BA Film and Media module descriptions
Core courses
- Media Analysis aims to introduce you to skills of analysing and reading media texts. It will also introduce key concepts and debates in contemporary theories of interpretation and representation. Using the representation of the family as a focus, you will be introduced to ideas of the social construction of meaning, ideology and discourse. Texts studied will include British and Hollywood film, British television and press, advertising and radio. The course objectives are to develop the ability to apply a range of different methodologies to the analysis of print, visual and aural texts, and an awareness of the fundamental theoretical questions that have arisen in debates on textual representation.
- Introduction to Cinema is designed to develop your skills in analysing film language. Study of a range of different kinds of film: mainstream popular narrative film, non-Hollywood art films, avant garde films, documentary films, films from non-European cultures will develop a general understanding of industrial conditions and film theory.
Level 1 course options
- The Press in Britain will examine the relationship between changes in the press and wider political, social and economic changes in society. Students will be introduced to the analysis of newspaper forms and to patterns of ownership and control through case studies.
- Introduction to Television introduces you to the history of television in the context of broadcasting from radio to satellite, cable and digital transmission. Case studies will consider the conditions of production, distribution and exhibition of television products. You will develop skills in the textual analysis of the televisual image and consider broadcasting institutions within the broader concept of public service, ownership and globalisation. Basic practical sessions complement the theoretical work.
- Introduction to Journalism introduces you to the role of freelance journalists in the print media, enabling you to acquire basic journalistic skills through writing exercises, presentations and discussions. Cultural and ethical issues will be addressed. Interview skills, working from transcripts and writing for specialised markets will also be included.
- Introduction to Screenwriting covers the skills and techniques needed to create an effective script. Ideas, formats, story, characterisation, structure, conflict, plot, scene, atmosphere, dialogue, visual style, sub-text, rhythm, pace and structure will be explored and analysed. You will be encouraged to develop professional writing habits.
- Introduction to Multimedia aims to give you a thorough appreciation of the development, history and future of multimedia technology. It will introduce you to the technical skills needed in the manipulation of text and images and to the theory concerning the psychology of communication, to the notions of representation and to the impact of design. You must have basic IT skills and be familiar with Windows.
Level 2 courses
Core courses: You must complete a minimum of two of the following core courses
- Media and Society builds on the work done at Level 1 on the study of film, television, radio and the press. It examines the relationship between media forms and the society which produces them. A major focus will be approaches to realism in the media. Case studies will introduce debates on the representation of social groups, media influences and effects, spectator pleasure and popular culture.
- Film: Narrative and Genre builds on work done at Level 1 and examines the context of film production, the interaction between industrial and legislative structures, creativity and film texts. A major focus will be on the theories of genre, audience and the creation and interpretation of narratives.
- Approaches to Cinema History aims to introduce key issues of the history of cinema through five case studies which will allow different methodologies and approaches to be studied in depth. Areas to be explored include the impact of technology, film and media industries, cultural and institutional history of film and cinema as history.
Group A courses
Before taking a Level 2 course from this group you must have taken the two Level 1 compulsory courses, plus one other at Level 1.
- Television: Narrative and Genre extends the work of Level 1 through screenings, discussions and simple practical work to the context of television production, focussing on the theories of genre, audience, representation, the creation and interpretation of meaning and debates around popular culture.
- Journalism and Politics explores the politics of the UK press, in particular how political news is shaped and presented, and how certain aspects of the press attract different kinds of politically-motivated responses. Thus the course is divided into two parts, and as well as looking at mainstream newspapers in Part 1, we will explore in Part 2 specific political issues in relation to case studies (for example, the alternative press, the satirical press and pornographic publications).
- Globalisation and Media Cultures explores the ways in which the media have been the vehicles, as well as the objects, of an ongoing transformation of social life. Case studies drawn from the media industries will explore, illustrate and critique theoretical approaches to globalisation and show the accelerating process of globalisation played by media and communications.
