FALL SEMESTER

PRO 503: Finance and Distribution Fundamentals
FALL SEMESTER
.5 CREDIT HOURS
REQUIRED

This course is dedicated to the fundamentals of film financing and distribution covering topics such as private equity, foreign sales, distribution windowing, film festivals and markets, and who the players are in these spaces. Fellows will be exposed to financing waterfalls and distribution profit participation statements to understand how money flows once a film is released and how a financier recoups their investment. By dissecting the rapidly changing landscape, learning both from the past and the present, Fellows will gain an understanding of how the industry’s business models have evolved and how the economic viability of a project is determined.

PRO 507: Producing the Cycle Film
FALL SEMESTER
1 CREDIT HOURS
REQUIRED

A yearlong course supporting First Year Producing Fellows in the planning, execution, and evaluation of their Cycle films. Expanding on Boot Camp fundamentals, Fellows will develop production-ready budgets and schedules; learn how to secure locations and navigate FilmLA; understand how to complete required paperwork, permits, contracts, and deliverables; and manage creative teams while protecting story and vision. The course provides structured opportunities for Fellows to view and discuss Cycle films as a producing cohort, fostering leadership, collaboration, and collective problem-solving throughout development, production, and post-production.

PRO 511: Story, Craft, and Process
FALL SEMESTER
1 CREDIT HOURS
ELECTIVE

Finding stories and developing those stories into screenplays begins with an understanding of the interplay between these elements. Through lectures, conversations, and various writing exercises, this course guides Producers to discover the stories and themes they are passionate to shepherd from an idea into a narrative film. Producers must understand the writing process and develop a facility in the arena of story to evolve a shared vocabulary with creative collaborators.

PRO 517: Script Critique & Collaboration
FALL SEMESTER
2 CREDIT HOURS
REQUIRED

One of the first and most important practical skills an effective producer must possess and cultivate is the ability to carefully read, thoughtfully consider, and constructively critique screenplays and related materials to further their creative development. Producing Fellows will read unproduced film and television treatments and scripts with considered analysis, verbally present and discuss critical insights in a group setting, and synthesize their feedback and in-class discussions into follow-up written notes. This process of refining critical skills, and incorporating valuable insights from colleagues, will lay essential groundwork for successful future creative collaborations.

PRO 541: Creative Producing
FALL SEMESTER
1 CREDIT HOURS
REQUIRED

The course explores the role of the creative producer in guiding projects through their journey from idea to script to screen with emphasis in the first semester on the development process. The course examines the question of how to choose and work with a writer and the creative collaboration that follows. The practical aspect of the class involves writing log lines, creating a writer’s list, reviewing and critiquing screenplays, and introducing the fellow to the basic skill of pitching.

SPRING SEMESTER

PRO 504: Movie Engines 1
SPRING SEMESTER
1 CREDIT HOURS
REQUIRED

This course unpacks the story and craft logic of scenes and sequences from contemporary feature films, shorts and TV in order to give filmmakers a wider vocabulary and set of tools to develop the voice and vision of stories and deepen their professional practice. Week after week, this course will dive into a wide range of classic and contemporary filmmakers, examining scenes from a broad range of genres to unpack their different craft choices in acting styles, choreography, cinematography, production design, sound design, music and editing. This work will help identify a film’s underlying conflicts, empathetic machinery, cinematic spaces, antagonist forces and genre expectations.

PRO 508: Producing the Cycle Film
SPRING SEMESTER
1 CREDIT HOURS
REQUIRED

A yearlong course supporting First Year Producing Fellows in the planning, execution, and evaluation of their Cycle films. Expanding on Boot Camp fundamentals, Fellows will develop production-ready budgets and schedules; learn how to secure locations and navigate FilmLA; understand how to complete required paperwork, permits, contracts, and deliverables; and manage creative teams while protecting story and vision. The course provides structured opportunities for Fellows to view and discuss Cycle films as a producing cohort, fostering leadership, collaboration, and collective problem-solving throughout development, production, and post-production.

