Undergraduate Course: Film and TV 2A: Exploring Film Language (DESI08132)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course explores practical and historical relationships between cinema and other art forms. You will engage with interdisciplinary and experimental approaches to filmmaking beyond conventional modes of production. Research, analysis and exploration of wider art-forms will conceptually and technically inform your creative approaches and contextual understanding of filmmaking. |
| Course description |
The course will embolden you to research and utilise other art forms to both conceptually and technically inform your filmmaking practice and further develop your creative voice. Specific film examples featuring interdisciplinary processes will be analysed to assist you in building theoretical and applied understanding of cinema¿s artistic context. Examples will include a range of international independent filmmakers and experimental artists who utilise painting, still photography, collage, animation, glasswork, video games (machinima) and computer-generated imagery or other creative disciplines within their film practice. Throughout the course, you will work toward an individual boundary-pushing film, sharing progress on your project with peers and tutors and obtaining regular formative feedback through group discussion and critiques. You will also document and analyse your practical experimentation and independent research toward a summative reflective journal submission.
Cinema has a rich artistic heritage and 8 2-hour seminars across Weeks 1-4 and 6-9 will explore the myriad ways that artistic and technological innovations have helped to shape cinematic language. Alongside this, a series of 4 3-hour practical workshops in Weeks 2-4 and 6-8 will support you to explore new film techniques beyond mainstream conventions. Tutorials in Weeks 5 and 10 will offer individual guidance and feedback on your practice. Work-in-progress screenings in Weeks 5-6 and 10-11 will provide further feedback to shape the development and realisation of your final film.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| 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 requires additional costs to be met by the Student.
Travel and Accommodation: There are travel costs associated with filming.
Equipment and software: Most equipment and software required will be provided by the School, but student will be expected to provide some specialist equipment, such as buying USB sticks and Compact Flash Cards. Total costs should not exceed £ 30.00.
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Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 33 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 12,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 8,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
154 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
This course has 2 assessment components.
1) Short Film, 3-5 minutes, 40%, May exam diet. Assessed equally against Learning Outcomes 1 and 2
2) Research Journal, 10-15 pages, 60%, May exam diet. Assessed equally against Learning Outcomes 1 and 3
Further information:
1) Short Film: An individual short film which challenges conventional modes of production and has been conceptually and technically informed by at least one other visual artwork.
2) Research Journal: A reflective research journal documenting your creative process and decision making during the film project, including the relevance of interdisciplinary ideas and the film¿s artistic context.
Resit Information
The resit arrangements for this course are as follows.
- The resit task for assessment component 1 is a short film, 3-5 minutes.
- The resit task for assessment component 2 is a research journal, 10-15 pages.
Students will receive further resit information as per University regulations where necessary.
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| Feedback |
Formative Feedback:
Feedback is regularly communicated through the course. This takes several forms, including verbal discussion of your research journal during tutorials in Weeks 5 and 10 where rough work and ideas are discussed with tutors. Formative feedback will be given on your short film project during work-in-progress screenings in Weeks 5-6 and 10-11. This will be also delivered verbally through critique and discussion with course tutors alongside verbal peer feedback from fellow students.
Summative Feedback:
You will receive individual written feedback and grades on summative submissions, which will be provided via LEARN VLE as per university regulations. This will be written by course tutors working in conjunction with the course organiser. Feedback on your submissions will inform future filmmaking endeavours and your wider artistic projects, helping you to develop research approaches, creative skills and reflective experimentation.
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:
- Utilise a theoretical understanding of film in an artistic context as well as interdisciplinary ideas to develop their creative practice.
- Identify and draw on non-conventional modes of production and new practical techniques to achieve a desired film form and aesthetic.
- Communicate and reflect on their experimentation, research and creative decision-making within a practical filmmaking process.
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Reading List
Deren, Maya. (1946). An Anagram of Ideas on Art Form and Film. New York: Alicat Book Shop Press.
Dorsky, Nathaniel. (2014). Devotional Cinema. Berkeley: Small Press Distribution.
MacDonald, Scott. (2002). The Garden in the Machine. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Ramey, Kathryn. (2016). Experimental Filmmaking: Break the Machine. Abingdon: Routledge.
Tarkovsky, Andrei. (1988). Sculpting in Time: Reflection on the Cinema. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Vache, Angela. (1996). Cinema and Painting: How Art is Used in Film. Austin: University of Texas Press.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Research and enquiry:
Through practical experimentation in film and reflective writing compiled in your research journal, you will build independence , critical thinking and the ability to articulate complex ideas across artistic disciplines.
Personal effectiveness:
During the creation of your individual short film, you will engage in interdisciplinary thinking that will advance your collaborative skills, ability to manage resources effectively and adaptability in production environments.
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| Keywords | Cinema,Film Production,Film Studies,Film Language |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr David Cairns
Tel:
Email: dcairns3@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Hollie Gilligan
Tel:
Email: hgilliga@ed.ac.uk |
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