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LAMP.AC.UK/FM

BA Film and Media Studies (Single Honours)

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

For general information about the University of Wales, Lampeter, please contact: Recruitment, Marketing and Admissions, University of Wales, Lampeter, Ceredigion, SA48 7ED. Tel: 01570 422351 Fax: 01570 423423 E-mail: recruit@lamp.ac.uk

http://www.lamp.ac.uk

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Contents Course Content and Structure

2

Year One Compulsory Modules

3-6

Year Two Compulsory Modules

7-9

Year Three Compulsory Modules

10

Facilities and Equipment

11-12

Staff

13

ACTION!!!

1

Course Content and Structure

Year 1

Compulsory Modules: 1) Introduction to Film Studies 2) Digital Video Production Level 1 3) Introduction to Media Studies 4) 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 Performance 2) Understanding Television 3) Research Methods in Film and Media

Year 3

+ a choice of optional modules offered within the Department of Film and Media and across the University.

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 enable them to develop their appreciation of cinematic form. Some of the major theoretical issues in relation to the study of film, including 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

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 Premiere 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 competence while understanding the roles and processes which support creative video production

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Year 1 Compulsory Module

Introduction to Media Studies This module introduces student to the study of the mass media from a variety of critical and theoretical perspectives. 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 subjects 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 images 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 assessed 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, egotistical 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 addressed in relation to the creation of identity and the pleasures of spectatorship.

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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 history 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 consequences 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 proposal 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 second year, this module requires students to pursue in-depth research into a mediarelated topic.

Media Studies Project Based on the skills acquired in the first two years of the degree, students 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 optional modules from year two and three. Find out more at http://www.lamp.ac.uk/fm.

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Facilities and Equipment

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he Department of Film and Media provides students with access to some of the best training facilities in the UK. These are updated every year to keep pace with developments in the media industries.

Key facilities and equipment are as follows:

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 broadcast cameras) Production Gallery Access to Seven Portable Digital Video Cameras, Lights, Microphones etc.

Subtitling Training Suite

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Facilities and Equipment

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 Photoshop Adobe InDesign Adobe PageMaker Adobe Illustrator Adobe Streamline Quark XPress Web Design software: Adobe PageMill Macromedia Dreamweaver MX Microsoft Internet Explorer Netscape Navigator iCab web browser In addition to the above, students have access to a wide range of computing facilities around the campus.

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Staff 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 supervises the Department of Film and Media’s dedicated suite of Macintosh 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 popular music in film and television.

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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 David Lampeter Campus Ceredigion SA48 7ED