PRO 512: Intro to the Business of Producing
SPRING SEMESTER
2 CREDIT HOURS
REQUIRED

This is the first of a two semester course that will introduce Producing Fellows to the business aspects of producing content. The course will examine the history, evolution and current state of various business practices and concepts in the motion picture industry. The instruction includes modules on securing intellectual property rights (i.e., books, articles, etc.), above-the-line talent deals (actors, director, producer, writers, etc.), financing structures, distribution models (both traditional and next-gen), and various in-class negotiation exercises.

PRO 542: Creative Producing II
SPRING SEMESTER
1 CREDIT HOURS
REQUIRED

This course explores the role of the Creative Producer in guiding a project from idea to script to screen. The first term takes that journey through the development process and the second term follows that process through production and post-production. Both the Fall and Spring terms share a focus on the skill-set necessary to navigate the collaborative process.

PRO 544: A Producer’s Guide to Post-Production
SPRING SEMESTER
1 CREDIT HOUR
REQUIRED

Getting your movie started is huge, but getting it finished is another thing entirely. Once the shooting crew has gone home, Post can feel like a lonely and scary place to be. It has its own language with anachronistic words that don’t mean what they say, tons of acronyms and little of anything is self explanatory. Expedient decisions made in prep and during shoot can have implications in post which can be costly in terms of both time and money. A Producer who doesn’t understand the Post process is less able to help manage the process. This course is designed to give students a thorough understanding of the process, science, people, places, and politics of Post Production.

First-Year Fellow Comprehensive Review

At the end of the first year, the Producing Discipline Head and Faculty critically evaluate each Producing Fellow’s progress, participation and output in both physical production and curriculum. In individual meetings, the Producing Discipline Head will discuss the Fellow’s growth over the past year and provide constructive direction to succeed in second-year curriculum and their thesis projects, while also building a slate of projects to shape their futures as producers.

FALL SEMESTER

PRO 603: Producing for Episodic Television
FALL SEMESTER
1 CREDIT HOURS
REQUIRED

This course introduces Producing Fellows to the creative, managerial, and marketplace realities of producing episodic television and streaming series. Through lectures, case studies, and applied exercises, Fellows will develop foundational skills in television-specific budgeting and scheduling, production management, and coordination across departments for multi-episode storytelling.

Fellows will learn to manage writers’ rooms, support showrunners, and balance story development with production feasibility. The course also builds marketplace literacy, guiding Fellows to identify television buyers across broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms and understand the types of projects those buyers are seeking.

PRO 627: Advanced Pitching
FALL SEMESTER
1 CREDIT HOURS
ELECTIVE for DIRECTING, PRODUCING, and SCREENWRITING

Over the course of the semester, every Fellow will be given an opportunity to pitch in person to industry guest giving an intensive understanding of the pitching and development process. Each class session will be broken into three parts: the first will be a lecture, the second a Q&A with an industry guest, and the third being Fellows’ pitches. The lectures will delve into learning how to pitch as a team, the evolving changes in pitching strategies, the importance of concept in a pitch, as well as creating visual materials to use in various pitching forums.

PRO 629: Movie Engines 2
FALL SEMESTER
1.5 CREDIT HOURS
ELECTIVE

Like Movie Engines 1, this course continually strives to connect story, performance styles, craft choices and movie tone. But while Movie Engines 1 focused on how we get emotionally entangled with protagonists through writing, performance and film crafts, this second part is more concerned with antagonists and with the construction of comic and dramatic conflict. Moving from simple to complex antagonist constructions, this course will focus on antagonist characters, inner antagonists, social and psychological oppositions, and finally on the antagonist horizon. This course will also look at how and why certain creative teams have constructed certain forms of characters, caricatures, ghosts, specters, clowns, grotesques, landscapes, tones and story structures and will continue to explore the nature and construction of story tone.

DIR 637: Second Year Development Workshop
FALL SEMESTER
2 CREDIT HOURS
ELECTIVE for DIRECTING AND PRODUCING

In a combination of individual and group sessions which strengthen storytelling and writing skills, Producers and Directors initiate and develop a compelling and viable story that they control.

