This module offers students a range of opportunities to develop their skills at writing about film for a variety of different platforms, audiences and professional venues. They will learn from guest talks both from members of the teaching team and from invited experts, who will lead masterclasses on their field of the industry and how to succeed within it, sharing their career experiences and offering advice on the specific writing skills needed within their area. Each lecture on a specific topic will be coupled with and followed by a workshop, taught by the module leader - sometimes with a guest expert - during which students put what they have learned into practice. They will be encouraged to reflect critically on their own writing, improving and developing it across several drafts, and to comment constructively on the work of their fellow students, in the role of editor. This process enables students to build a professionally-informed portfolio of work, from which they will select their strongest final pieces to be submitted for assessment. The portfolio - and their experience gained from the masterclasses and workshops - will, in turn, give them a unique competitive edge as graduates entering the workplace.
Teaching Block 1 focuses initially on pitching and writing for the broadsheet press - first reviews, then longer articles - integrated with practical workshops where students develop drafts based on the guest masterclasses. It then addresses the distinct skills of writing articles on film and media for different types of magazine, and then pitching and writing shorter pieces for contemporary popular culture websites.
Teaching Block 2 opens with a session on pitching and developing fiction scripts for film and television, followed by a similar masterclass on documentary. It continues by studying the unique skills needed for film and media archiving, and for managing, organising and programming a film festival, whether mainstream or independent, including programme notes. After sessions on writing publicity blurbs and promotional material, the Teaching Block concludes by addressing academic writing, with a particular focus on developing a book proposal for the scholarly market.
Personal tutorials at the end of each Teaching Block guide students to select their strongest work for assessment.
Delivery will be by guest lectures with Q&A sessions, writing workshops and individual tutorials. The module will make use of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Canvas for communication and dissemination of information between students and staff as well as making online learning materials available to all.
All courses based in the Kingston School of Art offer students free access to the online video tutorial platform Lynda.com. This provides a wide range of subjects to choose from, many with downloadable exercise files, including software tutorials covering photography, graphics, web design, audio and music, CAD and Microsoft Office software, as well as courses on business and management skills. Some of these are embedded in the curriculum and offer additional self-paced learning, others may be taken at will by students wishing to broaden their employability skills in other areas.
| Definitive UNISTATS Category | Indicative Description | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching | Lectures, workshops, tutorials | 44 |
| Guided independent study | 256 | |
| Total (number of credits x 10) | 300 | |
The assessment strategy for this module consists of one shorter piece of writing of 1,500 words, submitted at the end of Teaching Block 1 (A1), and a portfolio of work (2,500 words) at the end of Teaching Block 2 (A2). The portfolio will comprise of a range of shorter practical pieces of writing for diverse platforms and audiences, coupled with critical reflection. The shorter piece will be summatively assessed, but also offers an opportunity for formative feedback. Students will workshop their writing together in class - gaining further formative feedback from the tutor and guest experts - and offering each other critical support.
| Learning Outcome | Assessment Strategy |
|---|---|
| Demonstrate knowledge of a range of career opportunities that involve writing about film; | A1, A2 |
| Show an understanding of the different registers, styles and modes of address appropriate for different media platforms and audiences; | A1, A2 |
| Apply this understanding to their creative practice; | A1, A2 |
| Critically assess, revise and improve their own work; | A1, A2 |
| Develop a varied portfolio of critically-informed, creative writing. | A2 |
| Description of Assessment | Definitive UNISTATS Categories | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 1500 word piece of writing (A1) | Coursework | 30% |
| Portfolio (A2) | Coursework | 70% |
| Total (to equal 100%) | 100% | |
It is NOT a requirement that any element of assessment is passed separately in order to achieve an overall pass for the module.
Bosma, Peter (2015), Film Programming: Curating for Cinemas, Festivals, Archives, Wallflower Press
Corrigan, Timothy (2003), A Short Guide to Writing About Film, Pearson,
Crisp, Virginia, and Gabriel Menotti Gonring eds. (2015) Besides the Screen: Moving Images through Distribution, Promotion and Curation, Palgrave Macmillan
De Valk, Marijke, ed. (2016, Film Festivals: History, Theory, Method, Practice, Routledge
Ebert, Roger, 2003, The Great Movies, Broadway Books
Goscik, Karen, Dave Monahan, Richard Barsam (2016), Writing About Movies, W.W. Norton
Kael, Pauline (2016), The Age of Movies, Library of America.