AFDA

Bachelor of Arts in Motion Picture Medium

Disciplines:

During their undergraduate studies, students will explore the different disciplines that contribute to the making of a motion picture or television production. There are five discipline concentrations that inform the production needs of the motion picture industry:

Screen Production

• Writing
• Producing
• Directing

Image Production

• Cinematography
• Data & Grading

Screen Design

• Production Design
• Character Design and Styling

Post Production

• Editing
• Visual Effects, Broadcast Design & Animation

Sound & Music Production

• Sound Recording, Design & Mixing
• Media Music Production

Course structure

Over the space of three years, students will have the opportunity to discover and explore the world of motion picture production through the following core areas: Ideation Studies, Contextual Studies, Discipline Studies, Project Studies, and Reflection Studies.

Ideation Studies

Not only will students work collaboratively to creatively engage with and understand the rich diversities of theories surrounding motion picture media, but they will also learn how these contribute to the making of a product. During this learning process, students will develop the concepts and perceptual capacity necessary to produce their own original, rich and exciting work. They will do so with an understanding of narrative, how a story is informed by conflict and its relationship to the human condition, as well as by exploring and comprehending how a story is visualized and expressed through the medium, aesthetics, and business of film, TV, stage and emerging media.

Discipline Studies

Students will have the opportunity to use the knowledge they have gleaned in Ideation Studies to experiment, play, and imaginatively express their creative voice in the fields of production, screen design, image production, post-production, and sound and music production. These discipline concentrations, and the perceptual and concrete skills they inform, have been conceptualized in such a way that they meet the ever-evolving production needs of the 21st-century motion picture industry.

Contextual Studies

Key 21st-century skills are covered, such as critical thinking, collaboration, career development, resilience skills, goal-setting, and values, together with an understanding that the landscape of digital technology is ever-changing. These will encourage the development of creative individuals who are culturally aware, who have the capacity to exercise ethical considerations, and who are able to successfully integrate their abilities with others in a team. These skills will also provide students with a wider scope for future employment.

Project Studies

Here, students are given the opportunity to systematically apply the concepts and theories explored in Ideation, Discipline, and Contextual Studies to produce a term project. For these projects, multiple learning narratives – such as feature narratives, television programs, series, documentaries, YouTube programs, mobisodes and webisodes, and user-generated experiences among many others – are assigned to groups of students sequentially. This provides them with the opportunity to experiment and engage with a broad range of 21st-century media forms.

Reflection Studies

The production process culminates in Reflection Studies, allowing students to reflect critically on their experiential project-led learning. Students are encouraged to link their theoretical learning to their experiences in the real world, mapping their growth and deciding how what they have learned during the creation of their projects will inform their career development, their investment in the world, and their own personal fulfillment.

Tutorials

Not only will each area of study be informed by instructive lectures, but students will also attend regular small-group tutorials, an integral part of their learning process. In these tutorials, students will have the opportunity to enhance their knowledge of lecture content and to critically engage with concepts and projects with the help and guidance of experienced tutors and lecturers. These individuals have the skills, understanding, and empathy to offer necessary individual support. Tutorials are structured to encourage the sharing of individual creative ideas as a means to a successful collaborative outcome.

Discipline Electives

During the first eighteen months of the program, there are no electives, and all students take all the subjects. First-year students will have the opportunity to test and experience the many disciplines that contribute to the making of a motion picture production. Once the students have developed a broad knowledge of the motion picture production process and how they integrate to produce valuable products, they then begin to select the disciplines they would like to specialize in. During the last eighteen months of the program, students select one major discipline and one minor discipline to specialize in.

Students enrolling for this degree should have a strong desire to:

• Develop a culture not only of knowledge exploration but also of understanding, applying, and analyzing this knowledge to come up with their own novel concepts.
• Take on multiple roles within creative production teams across multiple content forms, adopting a collaborative learning approach.
• Be aware of the ethical and cultural contexts in which they work and the opportunities they have as creative professionals to invest in the world.
• Apply their knowledge in the context of the motion picture profession in order to build successful careers and foster a sense of fulfillment.
• Nurture a culture of life-long, deep, relevant learning by continuously reflecting on their progress.