Film and Screenwriting - BA (Hons)

This module introduces students to the creative and critical processes involved in translating narrative from one medium to another. It gives students the opportunity to apply their knowledge of dramatic theory and form through practical work, simultaneously encouraging the development of imaginative screenwriting skills in different genres. Through historical and genre-based case studies, it provides an introduction to ideological and formal questions in the study of adaptation.

The module is an opportunity to learn and critically reflect on the skills of collaboration by enabling you to create an interdisciplinary project with students from complementary disciplines, or with academic staff. Collaboration is a vital employability skill within the Creative Industries and this module allows you to develop these skills, making use of University facilities and with the support of academic staff. Within this module framework, several kinds of collaborative opportunities are available. For example, with the approval of your supervisor, you can determine a project based on your own interests; your supervisor may set you a predetermined project to enable you to work with other students in a way that is appropriate to your subject area; or there may be opportunities for you to collaborate with staff on research projects. In all cases, you must apply your subject skills to an interdisciplinary project which will be agreed in advance with your supervisor.

This module will provide students with an overview of the cultural relevancy of 1970s cinema. Initially exploring the context of the decade and the fragmented nature of film narratives at the time the module will discuss the emergence and demise of ‘American New Wave/New Hollywood’ but also explore further the style, substance and aesthetics of the varying sub-genres of the time as well as the cultural and creative impact they had on both cinematic presentation and other aspects of the media industry.

This module offers an introduction to some of the ongoing academic debates on media fandom and subcultures. This is a broad-ranging topic, and as such in this module it will be primarily be considered from an audience and reception perspective, including your own. You will have opportunities to interrogate your own fan and/or subcultural identity in class and your own participation in fandoms and subcultures will form a part of class discussion and analysis.

The module introduces you to the key debates related to the discipline of the ‘superhero’ film, which has emerged over the last decade to become a dominating factor in all elements of film and media theory.

This module critically evaluates horror narratives in their cultural, historical and generic contexts across both visual and audio traditions, and asks you to analyse how debates in this area impact on creative and production practices in the field.

The purpose of the module is to enable you to undertake a sustained, in-depth and theoretically informed research project exploring an area that is of personal interest to you. It is important that we can support you appropriately, so you will be guided towards choosing a research topic which is relevant to your discipline and in which your lecturers have expertise. The outcome may take the form of a written dissertation or a practice-based portfolio.

This module builds on previous film textual analytical skills and theoretical studies undertaken at previous levels of the course and applies them to the critical, historical and theoretical study of Bollywood cinema (aka popular Hindi cinema) and related cultural industries. This is an option module for all students with an academic interest in the analytical and theoretical field of reading films closely, and will prepare students who wish to develop expertise and knowledge in areas that focus on historical and contemporary issues of culture, diaspora and globalization.

The module introduces you to the key debates related to the study of global cinema traditions, which have emerged over the last twenty years as a distinct aspect of critical interest within film and media theory.

This module builds on the work you have been producing at previous levels of your course by encouraging you to develop innovative and entrepreneurial solutions to recognise professional challenges. It will explore the concept of enterprise in relation to film, exploring what it is like to work as a freelance worker in the contemporary film business. Through a range of teaching approaches, which include interactive lectures, field trips, and guest speakers, you will investigate the techniques, processes and practices of innovation and enterprise.

This module provides an opportunity to engage with and consider films that explore the perspectives and experiences of minority groups in western societies. The module will consider the intersectional barriers faced by those attempting to work within the film industry (both historically and in the current context) as well as the ways in which technology has democratized the form. The core consideration of this module will be who has been excluded from mainstream cinema, or had their work overlooked, and how in the current context this can be addressed. Further to this we will also focus on experimental film and video work and how non-mainstream contexts may provide an alternative place for film practitioners to explore their ideas.

In Writing Short Films, we build on the fundamentals of screenwriting and direct them towards writing the kind of short film scripts that you can produce yourself and might serve as your industry break in. You will also collaborate and make a short film for your assessment, either as a group project or individually. The ethos of the module is to serve as a crash course in screenwriting, film production, smartphone filmmaking and editing.