1. UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER
FACULTY OF ARTS
SCHOOL OF MEDIA, FILM and JOURNALISM
MED316: Media Arts Major Project 2
Module Co-ordinator: Alan Hook Room C211, South Building,
UUC Extension 028 703 24267, Email: a.hook@ulster.ac.uk
Workshops/Lectures: Thursdays, B241, 13.15 – 16.05
Open Office hours: Wednesdays, C211 09:30 – 12:30
MODULE GUIDE 2010
INTRODUCTION
This module outlines important developments within video and television production and distribution within
network cultures and new media arts, specifically how programme content is being adapted and explored on
mobile platforms. It will introduce you to the key theoretical debates with reference to influential work in the
field, and examine these through the production of video content designed for delivery on new platforms.
AIMS
The aim of this module is to give students:
• An introduction to the significant historical and contemporary models of television/video production and
distribution
• The ability to examine how digital technologies have impacted on film and television distribution in both
practical terms and as an academic discipline.
• The practical skills an experience of using image capture and editing for cross-platform distribution,
specifically small screens
INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Having completed this module the student is expected to:
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
K1 Identify how new distribution platforms are reconceptualising traditional television and film content
production and delivery
K2 Understand the ways in which technology has changed the relationship between the audience and the
screen product and the various methods available to distribute that product
K3 Display a sound knowledge of the design and production considerations in the generation of this type of
content
2. INTELLECTUAL QUALITIES
I1 Engage critically with key concepts employed in the module
I2 Provide evidence of critical engagement with, and capacity to apply, a range of ideas developed in the
module
I3 Analyse a range of film and television production and distribution practices across a range of platforms
I4 Provide evidence of ability to translate knowledge into original ideas and activities
PROFESSIONAL/PRACTICAL SKILLS
P1 Demonstrate a working knowledge of production and distribution practices in the film and television industry
P2 Demonstrate a working knowledge of video production and editing techniques
P1 Demonstrate competence in project management skills, including structuring tasks, prioritising, showing
initiative and delivering work on time
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
S1 Demonstrate competence in the software skills required to complete the project
S2 Gather, organise and deploy ideas and information in order to complete a project
ASSESSMENT
As part of the practical component for this module, you are being asked to create a series of mobisodes, a
series of FOUR episodes for a television show to be delivered on the mobile platform.
As part of the submission you will be expected to submit for assessment
1. Project proposal, storyboard and production schedule 30%
• The project proposal will identify the genre of content that you will be producing and how the mobile
platform will impact on the content creation, in terms of the story/plot development, visual aesthetic
and production and delivery processes.
• The storyboard will help to visually describe the development of story/plot and include references to
the types of shots and camera angles that need to be considered when designing for smaller screens.
• The project proposal will identify the tasks needed to complete the project and how you will structure
and deliver these tasks on time.
2. Mobile content 70%, a series of mobisodes: FOUR episodes of video content to be delivered on the
mobile platform.
• Each episode, lasting 90 seconds, must be presented for assessment via YouTube and will be
assessed on a mobile handset. Students may post their episodes on other platforms or through other
services but they must be duplicated on YouTube.
• The single episodes will present a coherent narrative over the series.
3. • These mobisodes should be of a professional quality.
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Coursework 1: The project proposal, storyboard and production schedule will reflect:
• The aims of your project and your expected outcome
• The narrative structure (chart and storyboard)
• The theories and influences that have informed the development of your project idea
• Project management skills, including structuring tasks, prioritising, showing initiative and delivering
work on time
Coursework 2: The production will demonstrate that:
• The narrative fulfils or challenges the expectations of audiences viewing a story
• The narrative uses narrative structures, styles, devices and viewpoints in innovative and creative ways
• The episodes make effective use of the hardware and software to design and deliver it
• The series of episodes demonstrate originality and creativity in their design and composition
Submission dates
Coursework 1 – The project proposal, storyboard and production schedule –
wherever possible this must submitted as a hard copy and a digital back-up
(on DVD or CD) 25th February, C001 between 10 and 12 and must be
accompanied by a submission cover sheet.
Coursework 2 – Each episode has to be posted before 12 noon on YouTube on the following
dates
• Episode 1 – 18th March
• Episode 2 – 01st April
• Episode 3 – 15th April
• Episode 4 – 29th April
– All episodes will be submitted on a CD ROM or DVD by the students - 29th April, C001
between 10 and 12 and must be accompanied by a submission cover sheet. These
submissions must include have students ID number, Name, Module Title and Project Title
printed on the discs so that they are clearly labelled.
