| CODE | ATS5061 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Short Film | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 80 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Faculty of Arts | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | One of the distinctive traits of the MA in Film Studies is its combination of theory (film analysis, history of cinema, film language, etc) with practice (cinematography, scriptwriting, filmmaking). To reflect this unique combination, students are given the option of either writing a dissertation or submitting a short film. The students who opt for a short film will be able to create an innovative story and to plan its development from the writing of a first draft to its final version. Students who choose to submit a short film shall further be required to submit a written component comprising a synopsis, a production notebook and a treatment of about 20,000 words as well as an outline of all the technical details and the equipment that has been used. The students will also be required to provide a detailed budget and will entirely self-finance their project. The study-unit will be conducted on an individual basis. Tutorials will be held every fortnight to discuss at length the students’ progress. The short film and the written component can adopt a transdisciplinary framework that draws on film studies and other areas such as history and history of art, anthropology and sociology, gender and queer studies as well as popular culture in general. Study-Unit Aims: - To allow students to develop innovative ideas which can provide the basis of a screenplay; - To implement the basic tools on the planning and scripting of a screenplay which were imparted to the students in the compulsory units on scriptwriting; - To give students the opportunity to apply the basic techniques which are required in both the handling of a camera while shooting moving images and the subsequent process of editing; - To guide the students from the first steps of writing the first draft of a script, on to rewriting successive drafts, and then on to actually directing the finished work. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Apply the basic narratorial strategies and techniques of scriptwriting required in the planning and development of a screenplay; - Draw on the various techniques which are required to turn a screenplay into a short film; - Apply a series of visual techniques which are essential tools for screenwriters and filmmakers; - Apply the acquired stylistic knowledge when transforming a screenplay into a short film. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Critically engage with the basic principles of cinematic dramaturgy and characterization techniques; - Create an original story and plan its visualization and its development into a short film in all the necessary stages from the page to the screen; - Create eloquent images in visual storytelling through an effective choice of shots; - Apply the basic elements of cinematography in the shooting of a short film. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: The readings will be determined by the subject or theme under investigation and a reading list will be provided by the supervisor. |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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