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Current Issues in Film & Television (BCI 2) - TFT00038I

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  • Department: Theatre, Film, Television and Interactive Media
  • Module co-ordinator: Dr. Edward Braman
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: I
  • Academic year of delivery: 2021-22

Module summary

This module will introduce students with the structures that surround and condition the production and delivery of contemporary film and television: political, cultural, technical, financial and legal. It will examine, for example, the power structures that control UK broadcasting, the funding routes that underpin global film production, the debates that surround the development of new delivery platforms and new reception technologies and the reactions – cultural, political and beyond – to new techniques, subject matters and forms of media ownership. Key to this module will be its sense of topicality. Lectures and workshops will react to events - changes in the broadcast or film environment that make headlines – and examine their implications. Students will be expected to be equally flexible and the module will seek to encourage a sensitivity to – and the tools for developing an understanding of – the emerging trends and changing circumstances which affect the industry and influence employment opportunities.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Autumn Term 2021-22

Module aims

·To introduce students to the current industrial and institutional organisation and functioning of the UK and global film and television industries

·To introduce students with current developments, debates and controversies in these industries

·To introduce students to the economic, policy and legal frameworks and contexts relevant to the production and consumption of film and television

·To introduce students with aspects of industrial, technological and aesthetic convergence in film and television

·To provide a more detailed understanding of current developments and trends in film and television production and consumption

To approach business practices for media including the development, financing and distribution of projects

To develop public speaking and problem-solving kills

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module students are expected to:

Have some understanding of the current organisation and function of the film and television industries in the UK including commissioning, development distribution and common deal structures

Have some understanding of the industrial and technological context of film and television production and how these impact on questions of creativity, form and aesthetics

Understand recent public policy initiatives relevant to film and television in the UK and how they have impacted on the film and television industries

·Understand how market impact on the organisation and operation of the film and television industries in the UK and beyond

Have some understanding of the impact of new digital technologies on film and television consumption and of the major opportunities and challenges in the future

Assessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Essay		 N/A 70
Oral presentation/seminar/exam
Presentation on a Current Issue		 N/A 30

Special assessment rules

None

Additional assessment information

Formative work is embedded into the seminar / workshop structure of the module where students receive feedback on task presentations.

Reassessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Essay		 N/A 70
Oral presentation/seminar/exam
Presentation on a Current Issue		 N/A 30

Module feedback

Feedback will be available 20 working days after the assessment deadline.

Indicative reading

UK Film Council (now BFI), Statistical Yearbook
Annual Reports of the BBC, ITV, C4 Sky and others.
Annual Reports of OFCOM.
Toby Miller et. al. Global Hollywood 2 (London: BFI, 2005)
**Jason Squire (ed.), The Movie Business Book, Third Edition (New York: McGraw Hill, 2005)
**John Thornton Caldwell, Production Culture: Industrial Reflexivity and Critical Practice in Film and Television (Durham: Duke University Press, 2008)
Paul MacDonald, Video and DVD Industries (London: BFI, 2007)
**Rhonda Baker, Media Law: A Users Guide for Film and Programme Makers
(Abingdon: Taylor and Francis, 2006)
**Chuck Tyron, Reinventing Cinema: Movies in the Age of Digital Convergence
(New
Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2009)
Dorota Ostrowska and Graham Roberts (eds.), European Cinemas in the Television
Age (Edinburgh University Press, 2007)
Maggie Brown, A License to be Different: The Story of Channel Four London: BFI, 2007)
John Hartley, Creative Industries (Oxford: Blackwells, 2005)
**David Hesmondhalgh, The Cultural Industries (London: Sage, 2007)
Jonathan A. Knee (and others), The Curse of the Mogul: What’s Wrong with the World’s Leading Media Companies (London: Penguin, 2011).
Chris Anderson, The Long Tail (New York: Random House, 2007)
**E.J. Epstein, The Big Picture: Money and Power in Hollywood (New York: Random
House, 2006)
Henry Jenkins, Convergence Culture (New York University Press, 2006)
**Paul MacDonald and Janet Wasko, Contemporary Hollywood Film Industry -(Oxford: Blackwell, 2008)
Mark Litwak, Deal Making in the Film & Television Industry (Los Angeles: Silman James, 1994)
**Mark Litwak, Risky Business: Financing and Distributing Independent Films (Los Angeles: Silman James, 2004)
Tom Crone et. al. Law and the Media (Oxford: Focal Press, 2002)
E. Quinn & J. Counihan, The Pitch (London: Faber and Faber, 2006)
**P. Alberstat, The Insider’s Guide to Film Finance, (Oxford: Focal Press, 2004) **H. Blumenthal, This Business of Television, 3rd edition, (Billboard Books, 2006) **H. Vogel, Entertainment Industry Economics, (Cambridge University Press, 2007)


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University is constantly exploring ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary by the University. Where appropriate, the University will notify and consult with affected students in advance about any changes that are required in line with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.