"You are to conduct a research project, which will have a written outcome of x number words in length, or equivalent*"
It is the "or equivalent*" that this post is exploring in more detail.
The concept that students' research can be practice-led makes a lot of sense in an art school setting. However, when a film student sees "or equivalent*" they immediately think, "Great! I can make a film for this module!"
There are a number of issues with this idea, including:
1. Film is generally a collaborative art and will involve a number of students working on a project, with distraction from their own projects very probable.
2. Film is time consuming. Pre-production, production and post-production take a great deal of time management and organisation.
3. Making a film for this module has a direct impact on films being made for other modules.
These and other factors were discussed at length with students, and we looked at alternative options for creative approaches to this module, such as making a book / a series of photographs / script extracts / storyboards etc.
Three students persisted with the idea that they would respond to this module by making a film.
Two of these worked together as producer/directors, and pulled in some help from other members of the cohort to work on camera, sound and edit. One student worked on a separate film, making use of the same crew.
The resulting work is excellent, and all three students submitted well-contextualised essays, alongside their film artefacts, that analysed their ideas, and evidenced their research ability and critical thinking.
1. The first film is an investigation into Jungian dream archetypes, and makes use of a number of characters in a waiting room. You can see the film here:
2. The second film explores Sci-fi film as a vehicle for philosophical inquiry. Again, it was well contextualised and the write-up evidenced a broad range of research, and critical investigation. You can see the film here:
The third film was an exploration into consumerism, and manages to fit a short history of the 20th century into a short film. It is made up of found footage, and original spoken word 'poetry'. The film is available here:
