This module is not currently running in 2024 to 2025.
The module primarily focuses on contemporary digital filmmaking practices and film viewing. The first section of the module introduces trick cinema, special effects, the digital intermediate, and a range of computer generated images to explore the different opportunities these offer for manipulating space, constructing narratives and aesthetic innovation. The second section of the module more explicitly engages with a range of theoretical frameworks in order to think about how digital technologies alter our understanding of film, its relationships with other media, and the ways in which we participate in film culture.
Total contact hours: 60
Private study hours: 240
Total study hours: 300
Assignment (2500 words) (40%)
Essay (3500 words) (60%)
Balcerzak. S. and Sperb, J (2009) Cinephilia in the Age of digital Reproduction Volume 1: Film, Pleasure and Digital Culture. New York: Colombia University Press.
Balcerzak. S. and Sperb, J (2012) Cinephilia in the Age of digital Reproduction Volume 2: Film, Pleasure and Digital Culture. New York: Colombia University Press.
Bolter, J.D. and Grusin, R. (1999) Remediation: Understanding New Media Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
Creeber, G. and Royston, M. (2009) Digital Cultures McGraw-Hill Open University Press.
Gray, J (2009) Show Sold Separately. New York: New York University Press.
Jenkins, H (2006) Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
McClean, S. T. (2007) Digital Storytelling: the narrative power of digital effects in film. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
Purse, L. (2011) Contemporary Action Cinema. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Rombes, N. (2009) Cinema in the Digital Age. London: Wallflowe4.
See the library reading list for this module (Canterbury)
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
- demonstrate a systematic knowledge of the history of trick films and special effects in the context of Hollywood, and how image manipulation has developed in a digital context and have the ability to coherently articulate their understanding of the relationships between these developments
- understand the different modes of analysis made possible by key methods of enquiry and be able to demonstrate their relevance to understanding the impact of digital media on both moving image making and the ways in which an audience engages with moving images
- devise a discussion of digital effects cinema, digital filmmaking and animation through a sustained engagement with key methods of enquiry based on a synthesis of historical, theoretical, and aesthetic approaches
- demonstrate a greater understanding of the interplay between aesthetic choices and technological innovation through their research into of relevant scholarly literature.
University of Kent makes every effort to ensure that module information is accurate for the relevant academic session and to provide educational services as described. However, courses, services and other matters may be subject to change. Please read our full disclaimer.
