Students

MECO837 – Digital Media Strategies

2014 – S1 Day

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
John Potts
Contact via john.potts@mq.edu.au
Y3A 165J
Monday 3-4
Credit points Credit points
4
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MCrMedia or PGCertCrMedia or MFJ
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit examines the contexts for creative media production work. These contexts include the use of media technology in art practice, public art, installation, mixed media performance, online formats and hybrid media forms. The unit takes an inter-disciplinary approach in considering the many forms of creative expression for media production available in contemporary practice. The unit builds on undergraduate study in creative media and develops the means of theorising and assessing creative media production.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • Engage in sophisticated critical analysis of creative media works (Graduate Capabilities 2, 3, 6)
  • Consolidate theoretical knowledge and understanding specific to the discipline of media arts and media practice (GC 1, 2, 3 & 6)
  • Communicate knowledge and critical expertise in written and spoken forms to professional audiences (GC 4, 5 & 6)
  • Situate an understanding of creative media practice within a broader theoretical and environmental framework (GC 2, 5 & 6)
  • Synthesise theoretical and creative approaches to contemporary issues in media practice, including intellectual property and models of publication (GC 1, 3 & 6)

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Due
Presentation 25% 2 June
Major Essay 40% 2 June
Minor Essay 25% 12 May
Participation 10% 9 June

Presentation

Due: 2 June
Weighting: 25%

 

A presentation delivered to the seminar group on a case study of disruption to a specific media industry or form. Presentations should be twenty minutes in duration and take place in the seminars of Weeks 11 and 12.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Engage in sophisticated critical analysis of creative media works (Graduate Capabilities 2, 3, 6)
  • Consolidate theoretical knowledge and understanding specific to the discipline of media arts and media practice (GC 1, 2, 3 & 6)
  • Communicate knowledge and critical expertise in written and spoken forms to professional audiences (GC 4, 5 & 6)
  • Situate an understanding of creative media practice within a broader theoretical and environmental framework (GC 2, 5 & 6)
  • Synthesise theoretical and creative approaches to contemporary issues in media practice, including intellectual property and models of publication (GC 1, 3 & 6)

Major Essay

Due: 2 June
Weighting: 40%

This essay is the major research paper on a topic of your choice within the domain of media forms, media industry and technological disruption. The essay should be on a different topic to the minor essay. Word limit is 4,000 words.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Engage in sophisticated critical analysis of creative media works (Graduate Capabilities 2, 3, 6)
  • Consolidate theoretical knowledge and understanding specific to the discipline of media arts and media practice (GC 1, 2, 3 & 6)
  • Communicate knowledge and critical expertise in written and spoken forms to professional audiences (GC 4, 5 & 6)
  • Situate an understanding of creative media practice within a broader theoretical and environmental framework (GC 2, 5 & 6)
  • Synthesise theoretical and creative approaches to contemporary issues in media practice, including intellectual property and models of publication (GC 1, 3 & 6)

Minor Essay

Due: 12 May
Weighting: 25%

A minor research essay on a topic of your choice relating to media industries and disruption. Word length is 2,000 words.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Engage in sophisticated critical analysis of creative media works (Graduate Capabilities 2, 3, 6)
  • Consolidate theoretical knowledge and understanding specific to the discipline of media arts and media practice (GC 1, 2, 3 & 6)
  • Communicate knowledge and critical expertise in written and spoken forms to professional audiences (GC 4, 5 & 6)
  • Situate an understanding of creative media practice within a broader theoretical and environmental framework (GC 2, 5 & 6)
  • Synthesise theoretical and creative approaches to contemporary issues in media practice, including intellectual property and models of publication (GC 1, 3 & 6)

Participation

Due: 9 June
Weighting: 10%

Contribute to seminar discussion.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Engage in sophisticated critical analysis of creative media works (Graduate Capabilities 2, 3, 6)
  • Consolidate theoretical knowledge and understanding specific to the discipline of media arts and media practice (GC 1, 2, 3 & 6)
  • Communicate knowledge and critical expertise in written and spoken forms to professional audiences (GC 4, 5 & 6)
  • Situate an understanding of creative media practice within a broader theoretical and environmental framework (GC 2, 5 & 6)
  • Synthesise theoretical and creative approaches to contemporary issues in media practice, including intellectual property and models of publication (GC 1, 3 & 6)

Delivery and Resources

The unit is in the form of weekly two hour seminars. Readings will be provided by the convenors.