4. LECTURE PROGRAMME
28th Jan - Week 01 - Lecture/workshop - Introduction to module/Project management
04th Feb - Week 02 - Lecture/workshop - Mobile Phones as Camera and Screen/Viral Videos
11th Feb - Week 03 - Lecture/workshop - Narrative Construction and New Media
18th Feb - Week 04 - Lecture/workshop - DIY Media – Web 2.0: Social Places/Distribution Spaces
25th Feb - Week 05 - Tutorials (C211) - Group Tutorials
04th Mar - Week 06 - Workshop - Composition and design for small screens – TV studio
11th Mar - Week 07 - Lecture/workshop - Editing and distribution techniques for short film/small
screen 18th Mar - Week 08 - Lecture - Intertextuality and Transmedia Storytelling:
Narrative Across Media
25th Mar - Week 09 - Tutorials (C211) – Individual Tutorials
01st Apr – Easter Break
08th Apr – Easter Break
15th Apr - Week 10 - Lecture/workshop - Convergence Technology/ Convergence Culture?
22nd Apr - Week 11 - Lecture/workshop - Participatory Media - Making Prosumers
29th Apr - Week 12 - Lecture/workshop - Production evaluation and screenings of Mobisodes
REQUIRED READING:
Agar, J., (2004). Constant Touch: A Global History of the Mobile Phone, Icon Books Ltd.
Burgess, J. et al., (2009). YouTube: Online Video and Participatory Culture, Polity Press.
Glotz, P., Bertschi, S. & Locke, C., (2005). Thumb Culture: The Meaning of Mobile Phones for Society, Books
on Demand.
Jenkins, H., (2006). Convergence culture, NYU Press.
Ling, R. & Donner, J., (2009). Mobile Phones and Mobile Communication, Polity Press.
Lovink, Geert and Rossiter, Ned (2006) ‘iTube, YouSpace, WeCreate’, in Mieke Gerritzen et al. (eds) (2006)
The Creativity [Newspaper], Amsterdam: Sandberg Institute, pp. 1-2,
http://www.networkcultures.org/mycreativity/index.php?onderdeelID=6&paginaID=67
Scholz, Trebor (2005) ‘Activist Media Landscape’, posting to Institute for Distributed Creativity mailing list, 14
December, http://mailman.thing.net/pipermail/idc/2005-December/000150.html
Scholz, Trebor (2005) ‘The Participatory Challenge’, in J. Krysa (ed.) Curating Immateriality,
DATA browser 3, New York: Autonomedia, pp. 194-212, http://www.collectivate.net/the-
participatory-challenge/
Vonderau, P., (2009). The YouTube Reader, National Library of Sweden.
5. RECOMMENDED READING:
Allen, G., (2000). The New Critical Idiom: Intertextuality 1st ed., Routledge.
Brodsky, I., (2008). The History of Wireless: How Creative Minds Produced Technology for the Masses 1st ed.,
Telescope Books.
Caron, A.H. & Caronia, L., (2007). Moving Cultures: Mobile Communication in Everyday Life, McGill-Queen's
University Press.
Castells, M.E.A., (2009). Mobile Communication and Society, MIT Press.
Frampton, D., (2006). Filmosophy, Wallflower Press.
Genette, G., (1997). Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Goggin, G., (2006). Cell Phone Culture 1st ed., Routledge.
Harries, D., (2002). The New Media Book, British Film Institute.
Harrigan, P., (2009). Third Person: Authoring and Exploring Vast Narratives, MIT Press.
Katz, J.E. & Aakhus, M., (2002). Perpetual Contact: Mobile Communication, Private Talk, Public Performance,
Cambridge University Press.
Kellison, C., (2008). Producing for TV and New Media, Second Edition: A Real-World Approach for Producers
2nd ed., Focal Press.
Lawson-Borders, G., (2006). Media organizations and convergence, Routledge.
Ling, R., (2008). New Tech, New Ties: How Mobile Communication is Reshaping Social Cohesion, The MIT
Press.
Manovich, L., (2002). The Language of New Media New edition., MIT Press.
Worton, M., (1991). Intertextuality: Theories and Practices, Manchester Univ Press.
RECOMMENDED VIEWING:
Abram , J.J. (2007) J.J. Abram’s Mystery Box, filmed at TED2007, [Available at
http://www.ted.com/talks/j_j_abrams_mystery_box.html]
Amerika, M. (2008) Immobilité, Cornwall, UK, [Tail(er) Available at
http://www.immobilite.com/film/]
Roach, P.(2008) Shoot the Summer, London, BBC, 22 October 2008 [Available at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/musicevents/shootthesummer/]
Vuaillat C. (2009)Lili and Pierrot, Mobifest, [Available at
http://mobifest.net/films/view/1497]