Programme Title

BA Film Studies

Final Award
(exit route if applicable for Postgraduate Taught Programmes)

Bachelor of Arts

Programme Code

FLM-BA-S

UCAS Code

W600

HECoS Code

100441

ATAS Clearance Required

No

Mode of Study

Full Time

Type of Programme

Single Honours

Length of Programme

3 Academic Year(s)

Total Credits for Programme

120

Exit Awards available

Teaching Institution

Queen's University Belfast

School/Department

Arts, English and Languages

Framework for Higher Education Qualification Level 
www.qaa.ac.uk

Level 6

QAA Benchmark Group
www.qaa.ac.uk/quality-code/subject-benchmark-statements

Communication, media, film and cultural studies (2008)

Accreditations (PSRB)

Does the Programme have any approved exemptions from the University General Regulations
(Please see General Regulations)

None

Programme Specific Regulations

Not applicable

Students with protected characteristics

Not applicable

Are students subject to Fitness to Practise Regulations

(Please see General Regulations)

No

Learning Outcomes: Cognitive Skills

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

Engage with and interpret layers of meaning within film and critical texts

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

A sensitivity to layers of meaning within film and related critical texts is developed in all Film Studies modules. Discussion in class is devoted to interpreting and analysis of image making strategies in relation to their aesthetic and formal qualities, historical and cultural contexts, and implications for practical work.

Methods of Assessment

Written exercises, both formative and summative, such as long and short essays.

Contextualise from a variety of perspectives

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Screenings of film work and independent research on film history.

Methods of Assessment

Written exercises, both formative and summative, such as long and short essays, segmental analysis, log-books and/or other exercises test the students’ ability to engage with, interpret, and contextualise image making strategies and critical content.

Demonstrate a capacity for critical reflection and judgment in the light of evidence and argument

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

In many modules, students give informal presentations on specific films, film segments, and key concepts within Film Studies. Moreover, they are encouraged to refer to films and film scholarship in order to form their own judgment and evaluation of the film or critical concept in question.

Methods of Assessment

Written exercises, both formative and summative, such as long and short essays, segmental analysis, log-books and/or other exercises test the students’ ability to engage with, interpret, and contextualise image making strategies and critical content.

Work autonomously, manifested in self-direction, objective-setting, prioritising, self-discipline and time management

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Students are given a number of deadlines to which they are expected to work; thereby, they learn to prioritise assignments and projects, objectives, and activities generally.

Methods of Assessment

Working to deadlines to produce new written and practical film work.

Understand complex tasks and present appropriate solutions in written, oral and visual form

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

These skills are introduced in the first year of study, nurtured and commented upon at meetings with the students’ tutor, with guidance as to the direction of their studies and with a view to increasing the amount of autonomous learning, which the student undertakes. Advisers of Studies also contribute to this process, though in a more general fashion, in the wider context of the subject and in the sense in which it forms a component of the degree pathways followed by the student.

Methods of Assessment

In class presentation; production of Film Work in various forms; in class critiques and formative feedback sessions.

Learning Outcomes: Transferable Skills

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

Present knowledge and demonstrate expertise in a coherent, effective and meaningful form

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Individual and group presentations; seminars offer a variety of tutor-led and student-led learning opportunities as well as a more sustained opportunity to debate and evaluate a breadth of knowledge gained independently from directed reading and from the sharing of resources and information.

Methods of Assessment

Group presentations are used to encourage students to pursue their own interests and develop their understanding of a topic.

Use libraries and online resources

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

In the first year, students are introduced to the Main Library and its extensive film (DVD & VHS) collection and given a tour of the stacks. There are introductory sessions on how to use the Library’s online catalogues. Students’ use of online resources is currently being developed, as are the resources themselves.

Methods of Assessment

Writing skills tutorials and lectures develop essay-writing on stylistic, rhetorical and bibliographical levels. The ability to source and collate information is assessed through the marking system for essays written as coursework.

Write and think effectively under pressure and meet deadlines

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

The modules are in general demanding, and students learn early on how to write and think under pressure, as well as how to meet deadlines. Guidance is given in the form of advice in tutorial meetings, and also on an ad hoc basis in the classes, where the tutor responds to individual as well as collective requests for guidance and advice.

