Course syllabus

 

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SCREEN 201: Storytelling for Screen

SEMESTER 1, 2018

15 points

 
Course Convenor/teacher: 

 Brendan Donovan: bc.donovan@auckland.ac.nz

Course delivery format:

1 hour lecture plus 2 hour workshop

Lecture: Thursday 12pm-1pm: 206-203 (Arts 1, Room 203)

Workshops (20 students per workshop):

Thursday 2pm-4pm. And 4pm-6pm. 201E-149 (Human Sciences - East,Rm 149. The "Black Box").          

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

A foundation-level core course for a major or minor in Screen Production introduces students to the conceptual and practical aspects of constructing a story for screen:  word, image, sound and sequence. Drawing from various narrative forms both fictional and non-fiction, students will develop an understanding of the basics of cinematic storytelling and how to best utilise multiple techniques to translate ‘story ideas’ to time-based narrative forms. The course comprises of lectures, discussions, screenings, exercises and two key creative projects demonstrating lessons learned. Assessment is based on participation, in-class exercises, work-in-progress projects for credit, and the two graded assignments.

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The first five weeks of the course focus on formal/aesthetic elements of nonfiction storytelling in the digital realm.  Along with creating your own digital stories, you will analyse digital stories in various genres. Weekly sessions will combine academic reading, discussion of your digital stories, as well as questions related to skills and techniques such as script writing, collecting and choosing images, sound recording, editing and music.

The last seven weeks of the course focus on creative approaches to cinematic narrative and using basic elements of composition and sequencing to convey story, theme, character and emotion. Various genres, techniques and skills are discussed and demonstrated.

All assignments are completed in PAIRS. Your working partner will change from Assignment One to Assignment Two.

 

Disclaimer- This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the professor contingent upon performance and overall class progress and special events. 

THE FULL SYLLABUS CAN BE DOWNLOADED FROM "FILES" ON CANVAS.

 

Course Objectives

  • students understand the fundamentals of narrative storytelling for screen
  • students achieve basic familiarity with editing techniques and software
  • students learn collaborative skills and ways to receive and provide constructive criticism
  • students develop two projects from concept to completion that expose them to different types of cinematic storytelling

 Workload :           

The University of Auckland's expectation is that students spend 10 hours per week on a 15-point course, including time in class and personal study. 

Course summary:

Date Details Due