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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2022/2023

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Edinburgh College of Art : Design

Undergraduate Course: FTV 3A: Hothousing a Short Film Production (DESI10130)

Course Outline
SchoolEdinburgh College of Art CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits40 ECTS Credits20
SummaryThrough a series of time-limited assignments, students will research, develop and produce both individual and group films.

This course will stimulate and challenge students to push the creative boundaries of their filmmaking and to consider how they can experiment with framing, camera movement, lighting, editing, set design, sound, etc. to create an imaginative vision with limited resources.

The aim is to introduce students to work in a time-based professional creative industry framework that still encourages innovation and playfulness within the short film format. This course will develop collaborative relationships in the filmmaking process and invites peer feedback throughout the semester.
Course description During this course, students will develop a sense of their own particular aesthetic approaches as filmmakers and will be equipped to progress to more ambitious film productions (such as those undertaken in the fourth year).

Students will become familiar with the process of development, how to discuss their ideas, how to collaborate, and honing their communication skills in both written and verbal forms. Students will learn and develop their problem-solving and project management skills in relation to the best use of available resources. They will be given a framework in which to experiment, explore and develop their interests in a practical and creative way.

This course will principally take the form of weekly, 2-hour seminars or lectures throughout the course of the semester. Alongside these core sessions, students will be supported by workshops in areas such as editing, sound, camera, and film production management.

The course will cover:
Research development of a creative idea
How to apply creative aspects of filmmaking to the short film format ¿ cinematography, sound, design, editing, for example
How to apply structure and meaning
How to push creative boundaries within practical limitations
How to communicate ideas in written form such as a treatment document/ concept outline, etc
How to effectively present film projects verbally using visual resources
How to collaborate on a creative project and generate ideas
How to project plan in a professional manner to work within time and resource limitations.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements This course is only available to students on a Degree Programme in the School of Design
Additional Costs As the focus of this course is working within available resources, students will be expected to use locations, props and actors that are readily available to them, and thus to shape productions which do not require additional costs.
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting students must have completed at least two practice-based courses that have included the production of a short film. These courses should be similar in form and content to FTV 2A and 2B; 'cinematography', 'working on a film set' and 'exploring film language'.

Visiting students should be prepared to demonstrate this level of competence through a written reference.
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Develop their own film aesthetic through the making of short films.
  2. Demonstrate the ability to resolve project ideas within available resources (such as time and equipment).
  3. Reflect critically upon their decisions as a film practitioner and place your work within a wider context of other filmmaking work, theories of practice and relevant interdisciplinary work.
Reading List
Rabiger, Michael, 2016. Developing Story Ideas: The Power and Purpose of Storytelling, Routledge.

McKee, Robert. 1999. Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting, Methuen Film.

Tarkovsky, Andrei, 1988. Sculpting in Time: Reflections on the Cinema, University of Texas Press.
Bresson, Robert, 2017. Notes on the Cinematograph, New York Review Books Classics (New Edition). First published in 1975.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Communication; collaboration; teamwork; resource-management; script development; project management; film editing; ability to reflect critically upon practice.
Special Arrangements This course is, to a large extent, dependent on the resources of the department - such as the number of cameras, sound equipment and editing stations. This limits the number of student film productions that we are able to support within a given term, and this affects the number of students that can be involved.
KeywordsFilmmaking,short film,hothouse,collaborative practice
Contacts
Course organiserMs Tracey Fearnehough
Tel:
Email: tfearnho@exseed.ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Stella Bray
Tel: (0131 6)51 5926
Email: stella.bray@ed.ac.uk
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