This module aims to consolidate the knowledge, craft skills and experience gained during previous levels of study by providing opportunities to develop advanced skills and expertise in your chosen subject specialism - with the final output of a professional film or television product for your showreel and an accompanying dissertation.

You will pursue a practical piece of work, agreed, and aided by your supervisor, within the realm of the technological and creative aspects of film, television, and animation. You can personalise learning by extending your knowledge and craft skills in the specific aspect you wish to pursue in industry. You are expected to identify the internal and external expertise and specialist individuals you require to contextualise and improve the quality of your work.

You will carry out research, generate ideas and solve problems, all of which must be intellectually challenging, demanding and underpinned by a strong emphasis on the development of advanced practical ability in your chosen discipline. The completed digital film product will accompany the dissertation, and may be supported by annotated pre-production work, practical testing and/or a reflective blog citing key learning and project developments.

ASSESSMENT ONE: NEGOTIATED DISSERTATION

A Negotiated Dissertation (3,500 words) to demonstrate critical research and academic rigour within the negotiated field of study.

LOs (Learning Outcomes): 1, 4 & 5 50%.

ASSESSMENT TWO: DIGITAL FILM PRODUCT

A completed Digital Film Product may be supported by annotated pre-production work, practical testing and/or a reflective blog citing key learning and project developments

LOs (Learning Outcomes): 1-3 50%.

Learning strategies are grounded in a student-centred approach, utilising project-based experiential learning, and authentic assessment. You will have the freedom to determine the technical and creative treatment of the digital film product, negotiating the project goals with your Supervisor to ensure the project can be resourced and will meet the learning outcomes of the module.

Creative Industry practitioners and departmental staff will offer differing expertise and perspectives, aimed to challenge, extend, stimulate, and inspire your learning and practice. Your Supervisor will support your learning and help you to reflect upon and develop your practice, recommending personalised reading lists appropriate to your field of study. You will be actively encouraged to critique your work, documenting your personal and professional learning and development through a reflective blog. Your learning will also be supported by wider university staff, including specialist help to support research and study skills.

Seminars will introduce the fundamental principles of academic research methods, dissertation structure and project planning.

Workshops will provide research exercises, opportunities to share expertise and support the development of reflective industry practice.

Technical Instruction provides hands on experience with professional camera, audio and lighting equipment and specialist studio and post-production facilities.

Guest Speakers will provide context to working methodologies in the film and television industry and give an insight into specific film technologies and disciplines.

Studio & Location fieldwork will provide experiential learning, enabling you to apply creative, technical, and theoretical skills to an authentic film project.

Project Supervisor (Lecturer) will oversee your project and experiments through weekly 30-minute meetings. You will be required to meet negotiated project milestones, which may be hyper personal depending on your project goals. You will receive regular formative feedback on your digital film product development and employability skills.

1. Demonstrate a systematic understanding of the key principles of a negotiated area of study through undertaking a significant body of research to inform the planning of a digital film product.
Knowledge and Understanding.

2. Apply advanced digital production and/or post-production techniques to the creative and technical execution of a professional digital film product.
Application.

3. Critically evaluate the creative, technical, and logistical practices and products of digital film work and show autonomy and self-direction in applying reflective learning to your negotiated film product. Reflection.

4. Describe and comment upon current research in the negotiated area of study and critically analyse arguments and abstract concepts to inform your production and/or post production methodologies. Analysis
5. Demonstrate an understanding of the uncertainty, ambiguity, and limits of knowledge to recommend further areas for development.
Learning.

Portable video and audio recording equipment
Specialist post-production suite - Editing, sound mixing, colour grading
Film studio, set flats, green screen, and lighting
E-library books and journals
Microsoft Teams digital learning environment.
LinkedIn Learning
Academic Study Skills Tutors

Due to the emphasis on individually negotiated projects, students are expected to identify appropriate sources of research, which will be guided by the project Supervisor (Lecturer).

Cottrell, S. (2015) Skills For Success: Personal Development and Employability. 3rd Ed. Palgrave Macmillan

Day, T. (2013) Success in Academic Writing. Palgrave Macmillan

Hansen, A. & Machin, D. (2013) Media and Communication Research Methods, London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Robson, C (2014) How to do a research project: a guide for undergraduate students. 2nd Ed. John Wiley

This module aims to consolidate the knowledge, craft skills and experience gained during previous levels of study by providing opportunities to develop advanced skills and expertise in your chosen subject specialism - with the final output of a professional film or television product for your showreel and an accompanying dissertation.