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FTR2001 Short Film Production

Semester 2, 2020 On-campus Springfield
Short Description: Short Film Production
Units : 1
Faculty or Section : Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts
School or Department : School of Creative Arts
Student contribution band : Band 1
ASCED code : 100701 - Audio Visual Studies
Grading basis : Graded

Staffing

Examiner:

Requisites

Pre-requisite: FTR2006 or FTR2003 or MEA2003

Other requisites

Students will require access to e-mail and have internet access to UConnect for this course.

Rationale

This course allows students to explore the visual and aural storytelling process by learning how to develop and produce a short film from script to screen. Beginning with a history of dramatic cinema students move into an exploration of the roles and responsibilities of a film crew and how to prepare a script for production.

Students are introduced to the history of the short film and its strong relevance to both the feature film and it position in the careers of many filmmakers. They will then learn specific short film production techniques in pre-production, production and post-production. Through both individual and team work students will be involved in the production of a short film which will act as an instrument in improving their filmmaking and storytelling abilities.

Many of the skills and techniques learnt in previous foundation courses will be used to enable this.
This course will enhance student’s knowledge and skills so that they can then be utilised in other higher level production courses.

Synopsis

This course develops and enhances students' media production skills in the areas of pre-production, production and post-production as they conceptualise and produce a short narrative television project of their own choosing in the medium of video. Projects may be delivered in a variety of pre-arranged formats. Emphasis will be placed on projects recorded on location although there are opportunities for studio-based production.

Objectives

On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

  1. have demonstrated communication skills appropriate to the profession by enhancing their scriptwriting abilities (TOL 2 & TOL 3);
  2. have conceptualised a project and undertaken all necessary media production professional procedures to ensure its completion (TOL 4 & TOL 5);
  3. have experience working with a range of technical equipment in media production (TOL 1 & TOL 3);
  4. understand the correct and professional processes of producing a media project including the demonstration of management, interpersonal and teamwork skills (Tol 3, TOL 4 & TOL 5);
  5. have experience in linear and non-linear post-production techniques (TOL 1);
  6. have demonstrated academic and professional literacy, creativity and problem-solving skills as part of conceptualising and completing a project (Tol 3, TOL 4 & TOL 5).

Topics

Description Weighting(%)
1. The history of the narrative film and its genres 10.00
2. Conceptualising a short narrative project 10.00
3. Stages in the short narrative project production sequence including script development 20.00
4. Production planning, form and content 20.00
5. Project production 20.00
6. Project post-production 20.00

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2020&sem=02&subject1=FTR2001)

Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)

Levy, F 2004, Short films 101, Perigee Books, New York.

Reference materials

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.
Block, B 2008, The visual story: creating the visual structure of film, TV and digital media, 2nd edn, Focal Press, Boston.
Cowgill, LJ 2005, Writing short films: structure and content for screenwriters, 2nd edn, Lone Eagle Publishing Company, Los Angeles.
Kenworthy, C 2006, Digital video production cookbook: 100 professional techniques for independent and amateur filmmakers, O'Reilly Media, Sebastopol, CA.
Levy, E 1994, Making a winning short: how to write, direct edit and produce a short film, Henry Holt and Company, New York.

Student workload expectations

Activity Hours
Directed ¾«¶«´«Ã½app 39.00
Independent ¾«¶«´«Ã½app 121.00

Assessment details

Description Marks out of Wtg (%) Due Date Notes
PROJECT PITCH 100 10 29 Jul 2020
PRODUCTION SCRIPT 100 20 05 Aug 2020
GROUP PROJECT 100 50 23 Oct 2020
PRODUCTION DIARY 100 20 23 Oct 2020

Important assessment information

  1. Attendance requirements:
    It is the students’ responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. Students must attend and complete the requirements of the Workplace Health and Safety training program for this course where required

  2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
    To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks.

  3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
    Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4)

  4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
    To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.

  5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
    The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the weighted aggregate of the marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.

  6. Examination information:
    There is no examination for this course.

  7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
    There is no examination in this course, there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations.

  8. ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Student Policies:
    Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene ¾«¶«´«Ã½app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .

Other requirements

  1. Students can expect that questions in assessment items in this course may draw upon knowledge and skills that they can reasonably be expected to have acquired before enrolling in the course. This includes knowledge contained in pre-requisite courses and appropriate communication, information literacy, analytical, critical thinking, problem solving or numeracy skills. Students who do not possess such knowledge and skills should not expect to achieve the same grades as those students who do possess them

  2. In order to pass the course, ALL items of assessment must be submitted and passed. Individual results may be awarded for group assessment submission.

  3. Students will be required to have the practical skills necessary in order to meet assessment requirements and are advised that non-attendance at scheduled workshops may not provide them with the capabilities to successfully complete course needs.

  4. In planning group assignments which involve production, students will be responsible for booking equipment and facilities for their own assignments.

  5. You are reminded that short narrative video production work is a GROUP activity. The success of some of your assignments will, therefore, depend upon your ability to work with, and through, a group of people. The development of that professional/social skill is a part of your training in this subject. In those kinds of assignments, therefore, a GROUP MARK will be awarded. However, it should be clearly understood that a student who, through default, causes a significant disadvantage to a group production, may NOT be awarded the group mark.

Date printed 6 November 2020