Graduate Certificate in Television Writing and Producing

at Humber College - Lakeshore Campus Canada

Humber’s Music Business graduate certificate program starts in May and is a condensed summer program with two semesters rolled into one (May - August), followed by a third semester work placement in the fall. This program prepares you to work in any number of areas in the music industry. It offers a unique combination of theoretical and practical knowledge of the music industry, as well as entrepreneurial, business and project management skills. You will study the structure of the Canadian music industry, artist and venue management, manufacturing, contracts, licensing and copyright, national and international distribution, marketing, promotion, and sales. You will develop foundational music business expertise including communication and interpersonal skills in order to respond to industry demands for professionals who can interact with diverse teams and audiences. Opportunities for applied work and industry connections are important components of the program.

Learning Outcomes

• Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:
  • Situate music business decisions within key historical and current contexts of the music industry.
  • Articulate the unique responsibilities of key personnel in the music industry.
  • Analyze the marketplace and trends in the music industry and use the analysis for decision making in the music business environment.
  • Develop and implement a viable and realistic business plan for a professional musician or musical company.
  • Develop and implement a music marketing plan that includes sonic branding.
  • Collaborate with a team to market an artist or new music.
  • Adhere to legal principles, government legislation and regulations, copyright and contract requirements, and professional and industry codes of conduct.
  • Assess existing and emerging market entry options for music products or services and implement the optimal market entry strategy.
  • Apply negotiation, effective interpersonal communication, and human resource management skills to establish and maintain effective working relations.
  • Prepare and interpret financial statements to inform music business decisions and/or practices.
  • Identify and access public and private sources of capital to support music business plans.

Work Placement

• Students are required to complete an industry work placement totalling 300 hours. Humber staff will assist in placing the student - however, the ultimate responsibility for finding the placement is the student's.

Humber’s Television Writing and Producing graduate certificate program prepares you to work as a television writer and producer, and to work in the production offices and on sets of current major television shows.

You will learn how to write, as well as create and produce, all genres of television shows from half-hour situation comedy, animation, children’s, one-hour episodic, reality and lifestyle to late night comedies, short films and screenplays. You will work with award-winning writers; producers; directors; set designers; editors; directors of photography; and development and network executives from Toronto, Vancouver and Los Angeles to learn the lucrative and creative business of television and film. Learn from well-known guests, lecturers and faculty how to create, write, develop, pitch and sell the ideas that may one day lead to successful employment in writers’ rooms, production offices and on sets of major network television shows.

Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:

• Outline the requirements for various scripts including Movies of the Week, Variety Television, Children’s Programming and Dramatic Series.
• Create “spec” scripts of types including Movies of the Week, Variety Television, Children’s Programming and Dramatic Series.
• Calculate profit and sales figures for given productions.
• Summarize trends in television sales, production and markets.
• Prepare strategies for pitching and packaging new products.
• Provide a critical summary of all the technical requirements associated with television production and give examples of the problems and challenges encountered in production areas such as sound, lighting, space, sets, animation needs, camera operation, make up, costume design and music.
• Perform the duties of a director or a director’s assistant.
• Demonstrate the skills of a story analyst, reader production assistant and writer’s assistant.
• Demonstrate the responsibilities and functions of a theatrical agent.
• Outline the entrepreneurial skills needed by script writers.
• Network with well-known television writers and producers.
• Exhibit team building and communication skills and profit from exercises that encourage self-understanding, peer respect and professional behaviours.

Humber’s Developmental Services Worker (DSW) – Accelerated diploma program teaches you skills to effectively promote the physical, mental and emotional health of individuals with special needs.
You’ll be taught by developmental services experts who are active in the field, in classes with comparatively low student to teacher ratios. Our curriculum is designed with input from the developmental services field ensuring courses are current and relevant.

You’ll begin your studies by learning the stages of human development, the types of developmental disabilities and the range of available community support services for this population. Next, you’ll learn intervention techniques, person-centered planning, abnormal psychology/dual diagnosis, basic pharmacology, supporting people with autism and other complex needs, augmentative forms of communication, and effective responses to people who have been abused. Finally, you’ll develop skills in building interpersonal relationships and counselling.

