FILM AUTHORS - 2021/2

Module Overview

This module looks at the concept of film ‘authorship’ by looking at the body of work from a significant director, producer, writer or other creative person or partnership. Through the study of a filmmaker (or filmmaking partnership) the module focuses on the nature of film authorship and what it means to say that a film is ‘by’ a certain person. To do this, career tendencies in style, genre, technical approach, and other defining characteristics of a filmmaker’s work, will be addressed.

Module provider

School of Literature and Languages

Module Leader

HUGHES Helen (Lit & Langs)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): 20

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None. This module has a capped number and may not be available to ERASMUS and other international exchange students. Please check with the departmental exchange coordinator.

Module content

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  Module content will vary according to the film author being focused on.
  

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Recorded presentation or oral examination (30%)

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge of the work of a film author, the ability to analyse individual films by that ‘author’ within the context of their work and broader contexts such as history and film history and to debate the issues surrounding film authorship

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

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  Presentation and participation (during teaching weeks)
  


• 3000-word essay (exam period)

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  Short writing tasks and/or essay outline
  


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  In-class participation in verbal analysis of films and readings
  

Module aims

• To establish a critical understanding of film authorship and the debates surrounding the significant creative roles of film production
• To develop research methodologies to interrogate a significant body of work
• To provide opportunity for focused analysis through studying the work of a single creative force

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

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  Provide students with a in-depth knowledge of the work of a film author
  


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  Expose students to the range and depth of films made by a film author
  


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  Provide students with the necessary knowledge and analytical skills to interpret and analyse the work of a film author
  


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  Allow students to practice these analytical skills verbally and in writing
  

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  Lecturer and seminars
  


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  Reading using lecturer’s guidance
  


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  Researching and preparing presentations
  


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  Participating in discussion
  

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MFC3039

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2021/2 academic year.