Methods of Assessment

Assessment is by a variety of traditional and innovative methods, including timed unseen written examinations, data analysis, essays, critical book/article reviews, portfolios, individual and group presentations, and seminar and tutorial reports and contributions. Assessment methods vary in accordance with the specific learning outcomes of particular modules as detailed below and as set out in the individual module descriptions

Use IT, multimedia, practical skills for audio visual acquisition in film making and post production skills

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

At Levels 1, 2 and 3, students are involved in a substantial amount of filmmaking activity. Employing industry based techniques students are required to screen/exhibit work developed through the acquisition of new production and postproduction skills embedded in their coursework. This experience both enhances their media production skills and heightens their awareness of the challenges associated with producing output for a variety of audiences and in a variety of forms. This aspect of the programme also enhances their research, management, communication skills and employability.

Methods of Assessment

Production of high-level film outputs. These take the form of fiction, experimental and non-fiction outputs. Two strands are available at Level 3 in Documentary Film and Fiction Film.

Communicate and interact effectively

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

The core activity of film production in all its forms requires teamwork and good communication skills.

Methods of Assessment

Working in groups and following the production cycle of making a film.

Work creatively and flexibly with others as part of a team

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Film Practice work in particular promotes good communication and team building skills. Working creativity students have to create new and original creative practice film work aligned to best practice in industry.

Methods of Assessment

Creative outputs take the form of, but are not limited to; short film, documentary, experimental film, installation, audio work. Students work in teams and are assessed for individual role and contributions with the team or through a group project mark.

Demonstrate self-reliance, initiative, adaptability and flexibility

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Analytical literary-critical exercises – both formative and summative – test students’ ability to engage with, contextualise, and interpret texts. The ability to collate and obtain information is developed through introductory training in the use of libraries and online resources.
Production activities are often established in line with best practice in industry on the course. These assessed activities allow students to experience the full production cycle of both small and large-scale film production projects. This then enhances the experiential side of learning and the student’s ability to critically discuss work whilst engaging with the parlance of production. It also provides core skills training in technical roles.

Methods of Assessment

Tasked with specialist roles such as researcher, producer, director or cinematographer, editor students are assessed on their individual contribution to group work. Students also learn to write reflexively about their experiences on the course. Modules such as the dissertation also allows for independent learning and critical study.

Learning Outcomes: Knowledge & Understanding

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

Understand the aesthetic and formal qualities of film and visual art and their relation to meanings in particular cultural forms and contexts

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, screenings, seminars, practical workshops; tutorials, group and individual project work, open and resource-based learning, multi-media and new media learning.

Methods of Assessment

Assessment methods in the programme aim to encourage the following:
(a) subject knowledge and awareness of the contexts of that knowledge
(b) critical analysis of image making structures and an ability to engage in relevant critical debates through discursive argument
(c) skills of written and oral presentation and critical enquiry
(d) the use of technological systems for accessing relevant resources, and media production skills and creativity
(e) an ability to respond productively to self-assessment and tutorial feedback
Assessment strategies are drawn from amongst the following: essays and exercises; examinations; individual presentations (both oral and technology-based); logbooks and/or portfolios, research exercises; critical self-evaluation; creative practice within both an individual and group context; tasks aimed at the assessment of film making skills.

Demonstrate an insight into the cultural and social ways in which aesthetic judgements are constructed and aesthetic processes experienced

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Large and small group and individual learning and teaching situations; tutor-led, student-led and independent learning sessions.

Methods of Assessment

Assigned written essays.

Show an awareness of a wide range of visual techniques, cultures and modes of reception

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

The programme’s learning and teaching strategies are designed to consolidate and enhance the following skills; subject-knowledge acquisition, analysis and critical evaluation; use of a range of technology systems for accessing resources, literature, and for the acquisition of production skills.

Methods of Assessment

Practice classes use a range of assessments which include but are not limited to short film production, documentary film, experimental film, video essays, editing projects, screenwriting, cinematography exercises and other forms of moving image media outputs.