Work Placement
We offer a wide range of innovative and traditional work-integrated learning opportunities. The field placement co-ordinator will consult with you regarding your interests and preferences in order to connect you to specific agencies. During your third semester, you will complete a 400 hour internship. Your third semester takes place from May through mid-August.

Humber’s Police Foundations diploma program, offered on a full-time and online part-time basis, enjoys an excellent reputation within the criminal justice community. Our program’s current and relevant curriculum, developed with the insights and expertise of members of the college’s Police Foundations Advisory Committee, ensures you’ll learn the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in a justice related career. Practical courses allow you to learn about psychology, sociology, criminology, the criminal code, contemporary social and community problems, policing protocols and strategies, investigating and evidence, and conflict management. As well, instruction in fitness and lifestyle management will teach you about the importance of health and wellness and about the Constable Selection Process. Your professors, who have real-life work experience in public and private policing, will help you graduate with a range of security, problem-solving and administrative skills, and with a commitment to justice and to your community.

Graduates of the program will be subject to all requirements of the Ontario Constable Selection Process and local police requirements when applying for a position as a police constable in Ontario.

Work Placement
While the program does not offer a work placement, self-initiated community service opportunities will be made available to help broaden your understanding of the role of justice services within the community at large.

Humber’s Business Management – Entrepreneurial Enterprise graduate certificate program provides the practical skills and knowledge you’ll need to take on a wide variety of leadership roles in innovative entrepreneurial enterprises.

This program covers every area of entrepreneurship from the fundamentals of developing and refining ideas to launching, growing and managing the enterprise. You will be prepared to take on key management roles in entrepreneurial enterprises including operations, marketing and sales, finance, human resources and strategic planning. Plus, you will learn all you need to start and manage your own new enterprise.

Students in this program can participate in Humber’s Business funding competitions for a chance to obtain seed funding for their new enterprise and other contests and progams sponsored by Humber's Centre for Entrepreneurship. Students in this program automatically become members of Humber’s Centre for Entrepreneurship which gives them access to mentorship, coaching, networking events, seminars, workshops, and entrepreneurial facilities and workspaces.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:

• Develop and implement a comprehensive business plan for a new business enterprise.
• Present an executive summary of a comprehensive business plan to potential financial backers.
• Set up and operate a basic bookkeeping and accounting system for a new enterprise that will enable effective financial management.
• Construct, interpret and analyze key financial statements.
• Devise marketing plans encompassing development, implementation, performance monitoring and adjustment using appropriate tools, techniques and applications.
• Execute leadership strategies by modelling ethical practices and corporate social responsibility to enhance a firm’s competitive position and sustainability.
• Comply with legal and regulatory requirements, tax and other financial requirements, and non-financial compliance requirements and controls systems.
• Apply various selling structures, methods and techniques to generate revenue and effectively manage client relationships.
• Develop and implement an effective human resource management plan to support new ventures and ongoing business operations.
• Build and manage relationships using communication, networking, teamwork and leadership skills.
• Use evidence-based analysis and decision-making in all functional business areas.
• Analyze and realign business strategies to contribute to the operational sustainability of new or ongoing small or medium size enterprise.

Humber’s Comedy: Writing and Performance diploma program helps you develop your craft while gaining an understanding of the commercial side of the industry. Our faculty is comprised of seasoned, award-winning professionals who are active in the comedy industry. You’ll learn stand-up, improvisation, scriptwriting, sketch comedy and all other aspects of the craft. In addition, the program’s strong alumni network supports you through reunion shows, business opportunities and continued coaching. The program features many mainstage class shows, weekly Humber student shows at Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Club and Comedy Bar, and an organized showcase at Second City Toronto for scouts, directors and agents with students included on the basis of merit. Upon graduation, you will have the tools you need to embark on an exciting career in one of North America’s fastest growing industries: comedy.

Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:

• Produce a variety of comedic materials including sketches, screenplays, sitcoms and variety shows.
• Prepare and perform stand-up comedy routines.
• Discover their comedic voices and create materials that stem from these voices.
• Study both dramatic and comedic performance techniques, and apply those techniques to their own work.
• Prepare written humorous materials for magazines and newspapers as well as for radio broadcasts.
• Practice individual and ensemble comedic performances both in the classroom and in comedy centres.
• Apply the technical requirements of all genres of comedic writing.
• Respond to improvisation demands and create characters quickly on stage.
• Evaluate the business of comedy and develop career strategies and contacts.
• Learn from well-known North American comedic writers and performers and network with those individuals.

Humber’s Bachelor of Commerce – Supply Chain Management degree program provides grounding in both general business knowledge and specialized supply chain skills across a wide range of industries. Our emphasis on hands-on experience enables you to stand out in a highly competitive global marketplace. Our program starts with a foundation of business studies in areas such as organizational behaviour, law, economics, finance and accounting, marketing, and operations management. Specialization courses will focus on using current theories, methods and techniques to problem solve and develop supply chain management strategies.

Humber’s professors are widely known and respected for their real-world experience and industry contacts. Our supply chain specialists use case studies and a project-based curriculum to help you apply your classroom learning to real-life situations. A senior-level business project in your fourth year allows you to gain experience with problem solving and decision-making in a team-based environment.

The program requires that you complete 14 weeks/420 hours of paid work in the summer between your sixth and seventh semesters. This gives you the hands-on, real-world experience that employers value. Your placement will give you the opportunity to explore the field you’d like to work in when you graduate. We will work with employers and our industry partners to help you identify opportunities to pursue.

In today’s hyper-competitive marketplace, operating as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible is critical. Because supply chain cost represents the majority of the cost of goods/services sold, knowledge of supply chain management is a top priority for employers. Supply chain management involves co-ordinating an entire network of companies and business processes across the globe to ensure that products are designed, produced, delivered and serviced smoothly and effectively. Your degree will prepare you to pursue a variety of careers including supply chain management; strategic sourcing, procurement and asset management; transportation and logistics; and warehousing and distribution. As a graduate, you will be in demand in industries such as consumer packaged goods, pharmaceutical products, service businesses, manufacturing, high-tech, automotive, retail and transportation. You may also use your degree to pursue graduate studies in a related field.

Humber’s Public Relations graduate certificate program is recognized by industry as one of Canada’s leading training grounds for public relations professionals. This intensive program is focused on preparing you to launch your degree and getting you ready for your first day of your work placement. You will learn how to plan, develop and execute effective public relations strategies. You will build critical skills in event planning, public speaking and presentation.

Experienced professors will help you develop writing skills, public relations strategies, research and planning abilities, and a high degree of social and traditional media literacy. Practical public relations courses in PR theory, marketing communications, public affairs, media relations, corporate social responsibility, sustainability and change management will provide you with a valuable and useful introduction to the field. Your teamwork, collaborative, and leadership skills will be honed through group assignments.

Work Placement
Many students choose our program because of our outstanding work placement program. After successfully completing two academic semesters, students will complete a mandatory work placement. This experience will allow you to gain valuable job skills and industry knowledge while building your network. Historically, students find work placements in PR agencies, corporations, entertainment organizations, and not-for-profits including arts organizations, hospitals, associations and government. While many placements are located within the GTA, students may also find placements outside the city, province or country.

Humber’s Introduction to Commercial Jazz Music certificate is a performance-based program designed to help you assess and strengthen your skills. It solidifies your knowledge of the fundamentals of western music and develops your current performance skills through the jazz-specific areas of improvisation, repertoire development and small group ensemble performance. You will emerge from the program with a clearer understanding of the field and your own career potential within it, and as a stronger candidate for entry into postsecondary music degree and diploma programs. All courses have a particular focus on the commercial jazz field.

