From Idea to Audience: Making Content People Actually Watch is a hands-on, industry-aligned course focused on the creation, production, and distribution of platform-native content for today’s creator-driven ecosystem. Emphasizing vertical video and mobile-first formats, students develop the creative and technical skills to conceive, script, shoot, and edit compelling shortform work tailored to platforms such as TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, with particular attention to pacing, composition, performance, sound, and motion graphics within the constraints of the vertical frame. The course centers on storytelling under constraint, where format and platform dynamics shape narrative and audience engagement, and includes a major project in which students develop original content—either through a collaborative microdrama series produced with the Screenwriting Department or through alternative formats such as short-form documentary, creator-led content, branded/spec advertising, podcast-driven video, or experimental and AI-assisted media. Through iterative production cycles, students publish and test their work in real time, using analytics, A/B testing, and engagement metrics to refine their creative and strategic approach, while also gaining foundational knowledge in branding, audience development, and content positioning. By the end of the course, students will have built a portfolio of original platform-native content and developed the skills to operate as both storytellers and strategic creators in a rapidly evolving digital media landscape.

Note that this information may change at any time. Please visit the MyBU Student Portal for the most up-to-date course information.