SCREEN 701 Introduction to Directing - Course Outlines

Course Prescription

Provides students with a practical overview of the drama and documentary production process from a director's point of view. Students are taken through pre-production, production and post-production on a series of group projects, as well as their own 2-minute short film. Emphasises the importance of directing style, character and story alongside acquiring practical skills. Students are encouraged to critique their own work as well as the work of their classmates.

Course Overview

The course consists of a series of seminars each examining a particular part of the production process. These seminars will include critical analysis of film making techniques, group and class discussions, practical sessions with the film making equipment and the viewing and critiquing of each others work. Learning film making as a skill relies heavily on the act of doing and as such the emphasis during the seminars is the practical application of conceptual ideas discussed in class. Students will shoot exercises in class time and will be expected to complete them in their own time and present their work in the following seminar. They will be expected to reflect on their own work and creative choices and also offer feedback on classmates work. Students will work individually but also in groups to develop the collaborative skills essential to film making practice through crewing for each other on the assessment projects. The seminars are structured as such to guide students from the basics of using a camera, introductory post production skills, sound recording and the fundamentals of lighting a set through to more advanced concepts of approaches to directing documentary and drama, pre-visualising your film, telling your story visually, incorporating subtext and more advanced approaches to editing and crafting narrative in post production.

Course Requirements

Restriction: FTVMS 750

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

Understand and engage with the conventions and creative possibilities of film grammar, style and narrative. (Capability 1.2)
Reflect upon, justify and undertake active decision-making in the face of creative constraints and opportunities. (Capability 2.3 and 3.2)
Demonstrate an understanding of the basic principles of film and television production. (Capability 1.1)
Work collaboratively on creative projects, reflect on creative choices and incorporate ideas from others. Constructively critique own work and that of others. (Capability 4.3)

Assessments

Assessment Type	Percentage	Classification
Assignments	100%	Group & Individual Coursework
	100%

Next offered

2021

Workload Expectations

This course is a 30 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in. As such for this course students can expect to spend up to 20 hours a week on work related to this course.

For this course, you can expect 4 hours of lectures, 4 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 12 hours of work on the completion of in class exercises and assignments.

Digital Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website at http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Well-being always comes first
We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information, look at this Canvas page (https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/33894), which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter (https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html).

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.

Capability 1:	Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2:	Critical Thinking
Capability 3:	Solution Seeking
Capability 4:	Communication and Engagement

SCREEN 701 : Introduction to Directing

Arts

2020 Semester One (1203) (30 POINTS)