Undergraduate Course: Film and TV 1B: Directing Film Project (DESI08126)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course explores issues of representation and collaboration in practical filmmaking processes. You will be supported in developing a reflective and critical approach to matters of inclusivity within each stage of the filmmaking process from ideas generation, research and development through to group practical work and the realisation of a collaborative project. Through this process, the course will provide opportunities to further develop your understanding of film conventions across fiction and non-fiction storytelling as well as hybrid spaces in-between. |
| Course description |
This course will encourage you to reflect on who you choose to represent in the films you make and how you represent them. It will also support you to consider new ways of working with other production team members in a collaborative and proactive manner. Through filmmaking we have an ability to share or represent our experiences, and we are also able to represent experiences and opinions outside our own. During this course you will develop and explore stories stemming from lived experience and consider ways in which personal creative material and inspiration can interact with the possibilities and conventions of cinematic storytelling and technical production skills and requirements.
A series of 6 2-hour seminars in Weeks 2-4 and 7-9 will explore the links between representation on screen and practical production processes, while also considering the barriers to working in film and ways to overcome these. In tandem with this, 5 3-hour creative workshops or ¿film labs¿ across Weeks 2-5 and 7-10 will develop your skills working with external contributors, responding to the parameters of a production brief, conducting research and carrying out practical work towards the creation of a collaborative film. Additionally, 5 3-hour technical workshops in Weeks 1-3 and 7-9, will equip you with applied skills to successfully carry out group production work. A 4-hour critique session or ¿work-in-progress screening¿ in Week 5-6 and a 2-hour critique session in Week 10-11 will support the development and editing process of your film project.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | Students MUST also take:
Film and TV 1A: Introduction to Film-making (DESI08127)
|
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | This course is only available to students on the Film and Television Degree Programme in the School of Design. |
| Additional Costs | This Course does not require any additional costs to be met by the Student.
|
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: 28 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 12,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 30,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 4,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
148 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
This course has 2 assessment components.
1) Interview Material, 2-3 minute clips and full transcript, 40%, Week 5-6 assessed equally against Learning Outcomes 1 and 2.
2) Short Film, 3-5 minutes, 60%, May exam diet assessed equally against Learning Outcome 1,2 and 3.
Further information:
1) Interview Material: An individual interview which aims to gather real story, experience or opinion to guide your future film project. Submission should include edited excerpts and a full transcript.
2) Short Film: A collaborative film that builds on the initial interview process. Audio or visual material from the interview could be directly incorporated into the film, or it may serve as central inspiration.
Resit Information
The resit arrangements for this course are as follows.
- The resit task for assessment component 1 is an interview, 2-3 minute clips and full transcript.
- The resit task for assessment component 2 is a short film, 3-5 minutes.
Students will receive further resit information as per University regulations where necessary.
|
| Feedback |
Formative Feedback
You will receive formative feedback in various forms throughout the course including group tutorials, work-in-progress reviews, screenings and critiques. Feedback will primarily be given verbally during each session, arising from dialogue with tutors as well as your peers and will be tailored to the development of your project in Weeks 5-6 and Weeks 10-11. This formative feedback will guide the direction and realization of your individual and group film work in support of your final summative submissions.
Summative Feedback
You will receive individual written feedback and grades on summative submissions, which will be provided via LEARN VLE following university regulations. This will be written by course tutors working in conjunction with the course organiser. Feedback on submissions will inform your future filmmaking and wider collaborative endeavours, helping you to develop technical proficiencies and skills in communication, organisation, self-reflection and creative decision making.
Summative feedback will be provided according to University regulations. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate originality or creativity in the application of filmmaking conventions and technical skills.
- Identify the relevance of representation, inclusion and equality practices in filmmaking and productively apply these during your creative work.
- Employ effective collaboration, organisation and communication skills to successfully complete a group film project following a set brief.
|
Reading List
Bricca, Jacob. (2023) How Documentaries Work. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cizek, Katerina, and Uricchio, William. (2022) Collective Wisdom: Co-Creating Media for Equity and Justice. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Hooks, Bell. (2008) Reel to Real: Race, Class and Sex at the Movies. Abingdon: Routledge.
Landers, Rachel. (2023) Hybrid Documentary and Beyond. Abingdon: Routledge.
Rascaroli, Laura. (2009) The Personal Camera: Subjective Cinema and the Essay Film. New York: Columbia University Press.
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Outlook and engagement:
Exploring issues of diversity, equity and representation in your film practice will prompt engagement with key issues and injustices facing contemporary society. Similarly, drawing on lived experience during the development of your collaborative project will help to connect your creative work to the world around you and broaden cultural awareness.
Communication:
During the production of a collaborative film project, you will develop new approaches to interpersonal communication and effective teamwork. Developing and researching your project while working with participants external to the course will also support you to become a more effective communicator with a greater awareness of the context of your work. |
| Keywords | Film,Filmmaking,visual storytelling |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Ms Tracey Fearnehough
Tel:
Email: tfearnho@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Hollie Gilligan
Tel:
Email: hgilliga@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage