Undergraduate Course: FTV 4A: Film Project Research and Development (DESI10152)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 40 |
ECTS Credits | 20 |
| Summary | This course enables and supports students to collectively explore, research and develop a variety of aspects of a short film project proposal which can be approached from a range of film specialisations, including documentary, experimental or fiction. This will result in the final submission of a film proposal, which is required to confirm to industry standards and be presented in a professional format. |
| Course description |
On this course, students will explore, research and develop a range of aspects of a short film development project , leading to a final project proposal. Students will research and address a range of criteria and approaches including genre, style, tone and structure.
Course seminars and workshops will reflect standard industry practice in Screenwriting Labs, Documentary Development Programmes, and Writing Studios. These sessions will provide key opportunities for peer-to-peer feedback during the project development process and students will practice industry skills in collaboration and communication of projects throughout the course.
Students will work in small teams, researching and developing short film project proposals. Research and development processes will be expressed in a range of forms including storyboard, visual and sonic mood-boards and written project proposals, which will include initial plans for production of film projects including technical considerations and constraint analysis, encouraging students to explore and integrate production limitations in the development process.
Students are expected to prepare collaboratively in preparation for the bi-weekly group tutorials, and to read and prepare in advance of the weekly seminars.
The course will be delivered through 7 x 3 hours seminars, 3 x 3 hour workshops, 6 x 30 minute tutorials (per group)
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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 does not require any additional costs to be met by the Student. |
| Additional Costs | This Course does not require any additional costs to be met by the Student. |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
400
(
Lecture Hours 5,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 24,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 15,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Formative Assessment Hours 1,
Summative Assessment Hours 1,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 8,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
344 )
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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
Group presentation: up to 15 minutes, 40%, week 9, assessed against Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 4. Learning Outcomes are equally weighted. Group assessed.
Individual Portfolio, 60% December exam diet, assessed against Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 4. `Learning Outcomes are equally weighted. Individually assessed.
Further information:
Component 1 communicates key creative, logistical and technical processes and condenses the final project proposal in the form of a recorded group verbal presentation of up to 15 minutes, supported by materials appropriate for each project.
Component 2 is an individual research portfolio, curated into a 15-20 page written and visual document that documents and evidences the processes from the perspective of your individual role in the project¿s research and development. For example, this could include a script or detailed treatment in the case of a documentary or experimental film, camera plans, production strategies, sound, music composition and design plans. |
| Feedback |
Formative Feedback:
In week 6 students will present a formative presentation of their collaborative projects and will be given verbal feedback by the course organiser and tutors. This feedback will inform further development work towards the summative feedback.
In addition, students will be given verbal feedback in class by their tutor and external partner where appropriate and students will be expected to record this feedback.
Further formative feedback is regularly provided throughout the duration of the course by way of informal cohort-wide discussion. Active peer-to-peer feedback is also encouraged.
Summative Feedback
Summative feedback will be provided in writing by the course organiser and tutors following each submission. The summative feedback for component 1 will feed directly into component 2.
Students will receive individual written feedback and grades according to university regulations. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Document collective research into different aspects of film, such as film genre, film history, and wider cinematic artistic conventions to contextualise one¿s own work.
- Collaboratively develop a creative project through critical analysis of form and aesthetics.
- Communicate conceptual and technical processes in a professional manner through a variety of forms.
- Evidence critical awareness of practical execution that anticipates and addresses the material, technical and collaborative constraints of production.
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Reading List
Yorke, John (2014). Into The Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them. London: Penguin Books
Lynch, David (2006) Catching the Big Fish: Mediation, Consciousness, and Creativity. New York: Tarcher
Katz, Steven D (1991) Film Directing Shot by Shot: Visualizing from Concept to Screen. Michael Wiese Productions
Potter, Cherry (2001) Screen Language: From Film Writing to Film Making. Bloomsbury
Barnwell, Jane (2016) Production Design for Screen: Visual Storytelling in Film and Television. London: Fairchild Books
Mackendrick, Alexander (2005) On Film making: An Introduction to the Craft of the Director. Edited by Paul Cronin. New York: Faber and Faber
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Conducting collective research is useful practice for developing and researching film projects in small teams.
Collaboration: researching a film proposal as a group will help students learn from each other and build positive working relationships
Critical analysis of form and aesthetics is a necessary skill for creating and expressing film project proposals
Presentation: by creating pitch decks, mood boards, film scripts and treatments, essential skills are developed for communicating project proposals. |
| Keywords | Film,Research,Project Development |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Ms Kate Swan
Tel:
Email: kswan@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Hollie Gilligan
Tel:
Email: hgilliga@ed.ac.uk |
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