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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Edinburgh College of Art : Design

Undergraduate Course: Films on Film (DESI08129)

Course Outline
SchoolEdinburgh College of Art CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThe course examines how different films represent the craft of filmmaking. Through a series of lectures and seminars the course provides a broad overview of the filmmaking process, such as the different involved roles and stages of production. Throughout the course, students explore the different components of film language and analyze the ways in which narrative structure, cinematography, mise-en-scene, performance, sound design and editing contribute to the construction of meaning within a film.
Course description The course consists of a series of film screenings which have the art of filmmaking as main subject. Students explore within this course how different filmmakers have represented the art of filmmaking and how this reveals certain discourses and aspects of self-reflexivity with regard to the collaborative practice of film. How do different films represent different aspects of the filmmaking process, such as scriptwriting, producing or directing? How do these representations question certain aspects of filmmaking, such as existing rules and conventions of film language, the changing of the medium or the representation in of marginalized groups in Cinema? Films screened in the course are for example 8 ½ by Fellini, The player by Robert Altman, Adaptation by Spike Jonze, Lost in La Mancha by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe, or También la Lluvia by Icíar Bollaín. Through the film screenings students are introduced to the different key aspects of the production process. Students research these different aspects and reflect on their representations in the different films. In seminars and lectures students analyze how components such as composition, movement, lighting, performance, sound and music contribute to the dramatic effect and meaning of a film. The course examines medium specificities of Cinema and the presence of self-reflexive elements in the films. Questions throughout the course are for example:
1) How does film relate to other Art Forms?
2) What are the differences between Fiction and Documentary? And how do these film forms overlap?
3) What is genre?
4) What are the different stages of film production?
5) What are the different roles within a film production?
6) How are different creative roles such as that of writer, director, producer and actor represented in films?
7) How have certain changes and developments of the medium been represented, such as the introduction of Sound?
8) How is the aspect of self-reflexivity used in different films?
9) What is the relationship of Cinema to 'the Other'?
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2021/22, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  40
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 20, Feedback/Feedforward Hours 6, Formative Assessment Hours 2, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 166 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Course assignments in LEARN Portfolio 50%
Students submit weekly assignments through a portfolio on LEARN. Most assignments are short entries (250 words) in which they analyze specific aspects of the screened films, such as narrative, cinematography, or self reflective aspects. Some of the portfolio assignments are more practical, such as a photography assignment in which students experiment with specific camera angles.

A final essay of 1500 words 50%.
The essay should be an in depth analysis of one of the films presented during the course and should refer to the course literature.

Feedback During the course verbal feedback will be given to submitted weekly assignments and student presentations. Written formative feedback will be given in week 6 through LEARN to the collection of submitted portfolio assignments.. Written summative feedback will be given after final submission.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate a broad knowledge of film production and film analysis.
  2. Undertake critical analysis and evaluations of representations in audio-visual media.
  3. Understand the medium specificities of film and self-reflexive elements within Cinema.
  4. Demonstrate the ability to analyze and discuss self-reflexive elements in Cinema and other visual media.
Reading List
Kydd, E. (2011). The Critical Practice of Film. Palgrave Macmillan.
Davis, G. and K. Dickinson, L. Patti, and Amy Villarejo (2015). Film Studies: A Global Introduction. Routledge
Stam, R. (1992). Reflexivity in Film and Literature. From Don Quixote to Jean-Luc Godard. Columbia University Press.
Edited by Nöht, W. and N. Bishara (2007). Self-Reference in the Media. Mouton de Gruyter.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Analyzing audio-visual media.
Analyzing academic texts.
Undertake independent research with regard to audio-visual media.
Communicate about research.
KeywordsCinema,Film production,Film,Narrative
Contacts
Course organiserDr Itandehui Jansen
Tel: (0131 6)51 5852
Email: I.Jansen@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMr Rhiordan Langan-Fortune
Tel: (0131 6)51 5926
Email: rhiordan.langanfortune@ed.ac.uk
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