PRO 631: Advanced Business of Producing
FALL SEMESTER
1.5 CREDIT HOURS
REQUIRED

This is the second part of a two semester course that will introduce Producing Fellows to the business aspects of producing content. The course will examine the history, evolution and current state of various business practices and concepts in the content creation and distribution industry. The instruction includes modules on securing intellectual property rights (i.e., books, articles, etc.), above-the-line talent deals (actors, director, producer, writers, etc.), financing structures, distribution models (both traditional and next-gen), and various in-class negotiation exercises.

PRO 690: Producing Portfolio
FALL SEMESTER
5.5 CREDIT HOURS TOTAL (Final credits earned in PRO 690 spring semester)
REQUIRED

With the benefit of classroom instruction and individual meetings with Faculty, each Producing Fellow prepares a Producing Portfolio demonstrating his or her ability to identify and present material for at least two projects. The Portfolio is a requirement for graduation and should reflect the Fellow’s skill, taste and understanding of the market. It is the culmination of the AFI Conservatory experience and demonstrates the Producer’s ability to work independently, incorporate feedback, refine concepts and assemble a professional presentation.

SPRING SEMESTER

PRO 602: Prepping a Feature Film
SPRING SEMESTER
1 CREDIT HOURS
ELECTIVE

Leaning into the logistical aspects of producing, this course will cover the critical steps and decisions that get your project from greenlight to day one of production. Topics will include budgeting and scheduling feature-length films, evaluating film incentives and how to choose a shooting location, understanding the ins-and-outs of working with unions, setting up an LLC and tax preparation, how to run payroll, and reading cost reports. Fellows will gain an understanding of putting together a solid production plan and best practices that support the creative vision.

PRO 616: Movie Marketing and Distribution
SPRING SEMESTER
2 CREDIT HOURS
REQUIRED

This is a highly interactive, comprehensive, and informative course designed for Fellows to understand how films are released by studios as well as independently. Fellows will learn the strategies and tactics of a film’s release including positioning, creative assets, audience identification, marketing, publicity, and distribution.

DIR 638: Second Year Development Workshop
SPRING SEMESTER
3 CREDIT HOURS
ELECTIVE for DIRECTING AND PRODUCING

In a combination of individual and group sessions which strengthen storytelling and writing skills, Producers and Directors initiate and develop a compelling and viable story that they control.

PRO 648: Producer’s Toolbox – Strategies and Skills from Case Studies
SPRING SEMESTER
1 CREDIT HOURS
REQUIRED

An examination of the journeys taken by Producers to will their projects into existence, exploring not only the creative but also the legal, administrative and financial components that are integrated within the process of filmmaking. Key areas that are explored include the basics of business affairs (ownership and copyright, rights agreements); talent and key crew agreements; learning how to raise film financing; examining financial streams from a global perspective, from crowdfunding to foreign pre-sales and equity; studying varying methods of distribution from customary models for theatrical film to online, VOD/hybrid distribution; and exploring current trends in marketing and publicity.

SCR 658: Running the Show: Writing for TV, Week-to-Week
SPRING SEMESTER
1.5 CREDIT HOURS
ELECTIVE FOR PRODUCING AND SCREENWRITING

An application-only elective providing an overview of the broad spectrum of tools needed to be a showrunner in the modern world of television production. Accepted Fellows produce a look book based around their pilots written for SCR 631 & 632 and preside over a table read, tone meeting and production meeting in a workshop environment intended to emulate the writers room experience. Industry guests are brought in to discuss how their departments function, and in general how TV production works week-to-week.

PRO 690: Producing Portfolio
SPRING SEMESTER
5.5 CREDIT HOURS TOTAL
REQUIRED

Continuing from PRO 690 fall semester, with the benefit of classroom instruction and individual meetings with Faculty, each Producing Fellow prepares a Producing Portfolio demonstrating his or her ability to identify and present material for at least two projects. The Portfolio is a requirement for graduation and should reflect the Fellow’s skill, taste and understanding of the market. It is the culmination of the AFI Conservatory experience and demonstrates the Producer’s ability to work independently, incorporate feedback, refine concepts and assemble a professional presentation.

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