Learning Outcomes

• Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:
  • Recognize & identify common styles of music.
  • Describe the commercial/jazz field in terms of tradition, artists, & styles.
  • Explain the contribution of various artists to the development of particular styles & idioms.
  • Analyze the components & performance differences of recorded selections.
  • Play a repertoire of memorized materials that are considered standards in the commercial/jazz field & reflect the various styles inherent in this music.
  • Write diatonic melodies in various styles demonstrating knowledge of relevant harmonic & melodic concepts & structures of form.
  • Perform in an ensemble demonstrating basic ensemble skills such as intonation, tuning, time, feel, balance & dynamics.
  • Identify their own musical strengths & weaknesses in terms of a performance career in the commercial/jazz field.
  • Implement strategies & plans for on-going personal & professional growth & development.
  • Establish a practice of critical self-assessment & professional goal setting.

By combining the latest recording technologies and entrepreneurial business strategies with performance, production, songwriting and composition in jazz, pop, R&B, Latin and world music, you will be well equipped with the knowledge and skills needed for success in today’s music world.

Founded in 1972, the program has consistently produced many of the most successful commercial and jazz musicians in Canada and the world. With more than 350 students and a faculty of 18 full-time and 80 part-time teachers, our program is one of the largest, most diverse and highly regarded programs of its kind in the country. Long known for the strength of its professors, Humber offers you the opportunity to study privately, in classroom situations, and in several of the more than 50 ensembles directed by a who’s who of Canadian music. As Toronto is the centre of Canada’s entertainment industry, Humber attracts the top professionals in jazz, musical theatre, television, film, commercials and pop.

After two years of core music courses, you will continue with lessons on your major instrument, as well as take classes in music production and music business while also choosing from electives in arranging, composition, advanced improvisation, film scoring, music production techniques, songwriting, ethnomusicology or pedagogy.

You’ll develop musicianship and artistry by presenting your own recital, arranging and composing original material, and recording and marketing your own music.
In addition, you will take courses in music history, theory, aural training and improvisation, and have the opportunity to participate in a variety of ensembles.

All students complete a major recording project/portfolio in their fourth year. The assembled portfolio, which includes a complete press kit and professional-quality recording, as well as other promotional materials, functions as your calling card for entrance into the music industry upon graduation.

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:

• Perform, compose, produce music at a professional level for entry to the competitive, global music industry.
• Demonstrate a knowledge of diverse musical styles and contextualize themselves within contemporary music history: specifically defined as the idioms of African American musical genres, mainstream pop music, country/folk music, Latin music, music for musicals and film, art music and jazz.
• Demonstrate, through performance and composition, a technical and musical mastery of harmonic, melodic and rhythmic structures.
• Demonstrate, through performance, an extensive knowledge of contemporary musical repertoire and apply appropriate performance skills in diverse music contexts.
• Compose and arrange in a broad range of contemporary music styles.
• Prepare and present a portfolio of recorded material reflecting a broad range of styles.
• Record, edit and produce a broad range of contemporary music.
• Apply computer applications/music technology skills in composition, arranging and production.
• Demonstrate, through production and performance, organizational, project management, and implementation skills.
• Critically analyze and evaluate sound recordings and describe their production characteristics.
• Demonstrate leadership, teamwork, communication, critical thinking, research and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrate a working knowledge of contract law, copyright law, intellectual property rights, royalties, and rules of public domain.
• Make use of entrepreneurial music business skills to engage in the competitive contemporary music industry.
• Demonstrate professional “freelance” etiquette relating to job seeking and keeping skills.
• Demonstrate an ability to research and present findings from primary and secondary sources.
• Formulate, articulate and present their own ideas about music, art and society through discussion and writings.
• Demonstrate an artistic awareness and understanding of musical aesthetics.
• Assess personal strengths, musical and business skills, knowledge, artistic vision, interests, and abilities.

Work Placement

• You will participate in a work placement designed to mirror the professional music world, which is largely characterized by contract, freelance and part-time employment. You are responsible for accumulating the equivalent of 420 hours of experience which will allow you to establish contacts and relationships with key companies and industry professionals.