MOVING IMAGE ARTS - CONTEMPORARY CONTEXTS - 2026/7

Module Overview

Here, you will be shown ways of exploring theoretical and cultural contexts for film, animation and digital arts. Examples will particularly encourage you in your exploration and execution of experimental techniques. You will accomplish this not only by critically analysing current and future developments, but also by seeing how these fit within historical and philosophical debates and dialogues around creative arts in practice and creativity in general. One indicative focus is film-makers' interaction with the natural world. Initial lectures will also give you research methods for the creative arts, with a focus on the moving image. Later, you will hear and discover contemporary debates reflecting this rapidly evolving area Your coursework will be a 3,000-word research paper which complements and contextualises forthcoming work on the Final Masters Project.

Module provider

Music & Media

Module Leader

WEINBREN Jon (Music & Med)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): 20

Module Availability

Year long

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative topics you might cover in this module, both historic and from the present day, could include issues surrounding experimentation, representation, signification, identity and difference, as well as debates around authorship, spectatorship, democratisation and diversity in relation to film, animation and digital arts. 

You will see relevant philosophical and theoretical contexts that not only frame current critical debate, but also inform your own, and others' contemporary creative arts practices.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

You will apply contemporary and/or historical debates in film, animation and digital arts by writing a complementary and contextualising research paper. 

You will be expected to draw on your own forthcoming practical project in your discourse of ongoing creative and technological developments.

• Contextualising Research Paper (3,000 words).

• You will receive this on a frequent basis through group discussions, debates, class presentations and tutorials.
• In particular, tutor feedback can be provided on drafts and works-in-progress prior to summative submission.
• Individual tutorials are also provided; these can be both scheduled and, where practical, on demand.

Module aims

• Develop theoretical and critical skills for the analysis and practice of film, animation and digital arts.
• Engage critically with contemporary and historical debates in creative arts practice.
• Provide a set of conceptual tools to advance critical and creative practices.
• Facilitate individualised research and cinematic experimentation to inform and contextualise an intended final masters project.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

A series of lectures on relevant topics will be supported by seminars and discussions that facilitate curiosity, creativity, invention and original thinking. 

You'll be encouraged to formulate your own ideas in response to a particular topic and to engage with theoretical cultural commentaries wherever they may be found -- including but not limited to the conventionally accepted academic literature. 

Lively debate from you will be welcome.

You will also learn as you undertake your own research project to address a specific topic of your own interest in the context of the theoretical issues and concepts covered, directly linking your developing theoretical knowledge to your own creative practice.

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: DMAM001

Other information

Embedded alongside the specific knowledge, skills, abilities and experiences facilitated by this module are more general attributes which the university has identified as an ambition to develop in all students across all subjects and disciplines on offer. These are:

• Employability
• Resourcefulness and Resilience
• Digital Capabilities
• Sustainability
• Global and Cultural Capabilities

The following is an account of how this module addresses these pillars.

Employability

Because this module is delivered by tutors and specialists with significant industry experience and contacts, it boosts your employability, raises the level at which you can gain positions and roles within the industry on graduation, and addresses well documented industry skills gaps. The module develops a range of proficiencies appropriate to live action film, animation, games, and other associated areas of the media industries, by expanding your critical thought processes. You will gain experience of formal research, including careful referencing, required by research-based institutions such as the University of Surrey. Your writing abilities will be encouraged and developed, to be ready to tackle formal authoring and research challenges.

Resourcefulness and Resilience

This module provides you with challenges that reflect the current state of the art and which develop your thinking ability. You will develop inventiveness and flexibility to cope with these needs, including the ability to research your own solutions to given problems. We encourage you to pool knowledge and work collaboratively to come up with innovative methods to achieve a particular creative or technical goal. The studio environment and unfettered access to facilities and software facilitates this.

Digital Capabilities

In addition to broad availability of digital texts through the University of Surrey¿s many journal and publisher subscriptions, the FADA programme is built on the very latest techniques and technologies available to mainstream studios and animators, running on fast computers on-site. In this way, digital capabilities are an integrated part of what you learn. Contemporary media production is an inherently digital affair but we include more traditional techniques such as drawn animation, and drawing practice, as part of the offering.

Sustainability

By offering you digital equipment made to the most recent energy-saving standards throughout your research for this module, we will enable you to use best practices to minimise pollution and waste. We also work closely with the University of Surrey's Institute for Sustainability to explore and promote the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. 

Global and Cultural Capabilities

Film-making is inherently an international pursuit, crossing not only national boundaries but also, very importantly, cultural boundaries. Your colleagues among students will be from many nationals and cultures, whose expertise and enthusiasms will naturally encompass broad ranges of international and intercultural influences. Your tutors will welcome your embrace of cultures outside your own, especially regarding experimental, contemporary and historical contexts.

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 2026/7 academic year.