MA by Research Film, Theatre and Television

Title:

Dissertation or Practical Project

Code:

FTMDPP

Convenor:

PROF Lucia Nagib

Summary:

The Dissertation or Practical Project module constitutes a major element in the assessment profile of the degree and enables students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in Film/Television or Theatre through an extended project focussing on a particular critical or theoretical issue or subject. The module can be taken in two different directions: (1) a written dissertation of 25,000-30,000 words, (2) a practical project (either a performance of c. 35-45 minutes in length with contextualising critical reflective material of 10,000 words for those on the Theatre Pathway or a film of 20-30 mins for those on the Film/Television Pathway) with contextualising critical reflective material of 10,000 words.

Assessment Method:

Dissertation 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Adaptations Across Stage and Screen

Code:

FTMAD

Convenor:

DR Tonia Kazakopoulou

Summary:

You will explore contemporary practices of adaptation in performance and on screen through a series of creative experiments and case study analyses. Concurrently, the module will enable students to examines the politics and the disruptive potential of adaptation as a process. Areas of exploration may include: relocating narratives in time and space, Intercultural adaptation, queer adaptations, cultural appropriation, transposing stories across form and genre, retelling stories. You will be able to specialise in the discipline of your choice (film, theatre, television), thinking about adaptation in relation the particular area of practice that interests you. 

This module is taught twice to two different cohorts of students - first in the Autumn term and then repeated in the Spring term.  The 200 contact hours are listed for the first iteration of teaching in the Autumn term, and these same contact hours are repeated for the second iteration of teaching in the Spring term.

Assessment Method:

Practical 60%, Oral 20%, Portfolio 20%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Exploring Screen Practices

Code:

FTMESP

Convenor:

DR Tonia Kazakopoulou

Summary:

This module enables students to develop new and enhance existing skills in screen media-related practice by responding to one or more briefs and practical exercises. These short projects are responsive to ‘real jobs’ stimuli, are anchored in the study of particular dimensions of film, television or other screen media forms and in the critical/theoretical study of films and programmes. Flexibility and responsiveness to emerging industry developments is a key attribute of this module. The projects are supported by appropriate technical workshops and masterclasses, while the creative process and the finished work are guided though class discussion and structured critical reflection. The module works best when knowledges from across the course are used in synergy with Exploring Screen Practices.

Assessment Method:

Set exercise 5%, Portfolio 95%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Film Programming and Film Festivals

Code:

FTMFF

Convenor:

PROF Lucia Nagib

Summary:

This is a team-taught module, drawing both on representatives from the industry and on strength across the university. Through a dynamic combination of seminars, workshops and group projects, the module will equip students with advanced knowledge of modes of programming arthouse, alternative and experimental venues, as well as organising film festivals. Film festivals work as an effective (and sometimes unfair) filter of the kind of world cinema distributed to commercial and alternative venues around the world. Winners of Cannes, Venice and Berlin will almost certainly find worldwide distribution, as opposed to thousands of other films, which will run through minor festival circuits in the hope of accessing smaller or niche venues and audiences. Film festivals (such as Sundance, Rotterdam and others) are also closely connected with funding systems for independent filmmakers, who will format their projects with a view to satisfying their requirements. Understanding how both film festivals and film programming work is hence key to understanding the kind of world cinema we watch.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 40%, Portfolio 60%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Scriptwriting for Stage and Screen

Code:

FTMSSS

Convenor:

DR Lucy Tyler

Summary:

No creative practitioner can make an outstanding screen or stage production without advanced knowledge of storytelling. This is a practice module in which you will create original scripts.  Learning in this module develops your critical understanding of key storytelling issues such as narrative, character, dialogue, and place.  Scriptwriting practice will include both individual and collaborative forms of writing and rewriting. You will engage with discourses around scriptwriting emerging from both theatre pedagogy and screenwriting studies, including projects for decolonising stage and screen writing traditions.    

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Television: Exploring Fictional Worlds

Code:

FTMTFW

Convenor:

DR Tonia Kazakopoulou

Summary:

This module explores the immersive nature of television fiction storytelling in both long-form and limited construction. Television’s fictional worlds can span years, shifting and changing across their lifetimes or be told in their entirety over a short serial. They are constructed and explored through creative decisions pertaining to the use of camera, performance, post-production, etc. Through a set of case studies we will explore a selection of programme in depth, each covered in two to three weeks of teaching. Looking at a selection of episodes (or a whole run for short serials) we will explore these fictional worlds from different angles, which can include aesthetics, storytelling, social and cultural contexts, marketing and distribution, audiences and fandom, production and industry contexts. Genres may include but are not limited to telefantasy, soap, melodrama, crime drama, period drama (these are subject to change based on staffing availability). 

This module is taught twice to two different cohorts of students - first in the Autumn term and then repeated in the Spring term.  The 200 contact hours are listed for the first iteration of teaching in the Autumn term, and these same contact hours are repeated for the second iteration of teaching in the Spring term. 

Assessment Method:

Assignment 80%, Oral 20%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

World Cinema: Creative Peaks

Code:

FTMWCC

Convenor:

PROF Lucia Nagib

Summary:

‘World Cinema: Creative Peaks’ looks at film history and geography through a democratic and inclusive approach. Rather than separating Hollywood from the rest of the world, it frames World Cinema as a polycentric phenomenon with peaks of creation in different places and periods. Instead of establishing primacies and hierarchies, it identifies common tropes and cross-pollinations beyond national and cultural borders. Focusing on new realist movements and new waves from around the world, the module will analyse productions from France, Germany, Japan, Brazil, Iran, as well as from the Inuit and other indigenous populations, demonstrating how they compare and inter-relate. 

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.