This is an intermediate level course in the Film program aimed at developing student’s skills and knowledge as a professional filmmaker.

In today’s world documentary film serves to document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education, or maintaining a historical record. Documentary film provides a voice for minorities and the marginalised and is an important media form to bring matters to the attention of a society. Reality TV is a spin-off from documentary, which contains much more manipulation of the content. This course identifies some of the key points in the development of the documentary and reality TV form and its evolution.

Students are introduced to the history and aesthetic practices of the Documentary film and site its place and importance in the history of cinema. The course also considers at how reality TV has evolved from the documentary form. Documentary production and reality TV techniques are then explained using practical examples. Students then use this skill and knowledge base to write and produce their own documentary films or reality TV pilot in a group situation.

The aim of this course is to develop student’s skills and knowledge as a professional scriptwriter for the film industry. Writing scripts is an authentic assessment outcome for this course. Scriptwriting is a fundamental skill required in the film and television industries. This course provides students with the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge of storytelling principles and scriptwriting practice in the context of cinematic arts. The course enriches the student’s comprehension of the creative process necessary for the generation of original and adapted fiction and non-fiction works. This course is designed to complement courses with practical cinematic outcomes.

This is an intermediate course in the Bachelor Film and Screen Production program and relies on knowledge and technical skills acquired in previous FSP courses.

In this course students explore their identity as filmmakers through visual and aural storytelling processes by learning how to develop and produce a short film from script to screen. Beginning with a history of dramatic cinema students move into an exploration of the roles and responsibilities of a film crew and how to prepare a script for production. 

Students are introduced to the history of the short film and its strong relevance to both the feature film and it position in the careers of many filmmakers. They will then learn specific short film production techniques in pre-production, production and post-production. Through both individual and teamwork students will be involved in the production of a short film, which will act as an instrument in improving their filmmaking and storytelling abilities. 

Many of the skills and techniques learnt in previous foundation courses will be used to enable this.
This course will enhance student’s knowledge and skills so that they can then be utilised in other higher-level production courses.

This course serves to develop the filmmaker’s knowledge in the area of narrative film history, aesthetics and language with a strong emphasis on cinema as an art form. Understanding the historical, technical, and cultural significance of film language is incredibly important to emerging filmmakers as a way of communicating their message to a visual audience. Students will therefore engage in screenings, discussions and reviews aimed at exploring, investigating and understanding the grammar of the visual language in contemporary genre films.

The film industry is made-up of rich and diverse genres and types of filmic storytelling. Experimental Film is the art, application and practice of creating durable moving images created in accordance with the vision of the filmmaker as artist, to bring something to life that only lives in the artist’s mind and can provoke a reaction from us. This course transitions students into the film industry by providing them with the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge of advanced filmic practice in the context of cinema as an alternative art form. Students  will produce an experimental film as authentic assessment.

Film, television, animation and radio are often referred to as “Show Business”. The business models of media are unique and diverse. The media industry is one of few that deals with intangible—or conceptual, non-material goods. As such, there is no single method of operating in the media industry; each media organisation or company can operate on its own business model. 

This course prepares students to transition into the film industry by exploring the different business models associated with the media industry, as well as the advanced business skills students will need in becoming media professionals. It explains how media productions are financed and the business models that are used for successful completion and uses examples in the film, television and radio industry, as well as the distribution and release processes and how profit/loss are incurred.

Students should learn and explore the different business processes needed to finance a media project, how to develop a long-term business model for themselves and how to create sustainable business practices. This will allow students to focus on post-graduation opportunities and prepare them for an industry undergoing rapid change. Students will explore the notion of media businesses domestically and internationally, as well as ethical standards and the need for Multi-cultural and Indigenous broadcasting in the Australian cultural landscape.

This signature course is the second half of the major production project for year three and involves industry sized crews working together to produce short drama, documentary and screen media programs on Digital Video or web-based formats. Projects are completed through post-production practices. Completed projects are assessed by panel, before being publicly screened at graduate exhibitions. Students are assessed on both group and individual performance; with completed projects forming the basis of students’ portfolio show reels to seek employment.