Understand the visual, verbal and audio conventions through which images, words and sounds make meaning in film

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Knowledge and understanding are developed through lectures, tutorials, workshops, seminars (many of which will be enhanced by learning aids such as handouts, and key readings available online through Queen’s Online) and through the assessment and feedback process.
Lectures and tutorials together provide knowledge and the opportunity to discuss, evaluate and apply that knowledge to texts.
Seminars offer the more sustained opportunity to debate and evaluate a breadth of knowledge gained independently from directed reading and from the sharing of resources and information.
Extensive background reading is required throughout the pathway, developing students’ specialist knowledge of particular genres and periods of cinema, filmmaking and literature in addition to a broad base of knowledge about literary and cinematic history.

Workshops are led by both specialist practice staff and industry tutors to explore best practice in film production, in a connected and integrated way to the rest of the programme.

Methods of Assessment

A range of assessment methods ensures that these skills are evaluated in different ways.
Formative written work assists the development of understanding, critical judgment, and independent thought, both through the feedback given, and through the process of writing itself.
Examinations, essays, seminar presentations and Film project work require that students demonstrate technical skills appropriate to level, coverage of material, appropriate methods of textual and critical analysis, the ability to discriminate between arguments, and the ability to form an independent argument. The ability also to create original creative outputs is assessed and informed by historical and critical understandings of the discipline.

Demonstrate an understanding of professional practices and traditions, and of the possibilities and constraints involved in film and visual art processes

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

A substantial aspect of the learning in Film Studies is through practical work. The experiential learning involved with film production has a number of core benefits. These include the development of realistic and pragmatic understandings of the challenges involved with film production. The ability to develop crucial technical skills to empower creativity; a profound and thorough understanding of the parlance of production, which leads to greater insight and ability to articulate craft processes and action in close analysis and lastly these skills enhance employability.

Methods of Assessment

Screening and exhibition of film outputs. The production of short film and documentary to a high level. Completion of technical training in non-linear editing. Screenwriting and project development skills. Pitching and conveying creative projects to assessed panels and in presentations.

Learning Outcomes: Subject Specific

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

Engage critically with creative practitioners, theorists, and be able to debate and apply these strategies within a subject discourse

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, screenings, seminars, practical workshops; tutorials, group and individual project work, open and resource-based learning, multi-media and new media learning.

Methods of Assessment

Assessment methods in the programme aim to encourage the following:
(a) high quality of subject knowledge and awareness of the contexts of that knowledge
(b) critical analysis of image making structures and an ability to engage in relevant critical debates through discursive argument
(c) skills of written and oral investigation and enquiry, the use of technological systems for accessing relevant resources, and media production skills and creativity
(d) critical reflection on issues of practice and the ability to respond productively to self-assessment and tutorial feedback

Assessment strategies are drawn from amongst the following: essays and exercises; examinations; individual presentations (both oral and technology-based); logbooks and/or portfolios; research exercises; critical self-evaluation; creative practice within both an individual and group context; tasks aimed at the assessment of film making skills.

Understand film forms and their historical precedents

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Large and small group and individual learning and teaching situations; tutor-led, student-led and independent learning sessions.

Methods of Assessment

Assessment is by a variety of traditional and innovative methods, including timed unseen written examinations, data analysis, essays, critical film/article reviews, portfolios, individual and group presentations, and seminar and tutorial reports and contributions.

Analyse, interpret, and exercise critical judgement in the understanding of the subject area studied

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

The programme’s learning and teaching strategies are designed to consolidate and enhance the following skills; subject-knowledge acquisition, analysis and critical evaluation; use of a range of technology systems for accessing resources, literature, and for the acquisition of production skills.

Methods of Assessment

Essays and exercises; examinations; individual presentations (both oral and technology-based); logbooks and/or portfolios; research exercises; critical self-evaluation; creative practice within both an individual and group context; tasks aimed at the assessment of film making skills.

Put to use a range of IT skills from basic competences such as word processing to more complex skills using multimedia, and develop proficiencies in utilising a range of image making technologies

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Industry standard software instruction is embedding in coursework. This empowers students to take external examinations in video and audio editing to an advanced level in film and television.

Methods of Assessment

Video essay and editing exams, Editing of film projects, documentaries. Advanced post production techniques such as picture grading and colour management software.