MFC6402 - Advanced Short Film Production

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

1 Write, produce and present a 15’ (min) to 20’ (max) short drama film.
2 Produce the film to reflect professional standards
3 Demonstrate skills in presenting the pitch, filming and editing the project.
4 critically evaluate the process and the finished project.

Content:

In this module students have an opportunity to employ the knowledge and technical skills obtained so far through previous module(s), especially MFC5042 (the stated pre-requisite) to produce substantial artefact for their career portfolio. The aim is to produce a short film of between 15’ and 20’ in length. The film may take any form/genre/style but it must not be a documentary (there is already provision for this at L6). This module builds on previous experience and the practice of single camera film production including: briefs, treatments, scripts and storyboards; logistics of location recording; camera crew roles; single camera techniques; editing. This leads to a period of small-group production work, culminating in a presentation of completed films to the whole group and members of an invited audience, followed by critical peer appraisal in preparation for the submission of reports.

Students will identify a specific role: writer, producer, director, camera/cinematographer, sound recordist etc and the written element of the assignment will focus on their chosen role within the production process. In addition, students will be instructed to supply a critical analysis of the finished film, peer/audience assessment data and recommendations for further skills development. Students will also ‘pitch’ their film project to tutors and invited industry personnel prior to commencing production.

Additionally, it is envisaged that supplementary production personnel will be recruited from the L5 Script to Screen cohort should the need/opportunity arise. This will offer L5 students the opportunity to hone their skills and develop as part of a professionally constituted production team, enhancing their technical and logistical abilities which will in turn feed back into their work on MFC5042 and other production work.

Learning and Teaching Information:

This module involves a number of set lecture/workshop sessions and a high level of independent study/work which will be supported by the Module coordinator and module tutors. Regular progress meetings will be scheduled throughout the course of the module.

Lectures/workshops will be based on refreshing students’ existing knowledge with regard to the fundamentals of script-writing, camera work, lighting, and editing/post-production; these sessions will also inlcude more advanced techniques including various editing techniques/styles and the use of sfx.

Lectures/workshops
Contact hours: 20
Number of Groups: 1

Tutorials
Contact hours: 6

Additional Prerequisite information
Successful completion of MFC5042 or evidence of proven skills in the areas of script-writing, camera work and editing/post-production.

Additional Assessment information
All forms of assessment are linked to a single project.
** The pre-production report will include the script but this is exempt of the word count.

Assessment:

001 Pre Production report (Individual) 1 x 1500 words end of sem 1 20%
002 Short Film artifact (Group) 1 x 2500 words equiv (end of sem 2) 40%
003 Evaluative report 1 x 2500 words (end of sem 2) 40%


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