Media Fundamentals (PMDAF) at Sheridan College

In the Media Fundamentals certificate program, students will be introduced to a broad range of media skills to prepare them for advancement into further media studies.

Students will acquire basic skills and concepts in: 

• Web and computer technology
• Sound and camera
• Television and film production
• Media history
• Communications theory
• Visual design
• Radio

Students will also refine academic skills such as research, writing, and preparing and delivering presentations, which will serve them no matter which area of media studies they choose to pursue. Students will exit the program with a broad, foundational skill set that will prepare them for advanced educational opportunities in a variety of creative fields. Graduates will be qualified to compete for entry into Sheridan College programs such as:

• Journalism
• Visual Merchandising Arts
• Advertising

The successful completion of this program will enable the graduate to:

• Write and/or produce targeted assignments in a variety of common media formats and styles.
• Describe the relationship of media to the larger social/historical/cultural/political context.
• Express researched opinions on current Canadian political and social environments.
• Conduct basic media research.
• Critique various media content and form (film, television, newspapers, and advertising) and participate in peer reviews.
• Identify the visual components of still and moving images that convey ideas and meaning.
• Produce still and moving images to demonstrate basic techniques of visual language.
• Analyze fictional and non-fictional narrative forms (e.g. story, news) and how they shape social reality.
• Describe the effective use of sound in film and television.
• Produce an elementary soundtrack.
• Use software applications for the production of print and rich media.
• Develop an education and career plan within the range of media career options.