- World Cinema introduces you to films from what is now, loosely called ‘World Cinema’, that is films from outside Europe and North America and those from the postcolonial diaspora. You will explore the context in which this cinema is produced and consumed and gain an introduction to issues of cultural identity, aesthetic and political strategies involved in artistic choices. You will deal with theoretical accounts which have sought to understand the position of ‘World Cinema’.
- Gender and Sexuality in Cinema examines current debates around the representation of gender and sexuality in the media and provides an understanding of the inter-relationships of concepts of gender and representation. Case studies may include the historical contexts of feminist media theories, recent work on the construction of masculinity in the media, films by women, the treatment of the body and sexual identity.
- Documentary will look at the history of documentary: its precedents, emergence and impact. The course will explore the definition of the genre when the types of films which come under this umbrella term are so stylistically different from each other. It will look at the ideals and beliefs motivating its practitioners and analyse the way in which its representational practices and modes of address to its audiences distinguish it from fiction film.
- Television Drama will examine in depth a staple genre of British television, the television drama. From a brief historical overview the course will go on to consider recent examples of this form of programming, book adaptations and political thrillers in order to define the genre and its preoccupations. You will be encouraged to develop skills in analysis of texts and primary and secondary sources of evidence and in the presentation of critical arguments.
- Recent Developments in European Cinema offers an opportunity of working on European cinema in its cultural, industrial, social and political context, making connections between films produced by different nations. The impact of the EU’s MEDIA programme, the interaction between cinema and other media institutions and the European contribution to film aesthetics and criticism will be explored. (Year 4 only)
Group B courses
- Screenwriting Workshop: Structure and Technique builds on the skills introduced at Level 1. You will develop an understanding of the construction of complex narratives through visual communication, dialogue, characterisation, plot and how to communicate ideas in narrative form. The teaching format will be the workshop development of ideas and scripts. (Introduction to Screenwriting is a pre-requisite for this course)
- Journalism: Interview Skills and Feature Writing will enable you to practise identifying markets and formats and writing to specific briefs. You will practise interview techniques and the construction of research portfolios for use in feature articles and will develop more complex writing skills. (Introduction to Journalism is a pre-requisite for this course)
- Multimedia 2 Building on Introduction to Multimedia, this course will develop skills of communication in multimedia form through a simple web design project and the study of information architecture and the impact of visual forms. (Introduction to Multimedia is a pre-requisite for this course.)
- Multimedia 3 You progress to communicate ideas and images in more complex multimedia form. Skills of teamwork and the ability to assess critically the effectiveness of products and designs will be further developed. (Multimedia 2 is a pre-requisite for this course)
- Screenwriting 3 develops your screenwriting skills at levels of greater complexity and in work of greater length. Through addressing the forms and formats of the TV series, students would be given the task of developing ideas, narratives, themes and characters of being sustained over a six-episode structure and of presenting a six-episode script in professional form. (Screenwriting Workshop: Structure and Technique is a pre-requisite for this course)
- Broadcast Journalism builds on Introduction to Journalism and aims to examine in greater depth the practical and theoretical aspects of news broadcasting. The course will study the practices and products of radio and television journalism in Britain, the global implications of news-gathering and the ideology of professional media practice. A short, simulated radio production will develop skills of interviewing, editing and editorial technique, and the ability to work in a team. By the end of the course you will have an understanding of broadcast news production processes, of the structures of the media and the ideological impact on the production and distribution of news, and the ability to analyse broadcast news critically. (Year 4 only, Introduction to Journalism is a pre-requisite for this course)
The project
- In your final year, you will be required to submit a dissertation of between 6,000 and 8,000 words on a topic of your choice. Guidance about selecting an appropriate topic and supervisor will be given in the summer term of your third year. Equivalents of the dissertation can take the form of a complete feature film script, or television drama script, an in-depth journalistic investigation, a complex multimedia project, accompanied by a critical evaluation of the creative choices made and the process of communicating them.
