- Department: Theatre, Film, Television and Interactive Media
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: C
- Academic year of delivery: 2022-23
Bringing your first year at York to an exciting and creative climax, Content Development will give you your first taste of how ideas are worked up and stories refined in the professional worlds of film and television. You will work intensely and intensively in three key areas: narrative drama, long-form non-fiction (documentary) and formatted drama and factual programmes. Sessions will operate on a boot-camp model. Just like the professional world you will be asked to work on your ideas quickly, with carefully targeted research and in terms of industry standards and criteria. And you will be asked to pitch and explore the potential of your ideas and stories with your colleagues in lively round-table discussions led by the department’s leading teaching-staff. The module will allow you to pull together and apply all that you have learned previously in the year. It will call on you to think through stories and narrative structures, to deploy production techniques and technologies and to apply theoretical ideas and history so that successful films and TV shows from the past inform your ideas, and new creative departures, in the future.
Occurrence | Teaching period |
---|---|
A | Summer Term 2022-23 |
This module is designed to acquaint film and television students with some of the procedures – and the associated critical thinking – required for turning raw ideas into screen content, both fictional and factual. Using an intense, ‘boot-camp’ mode of delivery, it will provide students with insight into and understanding of a professional creative environment relevant to contemporary film and television production practice where ideas have to be generated and delivered on a regular basis. These ideas are then researched and developed at speed, sometimes under pressure.
This module will:
Introduce the basic principles of story research (for both factual and fictional programmes)
Explore the necessary disciplines for identifying, seeking out and recording potential ideas
Provide core guidelines for judging the necessary technical and practical requirements to make ideas work
Introduce the analytical tools for evaluating existing formats and screen story structures, and judging their applicability to new subject-matters.
Equip students with the core skills required for proposal writing and presentation
The academic and graduate aims include:
Developing critical thinking: understanding previous practice, and critically evaluating how to develop and explain (screen) ideas.
Facilitating independent working and self-directed research
Encouraging co-operative working on reflective criticism and project improvement
Working to deadlines and schedules
Writing and presenting materials for professional audiences.
Upon completion of this module students are expected to be able to
Subject content
Understand what constitutes a viable screen idea – fact or fiction
Possess the core skills for researching both the subject-matter and practical aspects of screen content
Apply the storytelling skills explored in the prior (term 1) “Story” module
Possess the ability to communicate screen content ideas in writing and in verbal presentation
Academic and graduate skills
Understand how to work to schedules and deadlines
Work independently to meet deadlines, and to explore the potential of ideas
Work co-operatively and effectively with colleagues on ideas and projects
Critically analyse content ideas and their industrial and cultural contexts and assess the value of previous industrial and creative practice
Present ideas and proposals compellingly and efficiently
Other learning outcomes (if applicable)
Develop regular topical reading habits in order to generate ideas, and to engage with issues in the external world generally.
Task | % of module mark |
---|---|
Essay/coursework | 75 |
Oral presentation/seminar/exam | 25 |
None
Task | % of module mark |
---|---|
Essay/coursework | 75 |
Oral presentation/seminar/exam | 25 |
Bernard, S. C. (2007) Documentary Storytelling. Amsterdam and London: Focal Press.
Thompson, K. (2003) Storytelling in Film and Television. Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press.
Potter, C. (2001) Screen Language: From Film Writing to Film-making. London: Methuen
Holland, P. (2004), The Television Handbook. London; Routledge.
Chater, K. (2001), Research for Media Production. London; Focal Press
Lees, N. (2010), Greenit: Developing Factual and Reality TV ideas from Concept to Pitch. London; Methuen Drama.