Unit Schedule

Week 1. 3 March:  Unit introduction

 

Week 2. 10 March: Copyrights. Steve Collins

Reading: 

Brian Day. (2011). 'In Defence of Copyright: Record Labels, Creativity, and the Future of Music'. Seton Hall Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law. Volume 21, Number 1. 61-103. David Nelson. (2005).

'Free the Music: Rethinking the role of copyright in an age of digital distribution'. Southern California Law Review. Volume 78. 559-590.

Week 3. 17 March: Mediation, disintermediation, reintermediation. Steve Collins

 Reading: Joseph Bowler & Clayton Christensen. (1995). 'Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave'. Harvard Business Review. January-February. 43-53.

SCREEN  Karen Pearlman

Week 4. 24 March: History - Film and Television: Technology, Art and Commerce 

"Every Change in film history implies a change in its address to the spectator and each period constructs its spectator in a new way"  Tom Gunning

 Reading:

Gunning, T. (1990). The Cinema of Attractions: Early Film, Its Spectator and the Avant-Garde. In T. Elsaesser (Ed.), Early Cinema: Space Frame Narrative (pp. 56–62). London: British Film Institute. Retrieved from http://www.columbia.edu/itc/film/gaines/historiography/Gunning.pdf

 A pdf of this essay can be found here:

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/film/gaines/historiography/Gunning.pdf

 

Week 5.  31 March:    Evolutionary nexus: screen exhibition, distribution, production and narration

“innovations in media form are … at the nexus of a number of historical forces that work to transform the norms established with any creative practice” Jason Mittell

Reading:

Mittell, J. Narrative Complexity in Contemporary American Television. The Velvet Light Trap, (58), 29–40. Retrieved from http://justtv.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/mittell-narrative-complexity.pdf

This can be found in the MQ library through the Muse database:

http://muse.jhu.edu/

It can also be found online, here:

http://justtv.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/mittell-narrative-complexity.pdf

 

Week 6. 7 April:  Digital creating, viewing and interacting with screen content

Reading:

Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence Culture, Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York university Press. Retrieved from http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=acls;cc=acls;idno=heb05936.0001.001;view=toc;node=heb05936.0001.001%3A6

Chapter 3, Searching for the Origami Unicorn: The Matrix and Transmedia Storytelling

 http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=acls;cc=acls;idno=heb05936.0001.001;view=toc;node=heb05936.0001.001%3A6

 

 

 MID-SEMESTER BREAK

 MUSIC Julian Knowles 

Week 7. 28 April: The new music industry. From ownership models to service models and the rise of user generated content

Rethinking Music: A Framing Paper in Rethinking Music: A Briefing Book. The Berkman Center for Internet & Society (2011), Harvard University.

Burkart, P. (2013). Music in the Cloud and the Digital Sublime. Popular Music and Society, pp.1-15.

 

Week 8. 5 May: The artist/fan relationship and new audience engagement strategies

Brown,  S. (2011) Artist autonomy in a digital era: The case of Nine Inch Nails. Empirical Musicology Review. Vol 6. No. 4. http://hdl.handle.net/1811/52949

Belsky, Kahr, Berkelhammer & Benkler (2010)  Everything in Its Right Place: Social Cooperation and Artist Compensation. Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review. Volume 17, Issue 1. http://www.mttlr.org/volseventeen/belsky.pdf

 

Week 9. 12 May: Reconceptualising the recording

Thomas, S.  Artists' Recordworks in the Early Twenty-First Century. Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America Vol. 32, No. 2 (Fall 2013) (pp. 253-273) http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/673516

