Arts & Media – (B.A.)

Contents

Syllabus (11/12*)

Year 1

You are introduced to the main elements of the course. Particular attention will be given to your familiarisation with three core disciplines: Fine Art, Photography and Filmmaking. You have the opportunity to consolidate skills and knowledge acquired prior to joining the course and to acquire and explore new ones. To begin with you study all units, in semester 2 you select units depending on your area of interest.

Semester 1 units:

* Introduction to filmmaking
* Introduction to photography
* Modernism - introduce a range of Fine Art practices central to the understanding of modernism, and explore the relationship between these cultural forms and wider historical contexts.
* Photography in context - series of lectures introduces key aspects of photography, such as what the identity of photography is considered to be, the use of photographs to document, how certain photographs have come to be regarded as art, snapshots (the most popular form of photography) and fashion photographs.
* Image, language & technology - introduces key skills and concepts in moving image production.
* Drawing the subject - studio-based unit which examines drawing as an immediate and inventive method of exploring subject matter.
* Digital skills one - opportunity to gain a practical understanding of the fundamentals of computer animation.
* Framing animation - introduces key concepts in media and cultural theory central to reading and thinking about moving image in general and animation in particular.
* Visual culture 2: context and production - considers the cultural and institutional contexts of contemporary media production and consumption.

Semester 2 units:

* The city - you research images and ideas relating to the city, some of which will be introduced to you in the lecture. You also have a study visit, either in Berlin or London to Brighton, where you will experience a new city, or new aspects of a familiar city,
* Cultures of nature - opportunity to engage with the key problems and challenges in the contemporary understanding of 'nature'.
* Reflections - provides two options for practical work relating to the theme of Reflection. This can be interpreted in a number of ways such as an exploration of memory, flashback or projection, self-reflexive filming, thinking through 'the real' and so on.
* Digital skills two - you are taught the basics of 3D computer animation and 3D software.
* Specialist options - studio-based unit that will give you the choice of exploring a wide range of materials and working methodologies
* Image factory - you are introduced to the history and practice of digital imaging and interactive virtual reality.
* Movement, story & structure - building on the skills you attained in semester 1, it will continue your exploration of drawing, narrative and the communication of ideas. Emphasis is placed on improving your skills in a range of animation techniques, and ensuring you have a sound grasp of theories of movement and associated animation technologies.
* Self-directed - opportunity for you to design and carry out a photographic project of your choice.
* Mediation and meaning - considering the cultural contexts of animation, we explore notions of audience engagement, representation, story meaning, narrative and genre drawing on theories of culture and literature both old and new.
* Postmodernism - a broad study of cultural practices and debates which took place in Europe and America from 1960 to the present, focusing on late modernism and forms of postmodernism emerging in the late 50s.
* Signs and meanings - extend and augment some of the fundamental concepts introduced in Culture, Photography,
* Time art & expanded media - introduction to the history and practice of time-based media with reference to visual arts practice.

Year Two

During this year of the course you develop your exploratory and developmental skills. You build on research skills and knowledge gained in your first year and you have the opportunity to specialise further in your particular field/s of interest. Below all units for this year of the course, units undertaken may vary depending on your area of interest.

* Material and processes - through a process of exploration and change you are asked to explore radical solutions to formal/conceptual problems.
* Historical perspectives - this unit explores the historical progression of animation through its systems, institutions and practices through the study of key artists, practitioners, studios, and the works they have produced.
* Culture and identity - introduces current closely entwined debates on identity, difference and community.
* Maps & journeys - encourages you to use the metaphor of 'journeys' to investigate narrative and nonlinear ideas using video production or interactive media to produce a creative idea.
* Vision and knowledge - this unit deals with the more complex issues involved in those photography practices such as documentary, landscape, portrait, scientific, medical, forensic, military which are founded upon the premise that 'seeing is believing', that 'seeing' constitutes knowledge.
* Intermedia: research - considers how our sense of place is inextricably woven into beliefs of identity and culture.
* Contemporary contexts / dissertation proposal - This unit consists of two parts. The first part re-examines some of the ideas explored in the previous unit, Historical Perspectives, locating these in a more contemporary context. The second part is a series of workshops and lectures in preparation for your dissertation.
* Practising theory: mediums/objects/sites - introduction to the ways in which numerous members of the avant-garde have incorporated theoretical models into their practices.
* Cultures of convergence - this unit investigates concepts and issues, which relate to new technologies and visual cultures.
* Research & concept - the research you undertake is a continuation of the film making skills you acquired in the unit 'Short Film' and through feedback and tutorials, individual strengths, weaknesses and interests will be identified and students will be guided towards an individual course of study.
* Personal project - introduces you to self-directed work.
* Innovation & interference - you are introduced to key critical debates and specific methodologies for creating work for a contemporary media landscape that includes the distribution options of galleries and specialised festivals.
* Narrative and audience - considers the relationship between the photographer and audience, examining the photographer as a focus of transactions that are socially, culturally and politically based.
* Intermedia: resolution - builds on research undertaken in Intermedia: Research and is designed to allow the opportunity to produce a combined media installation artwork with the option of integrated performance art activity.
* Culture and ecology - this unit examines the relationship between ecology and culture and the competing discourses of the environment through a broad scope of subjects, including art, science, philosophy and ethics.
* Making artists, making art history - you will explore and define the theoretical and methodological basis and subject matter for your dissertation, present your ideas for discussion and feedback at a dissertation workshop, and then produce a dissertation proposal.
* Identity & difference, Critical approaches - both provide a theoretical and methodological basis for researching and writing your dissertation.
* Music video unplugged - this unit encourages you to develop a short promotional video that accompanies a piece of music through a number of formal approaches.
* The short film - you undertake a significant project, which will be both suitable and appropriate for submission to a festival or a response to an outside commission or competition.

Year 3

This is the final part of your studies. You produce a body of work in your chosen media area(s) with an opportunity to demonstrate your ability to develop ideas and skills which you have explored during year 1 and year 2.

* Innovation & development - the work that you do in this unit will form the basis of your practical work.
* Dissertation - a substantial period of self-directed research on a subject that is related to the historical, theoretical or critical concerns of your discipline or professional area.
* Conclusion - you focus primarily on the resolution of current issues and concerns in your practice, rather than on the formulation of new ideas.
* Exhibition & professional futures - this unit consists of three components; an exhibition of work and its related written critique, a Professional Portfolio and a survey of the law in relation to the fine art practitioner.

* Please note the syllabus content is for the academic year indicated and is provided as a guide. The content of the course may be subject to change.