of interest from a large array of assignments covering topics like concept art and previsualization, color correction and post production, animation and simulation, compositing and visual effects or CGI and interactive game design (and more). Will you become a generalist across all digital media production, will you specialize in one discipline or will you define a new role in digital media production? Choose your own path and the instructor and a team of TAs collaborate with you. No prior knowledge of digital media production required. Mac or PC. No software purchase required. This course offers both access to instructor guidance and the ability to complete assignments at your own pace.
RTF 344M WRITING INTERACTIVE GAMES/MEDIA • NATHAN CUTIETTA
Interactive storytelling is a form of dramatic writing, just like theater or television. What makes the medium unique is that the author does not control the story; the audience does. Creatives have only just begun to explore the storytelling possibilities of this field. In this class, you will begin to develop the skills & knowledge necessary to write for interactive mediums such as video games, digital media, VR, and augmented reality. Your final deliverable in this course - a narrative design document - will serve as a writing sample for your portfolio. A limited number of seats are open to non-majors.
SPECIALTY COURSES
RTF 196 PORTFOLIO IN MEDIA PRODUCTION
RTF 336 SPECIAL PROJECTS IN RADIO-TELEVISION-FILM
This course gives students the opportunity to do independent research or creative projects. These are developed and executed by the student under the supervision of a faculty member. (Note: Students cannot use departmental equipment to complete these projects.) May be taken twice for credit. May be counted toward the independent inquiry flag requirement. Hour(s) to be arranged. Restricted enrollment; review instructions.
Prerequisites:
- Upper-division standing
- Approval from a faculty sponsor
- Approval from the Department Chair
RTF 368S UNDERGRADUATE THESIS COURSES - OFFERED SPRING SEMESTERS ONLY
https://rtf.utexas.edu/undergraduate/courses/thesis
RTF 368S UNDERGRADUATE FILM PRODUCTION THESIS
RTF 368S UNDERGRADUATE MEDIA STUDIES THESIS
RTF 368S UNDERGRADUATE SCREENWRITING THESIS
UTNY
The New York City experience amplifies creative energy, professional opportunity and world-class arts and culture. Live, work, and learn as you explore and engage through UTNY’s connection to companies, people and prospects. Business, government, and technology merge with entertainment, fashion, and media in this global epicenter.
UTLA
Spend a semester in Los Angeles to jump-start your career in the entertainment industry. Open to all UT Austin students regardless of major, the UTLA program is a chance to get hands-on training at an internship, take classes taught by industry insiders, and explore new career paths to set yourself up for success after graduation. Learn about UTLA courses.
RTF 359 SUSTAINABLE CINEMA (in Parma, Italy) • VALERIE MCGUIRE
Participants in this program will study Italian cinema with a particular focus on the way films represent both rural and industrial landscapes, denounce environmental issues, and re-focus our gaze on the non-human. During their three weeks in Parma, students will engage with 24FPS - a local community of filmmakers, artists, and educators - to learn about sustainable practices in filmmaking and other cultural productions in Italy. They will also visit local museums including the Pilotta Monumental Complex, the Mason Labyrinth, and the Museum of Parmigiano. Weekend excursions feature sights beyond Parma and are complementary to the program's focus on film and sustainability. The program ends with three days in Bologna, where students will tour the city and meet with archivists of the Home Movies Foundation and the Cineteca di Bologna. Hands-on, experiential learning opportunities will be available to students as we collaborate with 24FPS on independent projects.