LAMP.AC.UK/FM

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BA Film and Media Studies(Single Honours)

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The Film and Media Studies programme at University of Wales, Lampeter offers a unique opportunity to combine vital practical training with challenging academic approaches to studying cinema and the mass media.

For further information on Filmand Media Studies at Lampeter,please contact:

Caron McKee-Hands,Department of Film and Media,University of Wales, Lampeter,Ceredigion, SA48 7ED.Tel: 01570 424790Fax: 01570 423669E-mail: caron@lamp.ac.ukhttp://www.lamp.ac.uk/fm

For general information about theUniversity of Wales, Lampeter,please contact:

Recruitment, Marketing and Admis-sions,University of Wales, Lampeter,Ceredigion, SA48 7ED.Tel: 01570 422351Fax: 01570 423423E-mail: recruit@lamp.ac.ukhttp://www.lamp.ac.uk

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Contents

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Course Content and Structure

Year One Compulsory Modules

Year Two Compulsory Modules

Year Three Compulsory Modules

Facilities and Equipment

Staff

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ACTION!!!

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11-12

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Course Content and struCture

Year 1 Compulsory Modules:1) Introduction to Film Studies2) Digital Video Production Level 13) Introduction to Media Studies4) Creative Computing+ a choice of optional modules offered within the Department of Film and Media and across the University

Year 2 Compulsory Modules:1) Film Stars: Representation and Performance2) Understanding Television3) Research Methods in Film and Media+ a choice of optional modules offered within the Department of Film and Media and across the University.

Year 3 Compulsory Modules:1) Dissertation and/or Media Studies Project+ a choice of optional modules offered within the Department of Film and Media and across the University.

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Year 1 CompulsorY module

Introduction to Film Studies

This module is intended to introduce students to the academic study of cinema at undergraduate level. The course will provide a basic outline of narrative techniques and stylistic conventions to en-able them to develop their appreciation of cinematic form. Some of the major theoretical issues in relation to the study of film, includ-ing authorship, genre, systems of representation and the role of the spectator, will be examined. The course is supported by a series of screenings which will allow students the opportunity to view some of the classics of film history, providing an overview of many of the most influential movements, including German Expressionism, the French New Wave, Hollywood and Soviet political cinema. By the end of the course, students will be armed with a solid grounding from which to develop their scholarly interest in the medium.

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Year 1 CompulsorY module

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Digital Video Production - Level 1

A practical and intensely hands-on introduction to the basic skills used in single and multi-camera digital video production. During the module you will experience working as a team member in the studio-based, multi-camera sessions, while as an individual you will produce a 2-minute video using a digital camera and Adobe Pre-miere editing equipment. Teaching consists of 10 x 2 hour workshop sessions in groups of 10 - 15 students. On successful completion of the course, you should be able to demonstrate basic technical com-petence while understanding the roles and processes which support creative video production

Year 1 CompulsorY module

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Introduction to Media Studies

This module introduces student to the study of the mass media from a variety of critical and theoretical perspec-

tives. Initially the module examines key moments and institutions in the historical development of the mass

media using case studies drawn mainly from America and the UK. In the second half of the module,

students will engage with the major issues and theories that have concerned media studies

as an academic discipline. Through sub-jects such as semiotics, ideology and

reception theory, students will gain a firm foundation for theoretical and

practical studies in the second and final years of the degree.

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Year 1 CompulsorY module

Creative Computing

Utilising industry standard software in the Mac Lab this module concentrates on design and publishing skills in desktop publishing for business. After being introduced to word processing and basic design principles, you will be taught how to use Adobe Photoshop to retouch and enhance photographic im-ages from a variety of sources, such as the World Wide Web, scanners and PhotoCD. The primary focus of the module is then on the use of Adobe Pagemaker to incorporate text and images in a desktop publishing project. Suitable for all students wishing to learn presentational and publishing skills to enhance their degree work and employment prospects, this module is completely as-sessed by coursework.

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Year 2 CompulsorY module

Film Stars: Representation and Performance

One of the central factors in the continuing popularity of cinema has been the status of the film star. Pampered and promoted, egotis-tical and overpaid, the film star is still likely to be one of the key elements affecting our choice of viewing. This module will look at the creation of the star system in Hollywood and follow its influence. Changing styles of performance will be examined, from the silent period, through ‘the method’ style of Marlon Brando, to the modern anti-hero. Students will be introduced to theoretical approaches to the analysis of stardom and the key issue of representation will be examined in detail. The importance of gender and sexuality will be ad-dressed in relation to the creation of identity and the pleasures of spectatorship.

