Cynlluniau Astudio

N/A

Communication, Media, Film and Cultural Studies (2017)

September 2023

On completion the students will have developed a sound knowledge of the film production process and the roles and responsibilities of those involved, as well as understanding the essential competencies and capabilities demanded by key industry employers and the independent production sector.

Students will gain:

• A knowledge and understanding of the development and financing structure of the film industry

• Critical understanding of the key processes in cinematography, editing, production design and sound

• An understanding of how choices in shots and sound affect the visual expressivity and clarity of storytelling in film production.

• Demonstrate dexterity and technical understanding in the processes of developing, producing and delivering a film.

• Students will learn to use specialized professional software by preparing and inputting data, managing systems and interpreting information.

• A knowledge of visual literacy and managing workflows.

The scheme is directed at opening out departmental provision to a direct engagement to professional standard and the professional industry. This is a flexible and innovative programme which combines theoretically-informed film practice with technical skills and critical thinking, giving the student the chance to develop high levels of production work alongside an appreciation of the craft of film making.

The aim is to prepare the student for a career in the film industry as producers, or in technical and creative roles.

By the end of their programme, all students are expected to be able to demonstrate:

A1 A knowledge of the fundamentals of practical film production as a site of study, thought and creative interplay that interacts directly with audiences

A2 The acquisition of practical skills in the following: Cinematography; Production Design; Editing; Sound; Scriptwriting; Directing and Producing.

A3 The processes, methodologies and strategies by which film productions are produced and realized

A4 An understanding of content, form, theory and a critical understanding of how this relates to the aesthetic of the finished production.

A5 How to create visual narratives whilst working with sound, music, editing and visual effects.

Learning and Teaching

The scheme builds on the department’s commitment to equipping students to understand and engage with the professional industry environment in which the creative arts operate and is developed and nurtured. It speaks to the departmental agenda that provides professionally oriented learning and introduces industry-orientated skills-based opportunities that capitalize on the collaborative imperative around which the University wide Faculty structure is based. It also maintains and enriches the portfolio of specialist and specialized skills offered by the department to students across it’s varied fields of study and is committed to developing both critical and creative thinking that is reflective and outward-facing and engages with the creative arts within a scholarly, creative context. Students will gain a comprehensive knowledge in the basics of the film industry and the fundamentals of producing a film from the conception of the idea through the practical film making process, post production and through to delivery. They will gain an understanding of the whole process through to distribution and how each component fits within the film making process.

Assessment Strategies and Methods

The scheme engages with the departmental commitment to a wider range of assessment methods and strategies that facilitates student engagement and opportunity to its maximum potential. There are traditional essay-based assessments as well as oral and written pitches, presentations and portfolio and there will be a consistent emphasis on improving work.

By the end of their programme, all students are expected to be able to demonstrate:

Intellectual Skills

B1 The ability to identify, describe, evaluate and critically interrogate a range of practices in the field of film production.

B2 The ability to analyse and identify the different aspects of, and stages in, the legal requirements for completing and delivering a film

B3 An understanding of professional practice and the logistical pressures of production in terms of time management, organization and resources.

B4 The ability to sustain intellectual argument in both oral and written forms through written, mediated or live presentation, applying the most effective communication strategies.

B5 Critically review and concisely present research ideas and comprehensively understand how to develop, from an extensive range of research sources, a workable film project idea for production

Learning and Teaching

Intellectual skills will be developed throughout the course through problem solving, and identifying and effectively using their knowledge to apply to issues that arise in the course of their research and to evaluate and organize data. Literacy and numeracy skills will be developed.

Assessment Strategies and Methods

Written communication as well as the process of communicating a concept through a particular medium will be individually and directly assessed. Students will be presented with real issues that have arisen on productions and they will be expected to resolve these issues and will be assessed on their ability to evaluate and effectively use their knowledge to apply these skills to the issues that arise.

Professional practical skills / Discipline Specific Skills

C1 View themselves as practitioners with the ability to develop, budget, schedule and construct a finance plan for a film production

C2 Technical understanding of the use of cameras and production sound recording equipment

C3 A sound knowledge of the post production workflow

C4 A sound knowledge of editing different genres and cross genre conventions

C5 Use the views of others in the development and enhancement of practice; formulate considered practical responses to the critical judgements of others, while developing a generous yet rigorous critical scrutiny in peer review and workshop activities

Learning and Teaching

Students will develop a mature and nuanced aesthetic sensibility and sense of intellectual inquiry and employ an imaginative and divergent mode of thinking which is integral to identifying and solving problems, to the making of critical and reflective judgments, to the generation of alternatives and new ideas, and to engaging with broader issues of value in relation to their own work and to the work of others.

Assessment Strategies and Methods

The scheme engages with the departmental commitment to a wider range of assessment methods and strategies that facilitates student engagement and opportunity to its maximum potential. There are traditional essay-based assessments as well as oral and written pitches, presentations and portfolio and there will be a consistent emphasis on improving work.

By the end of their programme, all students are expected to be able to demonstrate:

D1 Good team skills whilst working in a group, self manage and show a distinct ability to work independently, set goals, manage workloads and meet deadlines.

D2 Adapt to different demands and tasks, and be able to look beyond the immediate task to the wider context, including the social and commercial effects of their work.

D3 Select and employ communication and information technologies: source, navigate, select, retrieve, evaluate, manipulate and manage information from a variety of sources.

D4 Communicate their own ideas and the ideas of others concisely, accurately and persuasively in order to influence opinion, developing, constructing and presenting arguments in appropriate ways.

D5 Critically evaluate conceptual contributions to an idea during development; paying close attention to specific role contributions.

Learning and Teaching

Film-making incorporates a range of highly transferable skills, including a high level of professional competence. The use of industry professionals as guest speakers, visiting lecturers or knowledge transfer associates ensures the contemporary relevance of such teaching.

Assessment Strategies and Methods

The scheme aims to develop the essential competencies and capabilities demanded by key industry employers and the independent production sector. The film production modules in both the second and third years will introduce the student to all the skills required to complete and deliver a production. This will be assessed practically as the module progresses. The skills of teamwork, project management, man management, communication, problem solving are all transferable skills and will be assessed continuously during the production cycle. The final project assessment will evaluate students’ capacity to meet the demands of the market and professional industries via a delivery to a specific timetable with definitive resources.