Cross-Pathway Standards (13.0 - 16.0)
The Cross-Pathway Standards (13.0–16.0) are interdisciplinary and address competencies that apply across all creative industries: business and marketing, legal compliance and IP, media content creation, and collaborative production pipelines.
13.0 Business, Marketing, & Public Relations
13.1 Storytelling for Product Value and Impact — Develop and present stories that demonstrate the value of a product, service, or experience. View Aligned Modules →
13.2 Pitching Creative Concepts — Pitch an original concept with a visual presentation and narrative that clearly communicates the idea and engages the audience. View Aligned Modules →
13.3 Brand Identity & Visual Merchandising — Develop, maintain, and present a visually compelling and consistent brand identity across products, services, experiences; design merchandising displays to reinforce brand recognition and establish visual impact. View Aligned Modules →
13.4 Content Monetization Strategies — Identify and compare ways creators earn income by analyzing examples of monetization strategies used on social media, video sharing, and streaming platforms. View Aligned Modules →
13.5 Managing Budgets — Develop and manage budgets for creative projects by forecasting costs, allocating resources, tracking expenditures, and evaluating return on investment (ROI). View Aligned Modules →
13.6 Client Interaction — Listen to client or customer needs, interact professionally, and help define clear and actionable objectives that satisfy their goals. View Aligned Modules →
13.7 Business Acumen — Develop business acumen to advance a creative idea in a business life cycle (i.e., collaborating with key interest holders, networking to identify partnerships, pitching and refining business concepts, maintaining a brand identity, managing business finances, and sourcing and maintaining client relationships). View Aligned Modules →
13.8 Public Relations (PR) — Apply PR strategies including media and audience engagement to the development of campaigns, press kits, crisis management, and publicity planning. View Aligned Modules →
13.9 Understanding the Content Ecosystem — Identify the relationships between content creators, publishers, developers, distributors, marketers, and retailers, and package content to reach an intended audience. View Aligned Modules →
14.0 Legal Responsibility
14.1 Intellectual Property (IP)Types — Identify the different types of intellectual property and related laws (e.g., copyright, trademark, rights of publicity, and patents) and explain how they protect creative and commercial assets. View Aligned Modules →
14.2 Fair Use — Define the factors used to determine fair use and analyze how emerging technology (e.g., generative AI) challenges traditional concepts of authorship, ownership, and fair use. View Aligned Modules →
14.3 Protecting Confidentiality — Apply rules and regulations regarding sharing of confidential information as determined by workplace practices including Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). View Aligned Modules →
14.4 Contracts & Contract Terminology — Analyze contracts and/or legal documents to identify fair terms and ensure protection of creative IP and ownership rights; use correct terminology as it applies to contracts and legal matters. View Aligned Modules →
14.5 Terms of Use — Comply with the rules, regulations and conditions set by a platform, service, or website when accessing or using its resources. View Aligned Modules →
14.6 Fraud Prevention — Analyze strategies for fraud prevention by recognizing common threats, protecting sensitive information, and following privacy and compliance regulations in business and marketing settings. View Aligned Modules →
14.7 Employment Law — Examine employment laws related to hiring, wages, workplace safety, labor unions, and discrimination. View Aligned Modules →
14.8 Freelance Rights — Identify worker classifications, contract terms, compensation rights, and ethical responsibilities for independent contractors (freelance) and full-time creative roles. View Aligned Modules →
14.9 Comparing Business Entity Types — Differentiate types of businesses (e.g., sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability corporation, S corporation, public benefit corporation, and 501(c) 3 organization). View Aligned Modules →
15.0 Media Content Creation
15.1 Narrative Storytelling — Evaluate and demonstrate how narrative structure, point of view, character, conflict, theme, and setting impact story development. View Aligned Modules →
15.2 Platform-Specific Content — Develop original content for a specific media platform based on format, length, and intended audience. View Aligned Modules →
15.3 Authentic Representation — Create content with authentic representation of diverse people, communities, perspectives, and stories. View Aligned Modules →
15.4 Storytelling Across Mediums — Tell engaging and compelling stories using a variety of artistic mediums and/or media formats. View Aligned Modules →
15.5 Pre-Production Planning — Develop and communicate a story using different industry-specific methods (e.g., outline, script, rundown, treatment, storyboarding, and shot lists) prior to capturing or creating content. View Aligned Modules →
15.6 Cinematic Techniques — Use angles, composition, framing, shots, and editing to enhance visual storytelling. View Aligned Modules →
15.7 Audio Integration — Use music and audio to enhance storytelling; generate and integrate audio elements (e.g., sound effects, dialog, and music) into cohesive projects. View Aligned Modules →
15.8 Editing Fundamentals — Assemble and refine audio or visual content, ensuring clarity, continuity, and audience engagement; use industry-standard editing techniques appropriate to the project. View Aligned Modules →
15.9 Rendering & Exporting — Apply rendering and exporting techniques to comply with industry standards. View Aligned Modules →
16.0 Production & Project Management
16.1 Production Tools & Equipment — Identify supplies, tools, and equipment by name, function, and purpose; properly handle, operate, maintain, and document supplies, tools, and equipment used in exhibition, interior design, and production environments. View Aligned Modules →
16.2 Roles & Responsibilities — Evaluate roles and responsibilities for each member of a production or project team; work collaboratively and interact professionally to meet directorial goals, realize creative ideas, and execute project needs. View Aligned Modules →
16.3 Event & Production Planning — Design, plan and execute productions, activations, and events for different venue types, sites, locations, audiences, and purposes. View Aligned Modules →
16.4 Creative Planning — Develop and analyze creative plans to identify project or production needs (e.g., creative brief, script, storyboard, game design document, setlist, and schematic). View Aligned Modules →
16.5 Budgeting & Scheduling — Develop, maintain, and execute a project or production budget and explain the importance and interrelationship between timelines and budget constraints. View Aligned Modules →
16.6 Production Phases & Workflow — Differentiate components and workflow for each stage associated with the preproduction, production, and post-production of a creative project. View Aligned Modules →
16.7 Collaboration Software — Contribute to multi-phase projects by managing shared tasks through professional project management software technology, collaboration platforms, shared drives, and version-controlled files. View Aligned Modules →
16.8 Project & Budget Meetings — Facilitate and contribute to production and project management meetings to discuss creative plans, budgets, timelines, constraints, responsibilities, and division of duties. View Aligned Modules →
16.9 Logistics & Resource Planning — Identify specific production or project needs and logistics (e.g., timeline, location/venue, casting, funding, insurance, permits, equipment, blueprints or schematics, scheduling, and crewing/staffing); adhere to all workplace safety standards and protocols for performance venues or locations. View Aligned Modules →