Year 2 CompulsorY module

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Understanding Television

Television is a hotly debated medium at the heart of contemporary popular culture, a powerful global industry and a key source for both information and entertainment. This module will examine the his-tory of TV, paying close attention to recent developments in public and private sector broadcasting. Drawing case studies from America and closer to home, the module will consider television as a specific textual form, highlighting major genres including the soap opera and so-called reality television. Other elements to be covered will be the regulation of the industry, issues of representation and the conse-quences these have for television audiences.

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Year 2 CompulsorY module

Research Methods in Film and Media

This module provides vital preparation for the Dissertation component in Year 3. Students will be introduced to the

major areas of research methodology that they will need to employ in the Dissertation, testing each

with a relevant exercise. Subjects covered will include researching original source material,

content/ discourse analysis and interview techniques. The module will culminate

in the production of a detailed pro-posal for the Dissertation that

students intend to pursue in their final year.

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Year 3 CompulsorY module

In their final year, students take at least one of the following:

Dissertation

A 12, 000 word piece of original work on a subject of the student’s choice. Based on the proposal written during Research Methods in Film and Media during the sec-ond year, this module requires students to pursue in-depth re-search into a media-related topic.

Media Studies Project

Based on the skills acquired in the first two

years of the degree, stu-dents devise a project of their

choice. Projects undertaken by past students have included

the construction of a web site or shooting a short documentary. In all cases, students a required to produce a report on their project, detailing the processes involved.

In addition to the above, students can choose from a range of options including option-al modules from year two and three. Find out more at http://www.lamp.ac.uk/fm.

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Facilities and Equipment

The Department of Film and Media provides students with access to some of the best train-

ing facilities in the UK. These are updated every year to keep pace with developments in the media industries. Key facilities and equipment are as fol-lows:

The Media Centre

This purpose-built facility includes :

New Mobile Multi-camera production vehicle with web-streaming capabilities

PC Video Editing Stations

Television Studio (with three JVC Digital wide-screen broad-cast cameras)

Production Gallery

Access to Seven Portable Digital Video Cameras, Lights, Micro-phones etc.

Subtitling Training Suite

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Facilities and Equipment

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The Macintosh Computer Suite

This facility includes 20 Apple G4 computers, open access scanner, CD-Writer and networked colour and black-and-white laser printers. The software suite comprises:

Design and Publishing software:

Adobe PhotoshopAdobe InDesignAdobe PageMakerAdobe IllustratorAdobe StreamlineQuark XPress

Web Design software:

Adobe PageMillMacromedia Dreamweaver MX Microsoft Internet ExplorerNetscape NavigatoriCab web browser

In addition to the above, students have access to a wide range of com-puting facilities around the campus.

Trevor Harris - With over twenty years’ experience in a design and publishing environment, Trevor teaches electronic publishing skills which range from Desktop Publishing through to New Media. A Mac user since the advent of computer based Desktop Publishing; he su-pervises the Department of Film and Media’s dedicated suite of Mac-intosh computers and ensures that the facility is kept up to date with industry standard software.

Robert Shail - Recently completed his PhD on representations of masculinity in 1960s British cinema with Exeter University. His particular areas of teaching specialism and research interest include stardom and gender in film, British film history, film genres and film theory. He has published work on both British and American stars and on masculinity in film.

Geraint Davies - Manager of the University of Wales, Lampeter’s Media Centre (see section on Facilities and Equipment), Geraint has over twenty years’ experience in video production for broadcast and corporate video.

Simon Horrocks -Previously Cinema Education Officer at Cardiff ’s Chapter Arts Centre, Simon

has a wide range of teaching and research interests in the areas of film and media.

These include Chinese cinema (and Asian cinema more generally) and the use of pop-

ular music in film and television.

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staff

For further information about this course or other courses please contact 01570 422351 to request a prospectus or

visit : http://www.lamp.ac.uk/fm

University of Wales Trinity Saint DavidLampeter Campus

CeredigionSA48 7ED