This module is not currently running in 2024 to 2025.
The proliferation of mobile devices and the rise of online video have had a transformative effect on how moving images are generated and experienced. The ease with which we can now create and share video has impacted on how films are made, by whom, on how they are distributed, and even on what film itself is. This module explores some of the many new forms of 'filmmaking' that have appeared as a result of this technological and cultural change, and encourages students to engage with these forms critically and creatively. Areas of focus may include vlogs, mashups, video essays, music promos, interactive videos, travelogues, short fiction and other forms of film and video aimed primarily at online distribution via platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo. Students will create short works in one or more of these forms, and have the opportunity to harness the potential of mobile devices and social media for artistic ends. Practical work will be contextualised by an essay that situates students’ video exercises within the broader context of digital technologies and online culture.
This module will be taught by means of 1-hour lectures and 2-hour seminars/workshops for ten weeks, accompanied by weekly screenings.
Lectures and seminars: 30 hours
Independent Study: 270 hours
Total Study: 300 hours
This module is assessed by 100% coursework.
1) Film and video exercises. 70%. Students will work in small groups to create three short videos. These will be weighted as follows: 20% for the first exercise, 20% for the second exercise, 30% for the third exercise. For each exercise, peer assessment will be used to adjust group marks by +/- 5%, resulting in an individual mark for each student.
2) Essay. 30%. A 2,500-3,000 word essay on a topic related to online film and video.
Snickars, Pelle and Patrick Vondreay (2009), The YouTube Reader. National Library of Sweden.
Lovnik, Geert and Rachel Somers Miles (2011), Video Vortex Reader II: Moving Images Beyond YouTube. Institute of Network Cultures
Goggin, Gerard and Larissa Hjorth eds. (2014), The Routledge Companion to Mobile Media. NY: Routledge.
Vernalis, Carol, Amy Herzog, and John Richardson (2013, The Oxford Handbook of Sound and Image in Digital Media. Oxford University Press.
See the library reading list for this module (Canterbury)
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of the skills and techniques required to record and edit films using mobile devices;
2. Demonstrate the aesthetic, conceptual and technical skills necessary to articulate their ideas audio-visually;
3. Conceive and plan a piece of creative work using a mobile device;
4. Demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of their own creative processes through engagement in one or more production practices;
5. Critically understand the ways in which different social groups may relate to and interact with filmic visual practices using social media.
On successfully completing the module, students will be able to:
1. Present work to an audience for comment and critique;
2. Work in flexible, creative and independent ways, showing self-discipline and time management skills;
3. Critically reflect upon their own work as well as the work of others;
4. Communicate effectively and appropriately orally, in writing and other media;
5. Demonstrate skills and knowledge of aesthetic judgement.
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