Morrow, G (2009) Radiohead's Managerial Creativity. Convergence : the international journal of research into new media technologies, Vol. 15, No. 2, (2009), p.161-176 http://con.sagepub.com/content/15/2/161.short

Wikstrom, P (2012) A Typology of Music Distribution Models. International Journal of Music Business Research 1 (1), 7-20

http://musicbusinessresearch.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/ijmbr_april_2012_patrik_wikstrom1.pdfSocial Music Services

 

 

 THE FUTURE OF WRITING John Potts

 Readings provided from The Future of Writing (ed John Potts) forthcoming 2014, Palgrave Macmillan

Week 10. 19 May: Journalism and the News

 John Potts, 'Introduction'

Jennifer Beckett and Catharine Lumby, 'Reading and Writing the News in the Fifth Estae'

 

Week 11. 26 May: The Publishing Industry

 Richard Nash, 'Culture is the Algorithm'

Kate Eltham, 'When the Web is the World'

 

Week 12. 2 June: Creative Writing Technologies

 Nigel Krauth, 'Multigraph, not Monograph: Creative Writing and New Technologies'

Kathryn Millard and Alex Munt, 'The Design of Writing: 29 Observations'

 

Week 13. 9 June: Review of Course: Disruptive Media Technologies

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy  http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html

Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html

Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

PG - Discipline Knowledge and Skills

Our postgraduates will be able to demonstrate a significantly enhanced depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content knowledge in their chosen fields.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Consolidate theoretical knowledge and understanding specific to the discipline of media arts and media practice (GC 1, 2, 3 & 6)
  • Situate an understanding of creative media practice within a broader theoretical and environmental framework (GC 2, 5 & 6)

PG - Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

Our postgraduates will be capable of utilising and reflecting on prior knowledge and experience, of applying higher level critical thinking skills, and of integrating and synthesising learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments. A characteristic of this form of thinking is the generation of new, professionally oriented knowledge through personal or group-based critique of practice and theory.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Engage in sophisticated critical analysis of creative media works (Graduate Capabilities 2, 3, 6)
  • Consolidate theoretical knowledge and understanding specific to the discipline of media arts and media practice (GC 1, 2, 3 & 6)
  • Situate an understanding of creative media practice within a broader theoretical and environmental framework (GC 2, 5 & 6)
  • Synthesise theoretical and creative approaches to contemporary issues in media practice, including intellectual property and models of publication (GC 1, 3 & 6)

PG - Research and Problem Solving Capability

Our postgraduates will be capable of systematic enquiry; able to use research skills to create new knowledge that can be applied to real world issues, or contribute to a field of study or practice to enhance society. They will be capable of creative questioning, problem finding and problem solving.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • Synthesise theoretical and creative approaches to contemporary issues in media practice, including intellectual property and models of publication (GC 1, 3 & 6)

PG - Effective Communication

Our postgraduates will be able to communicate effectively and convey their views to different social, cultural, and professional audiences. They will be able to use a variety of technologically supported media to communicate with empathy using a range of written, spoken or visual formats.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • Communicate knowledge and critical expertise in written and spoken forms to professional audiences (GC 4, 5 & 6)

PG - Engaged and Responsible, Active and Ethical Citizens

Our postgraduates will be ethically aware and capable of confident transformative action in relation to their professional responsibilities and the wider community. They will have a sense of connectedness with others and country and have a sense of mutual obligation. They will be able to appreciate the impact of their professional roles for social justice and inclusion related to national and global issues

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • Communicate knowledge and critical expertise in written and spoken forms to professional audiences (GC 4, 5 & 6)

PG - Capable of Professional and Personal Judgment and Initiative

Our postgraduates will demonstrate a high standard of discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgment. They will have the ability to make informed choices and decisions that reflect both the nature of their professional work and their personal perspectives.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Engage in sophisticated critical analysis of creative media works (Graduate Capabilities 2, 3, 6)
  • Synthesise theoretical and creative approaches to contemporary issues in media practice, including intellectual property and models of publication (GC 1, 3 & 6)