Module Information

Module Identifier
FM37520
Module Title
Advanced Cinematography and Production Design
Academic Year
2020/2021
Co-ordinator
Mr Gyorgy Beck
Semester
Semester 1
Other Staff
 

Course Delivery

 

Assessment

Due to Covid-19 students should refer to the module Blackboard pages for assessment details

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Assessment Creative Portfolio  Showreel / Portfolio with accompanying 2000 words essay (including self- and peer evaluation).  50%
Semester Assessment Creative Portfolio  Short film (cinematographers, 3-5 minutes) or Design concept (Production designers, equivalent to 2,500 words)  50%
Supplementary Assessment Creative Portfolio  ​Showreel / Portfolio with accompanying 2000 word essay (including self- and peer evaluation).  Students must take elements of assessments equivalent to those that lead to failure of the module  50%
Supplementary Assessment Creative Portfolio  Short film (cinematographers, 3-5 minutes) or Design concept (Production designers, equivalent to 2,500 words)  Students must take elements of assessments equivalent to those that lead to failure of the module  50%

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

Demonstrate an advanced understanding of how filmmakers communicate and innovate through cinematography and production design;

Synthesise practical concepts, processes, and terminology specific to their specialist role;

Engage in advanced aesthetic and stylistic enquiry through practice.

Manage independent and collaborative practical projects to successful completion;

Apply advanced visual filmmaking techniques to realise a critically located personal vision;

Effectively utilise advanced creative problem solving in a variety of film production situations.

Brief description

Building upon the second year Film Craft module, in this module students will further explore filmmaking from the perspective of the visual language of filmmaking. Combining theory and practice, sessions will provide advanced hands-on exploration of the film crafts of cinematography and production design to allow students to further explore the visual aspects of film language. The module will put emphasis on the practical and hands-on aspects of filmmaking, providing students with the opportunity to gain fluency in image creation.

Content

Students will alternate between seminars and workshop sessions with additional studio workshops. In the seminars, students will be guided through the process of creating professional quality showreels and portfolios, a highly valuable asset in employability, as well as reflecting on their practical experiences in workshops and studio workshops. Fortnightly 2-hour workshops will provide opportunities to explore advanced and experimental camera, lighting and design techniques, while four4 dedicated 4-hour studio workshops will help them to gain further practical skills and providing a testing ground for their implementation. During these studio sessions, students work on a 3-5 shot sequence. However, the work carried out in this section exceeds the 4 hours spent in the studio, as each exercise will carry pre- and post-production tasks to be completed prior and after the studio work.

Prior to the studio session, students will sign up for a crew position (sign up-sheet for all the industry roles from director to BTS will be provided) and carry out all the necessary preproduction tasks, such as script, floor-plan, shot-list, lighting-plan, props, etc.
After the sequence has been shot during the workshop session, the students who signed up for postproduction roles, complete the work.

The completed pieces will be screened and discussed/critiqued in the Workshop/Seminars sessions.

Staff and peer feedback is an integral part of the learning experience; in-class workshopping and one-to-one tutorials will offer a supportive and collegiate environment in which to share student work and solve creative and practical problems.

Students are expected to document, and critically reflect upon, their learning experience and work-in-progress in their written assessment.

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Application of Number
Communication Students will be engaging in team work, learning through experience and receiving feedback on the effectiveness of their own critical communication.
Improving own Learning and Performance Via independent and group work, students will learn how to make use of the available means, how to overcome obstacles, as well as how to cope with (constructive) criticism.
Information Technology Students will be making film work using digital media technologies competently and appropriately.
Personal Development and Career planning Students will be using the Portfolio as an effective working tool for academic and career development and reflection. Students will evaluate and analyse their own work and that of their peers with reflexivity and consideration.
Problem solving Students will be challenged with both practical and theoretical problems and then engaging in individual and group activities to solve these problems.
Research skills Students will think analytically, researching in both practical and intellectual contexts, developing distinctive skills as a practitioner-theorist.
Subject Specific Skills Students will be able to make film work to an increasingly professional standard in their chosen craft.
Team work Students will extensively be engaged in teamwork not only during seminars and workshops, but also in their assignment projects, gaining knowledge and experience in team co-ordination and organization.

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6