Module VISU3011: Filmmaking

Department: Modern Languages and Cultures (Visual)

VISU3011: Filmmaking

Prerequisites

• VISU1021 or VISU2021

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• The module aims to acquaint students with the major technical and aesthetic considerations that need to be taken into account when planning, shooting and editing a short film, to link these to thematic concerns in film studies and beyond, and to develop their filmmaking skills as a research-informed practice.

Content

• The module will typically cover the following areas:
• Script development, emphasizing visual storytelling, dramatic structure, character development and theme.
• Pre-production, highlighting pre-visualization strategies, script analysis, casting, rehearsing, scheduling.
• Production, focusing on directing both the actors and the camera, shot choice/composition, crew work.
• Post-production, focusing on editing aesthetics and sound design.
• Throughout, technical skills and aesthetic choices will be related to research thematic concerns that students seek to address by means of film practice. 

Learning Outcomes

• On completion of this module students should:
• Understand the major aesthetic and technical considerations involved in filmmaking, as well as the relationship between them.
• Have theoretical and practical/ experiential knowledge of the steps involved in filmmaking, from development of the initial idea to making the final cut.

• On completion of this module students will have developed:
• The ability to use film as a means of addressing or exploring specific thematic concerns.
• Skills in visual storytelling, script-writing, and storyboarding.
• Skills in directing actors and the camera.
• Skills in post-production editing and sound design.

• On completion of this module students will have developed:
• visualisation and narrative skills
• independent research
• interpersonal skills
• organisation
• time management
• presentation and team work
• IT skills: camera operation, digital editing.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Seminars will introduce students to the conceptual questions involved in filmmaking via a series of selected readings, and will also allow support students to develop appropriate research questions or problems that they seek to address by means of film practice.
• A week-long intensive filmmaking course, delivered in partnership with the Tyneside Cinema Film School and timetabled in the Easter vacation to avoid intractable timetable clashes, will train students in the practical business of filmmaking.
• The module will be assessed by means of a short film, produced in teams of 4-5 and addressing a specific research question or problem formulated by the students. There will also be an individual commentary, in which students will reflect individually collaborative process of film-making, and how film practice can be used as a means of addressing thematic concerns.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

None

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University