Some basic information
Film Production versus Film & Media Studies
Film Production and Film & Media Studies have different discourse communities. This page mainly focuses on resources that will help you understand the discourse community of film (and media) studies. For information on discovering resources for the discourse community related to film production, please see the box titled Film Production.
Film & Media Studies is a highly interdisciplinary field that focuses on theory. Film studies will overlap with media studies, and you may find Media Studies still uses the vocabulary of television. The vocabulary used to describe film and media studies is quickly changing, and may be inconsistent across topics and publications.
Film Production
Film Production
Use the resources in this box to help you discover discourse communities in film production.
Production can be broken down into three general categories: pre-production, production, and post production. Each of these three communities encompass smaller communities of various professions.
Pre-production includes activities such as screen writing/scripting, casting, scouting locations, creating shooting schedules, finding props and materials, costume design, etc.
Production includes cinematographers/camera operators, sound designers/recorders, lighting designers, stage directors, grips/gaffers, actors, directors, assistant directors,
Post production activities include everything between the time the film is finished being recorded on set to when the film is released to play in theaters and other venues. Post-production includes editors, sound designers, marketers and distributors.
- Entertainment Industry Associations, Guilds and UnionsAn extensive list of professional associations for the professionals involved in Film Production.
Professional Associations provide an excellent introduction to a discourse community, how you become a "member", how they communicate (conferences, awards and acknowledgements, professional publications), and the issues being discussed within the community.
Scholarly Journals in Film Production
Magazines & Trade Publications for Film and Television Production
- Best Magazines and Trade Publications for Film and TelevisionA list of publications from the blog "Art Departmental".
Professional Associations: Film and Media Studies
- Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS)
This is the leading scholarly organization devoted to Cinema and Media Studies in the US. Their members are dedicated to promoting a broad understanding of film, television, and related media through research and teaching.
Use this site to find out about:
Current Research: SCMS publishes the scholarly journal: Journal of Cinema and Media Studies (JCMS)
What's happening now: Look at their Conference information
Who is part of this community? Look at their Membership section
Online Communities: Film and Media Studies
- MediaCommons
A community network for scholars, students, and practitioners in media studies, promoting exploration of new forms of publishing within the field. - Critical Commons
Critical Commons is a public media archive and fair use advocacy network that supports the transformative reuse of media in scholarly and creative contexts. This is a community where educators and artists share their lectures, commentaries and other works.
Scholarly Journals (Film and Media Studies)
- JCMS: Journal of Cinema and Media Studies
This is the scholarly journal published by the Society for Cinema & Media studies. You will not be able to access it freely on the web, only those who have a membership in SCMS or a subscription (like the library) can access the content published in this journal. - Film Quarterly
A scholarly journal that presents critical and intersectional approaches to criticism and analyses of visual culture. - Quarterly Review of Film and Video
Critical, historical, and theoretical essays, book reviews, and interviews in the area of moving image studies including film, video, and digital imagery studies. - In Media Res
In Media Res is dedicated to experimenting with collaborative, multi-modal forms of online scholarship.
Each weekday, a different scholar curates a 30-second to 3-minute video clip/visual image slideshow accompanied by a 300-350-word impressionistic response. - [in]Transition
A collaboration between MediaCommons and the Society for Cinema and Media Studies’ official publication, Journal of Cinema & Media Studies, [in]Transition is a peer-reviewed academic journal of videographic film and moving image studies. Most posts on [in]Transition features three elements: a videographic work, a statement by the creator of the video, and one or two signed peer reviews solicited by the editorial team. - Explore other scholarly journals in film and media studies
Browse a list of other scholarly journals that focus on different aspects and communities related to film and media studies.
What's Happening & People of Influence (Film & Media Studies and Film Production)
- ACA Media
A podcast offering an academic perspective on media, from SCMS & JCMS.
Also look at the Social link, which includes the twitter feeds of the Podcast producers. - Flow
An online journal of television and media studies, which provides a forum for scholars, teachers, students, and the general public to read about and discuss the changing landscape of contemporary media. (Flow is not a peer reviewed publication) - Quorum
Quorum is an online publication hosted by Film Quarterly. It is intended to generate discussion and debate on television, films, installations, games, Virtual Reality, projects, people, movements, and emerging issues or ideas in contemporary screen cultures.
Quorum is not a peer reviewed publication. It is a place where the discourse community can exchange ideas. - Film Quarterly Videos
Film Quarterly's website makes videos available of interviews with filmmakers, directors and other people of influence.