Undergraduate Course: FTV 3C: Sustainability in Film (DESI10154)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course supports students to address the important subject of sustainability in film and in turn how this might influence their own practice. Students taking this course will analyse how environmental issues are represented on screen and examine the carbon footprint of film in pre-production, production, and post-production. Students will consider a range of issues of sustainability within these different stages of production, including waste, use of sustainable materials and the resources needed to light and heat a set. Students explore new guidelines and available tools to improve sustainability in film production, such as carbon calculators and industry guides. The course encourages students to reflect on sustainability within their own practice. |
| Course description |
The course, taught through a range of lectures and seminars, examines cinematic representations of the environment and environmental crisis and the carbon footprint resulting from film production. Through a range of film screenings and personal exploration, students will also critically analyse a variety of films that demonstrate how climate change and environmental destruction can affect the social fabric and livelihoods of communities.
Additionally, the course will also introduce the ways that environmental issues intersect with questions of diversity and decolonisation, and exploring alternative film approaches in response to the present environmental crisis. Within the course, students will also consider the environmental consequences of aesthetic choices and modes of production in the process of filmmaking.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 6,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 14,
Formative Assessment Hours 2,
Summative Assessment Hours 1,
Other Study Hours 8,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
165 )
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| Additional Information (Learning and Teaching) |
Other Study Hours
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Each Component of Assessment is assessed against all Learning Outcomes.
Weighting of Components of Assessment:
25% group presentation
75% essay
Formative assessment students submit an essay outline on key areas of sustainability in film production and how this affects their own practice for assessment mid-semester.
Summative assessment students submit:
A short (5-10 minutes) group presentation on Film and Sustainability, addressing current challenges and key concepts.
An essay on key areas of sustainability in film production and how this affects their own practice (2000 words). |
| Feedback |
Written formative feedback will be given on LEARN within 15 working days after submission of mid-semester formative assignments.
Written feedback will be given on LEARN within 15 working days after summative submission. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate, through documentation, an understanding of key concepts with regard to onscreen representations of the environment and environmental crisis.
- Evidence a critical understanding of ongoing developments, such as new industry guidelines and use of sustainable materials, in the field of sustainability in film making.
- Conduct and document independent research and critical analysis into film, addressing sustainability and representations of the environment.
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Reading List
A reading list will be provided through LEARN containing different articles and book chapters.
Some key texts are:
Bozak, Nadia: The Cinematic Footprint: Lights, Camera, Natural Resources. Rutgers University Press, 2012.
Gustafsson, Tommy and Pietari Kääpä: Transnational Ecocinema. Film Culture in an Era of Ecological Transformation. Intellect Ltd, 2013.
Kääpä, Pietari: Environmental Management of the Media: Policy, Industry, Practice. Routledge, 2018.
Cubitt, Sean: Introduction to Finite Media: Environmental Implications of Digital Media. Duke University Press, 2017
Bieniek-Tobasco, Ashley, Sabrina McCormick, Rajiv N. Rimal, Cherise B. Harrington, Madelyn Shafer and Hina Shaikh: Communicating climate change through documentary film: imagery, emotion, and efficacy. Climatic Change 154 (2019): 1-18.
Pick, Anat and Guinevere Narraway (eds.): Screening Nature. Cinema beyond the human. Berghahn, New York / Oxford, 2013. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Understand key concepts with regards to the representation of the environment in different media
Understand aspects of sustainability in the context of production of creative work in audiovisual media.
Undertake independent research into aspects of sustainability.
Critical analysis and evaluation of different audiovisual media.
Effectively communicate independent research through verbal and written forms. |
| Keywords | Cinema,Film Practice,Sustainability,Environment |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Alex Nevill
Tel:
Email: anevill@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Aidan Cole
Tel: (0131 6)50 2306
Email: acole33@ed.ac.uk |
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