This is by far one of my favorite classes I have taken at UCLA. If you're a Comm major interested in the entertainment side or someone interested in entertainment in general, I highly recommend it. It's only offered during the summer (6 weeks)and is in-person, but if you are able to attend it's definitely worth it. Wish more people knew about it. Class was very small this quarter so Professor Peterson adapted it to a seminar style and really took the time to engage with each student and adapt around our needs/interests. You can tell he really enjoys teaching this class and is knowledgeable about the field of entertainment. Class was a mixture of weekly readings, a research paper, final pitch project, discussions, and several guest speakers with invaluable insights. You'll basically get a crash course in the stages of producing film and tv, relations between industry players, and some of the psychology behind different types of content. What's great about this class is you can really tailor it to your interests with the independent research project/pitch and keeping up with entertainment-related events, which we were invited to discuss in class. If you are an active participant and put effort into the projects throughout the quarter, you will do great and hopefully have more than a few takeaways from this class!

Good class with interesting guest speakers almost every week. You can tell that Peterson likes to teach this class. Exams are a mix of lecture and readings. Very straight forward. He has the same format for all of his classes. No textbook, online readings, 2 exams, 2 short papers and 1 big project at the end. Keep up with this class and you can get an A. It's nice because you discuss current events. Class is worth taking.

I found this class not only thoroughly interesting but highly beneficial. Now, granted, Peterson can sound a bit dull when he speaks and sometimes what he says may be made up on the spot, but his connections and the speakers that he brings in are invaluable. They may not be the biggest Hollywood directors, although some are pretty notable in their own right, the advice that they give and experience that they share, I found, to be incredibly engaging and helpful. This class is worth it just for the speakers.

And in terms of the class itself, the multiple-choice tests are incredibly easy, the research assignments are a breeze if you put the time in, and while I did my group project alone, if you do solid on everything else in the class, you shouldn't be in a position where your group score will dictate your grade. I highly recommend this class in particular.

He's pretty nice, if you go talk to him about your paper he'll try and raise your grade (if there were points taken off for silly things and it was your first time, for example). Tests are extremely easy, but you have to read all of the readings and take good notes during his lectures (everything. Even if it seems trivial and stupid, just write down everything he and the guest lecturers say). He asks some specific things sometimes. I enjoyed the guest lectures he had every week. The group presentation was limited to 2 minutes because we had so many.