Producing Film and Television

Code School Level Credits Semesters
MLAC1026 Media, Languages and Cultures 1 20 Spring Malaysia
Code
MLAC1026
School
Media, Languages and Cultures
Level
1
Credits
20
Semesters
Spring Malaysia

Summary

This module is designed to engage students with a series of perspectives on certain aspects of the narrative histories of film and television, from their origins to the present day. This is a period of well over a hundred years which saw a series of significant transitional moments in production histories. The module will look at such moments as the coming of sound, the rise and demise of the Hollywood studio system, and the emergence of the network system. It will ask what transition means at different historical moments by raising a number of questions such as: What are the industries producing at these moments and why? How are the industries doing this? How are the cultural products marketed and distributed? The module is also designed to introduce historical method and the idea of historiography. To this end, the course will provide examples of different critical approaches to film and television history and interrogate some of the key debates around the periodization of that history. In each case, specific case examples and materials will be used to examine the various kinds of evidence used by film and television historians and the particular forms of knowledge these produce.

Target Students

Core/required modules for Year 1 BA ICS Film & TV Studies. This module has been particularly identified as suitable for first-year students including those from other schools and faculties.

Co-requisites

Modules you must take in the same academic year, or have taken in a previous year, to enrol in this module:

Classes

Assessment

Educational Aims

By the end of the module, students should be able to identify and critically analyse key developments in film/television production in historical terms; understand and develop a chronological awareness of the series of significant transitional moments in production histories; and gain skills to research production histories, including working with primary and secondary materials and evaluating different forms of evidence.

Learning Outcomes

A Knowledge and Understanding of:

  • the place and roles of film and television in everyday life both as industry and as cultural practice
  • the political, economic and cultural contexts from which cinema and broadcast productions and institutional practices have emerged
  • the role of technology in shaping the development of practices in film and television production, distribution and consumption
  • the historical development of film and television as cultural and industrial practices
  • the structures and dynamics governing the relationships between cinema, television and other cultural industriesB Intellectual Skills
  • reason critically and independently
  • apply theoretical approaches to specific case studies
  • identify and solve problems
  • organise and present relevant research material
  • engage with and contribute to ideas and views generated in group work
  • be reflective about the strengths and weaknesses of their own work and the learning processC Professional/Practical Skills
  • identify, plan and undertake research involving the gathering and selection of relevant material from a variety of sources
  • manage time and resources effectively by drawing on planning and organisational skills
  • produce work that is informed by, and contextualised within relevant theoretical concepts and debates
  • employ relevant technical and analytical vocabularies in writing and talking cogently about film
  • carry out various forms of research involving substantial independent enquiry
  • identify and explore new or emerging areas in the study of film D Transferable/Key Skills
  • plan and carry out work in an independent, self-reliant manner
  • put to use a range of relevant IT skills, such as word processing and using the Internet as a resource for research
  • communicate effectively in written form
  • manage time and work to deadlines
  • reflect upon and assess own progress, identify strengths and weaknesses, and act to rectify possible problems

    • Conveners

    View in Curriculum Catalogue
    Last updated 09/01/2025.