iTeach and Unit Guides will be undergoing maintenance today (Tue 17th Feb) from 1-5pm AEDT. Service may be temporarily unavailable during this time. Apologies for any inconvenience. Updates via https://itstatus.mq.edu.au
Students

MMCC3012 – Screen Production: Documentary Filmmaking

2022 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Karen Pearlman
karen.pearlman@mq.edu.au
Contact via karen.pearlman@mq.edu.au
10 Hadenfeld Ave (10HA) room 193H
Mondays 1 to 2pm or 10 to 11am
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
130cp at 1000 level or above including MAS213 or MMCC2013
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

The special focus of this unit is documentary as a mode of screen storytelling. Students encounter different modes and forms of documentary production and analyse the impact of the strategies used to shoot and compose them. Students practice core documentary making skills such as observation, interview, image composition, dramatisations and structuring stories. Through practical work, students address a range of artistic choices available in representing the real. By engaging with the opportunities this unit offers, students can produce work suitable for their professional portfolios and for entry into film festivals.

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:

  • ULO1: synthesise practical, technical and conceptual skills through the research, development and collaborative realisation of creative non-fiction screen production.
  • ULO2: develop and implement strategic creative and technical pathways towards the production of non-fiction screen works.
  • ULO3: analyse technical and creative strategies through a critical appraisal of non-fiction screen works.
  • ULO4: evaluate critically one's own and other's creative screen works.

General Assessment Information

Please note that the University and the Faculty of Arts have launched a new assessment policy effective as of 1 July 2021. This new policy particularly affects LATE SUBMISSION OF ASSESSMENTS.

 

The Faculty policy in relation to late assessment submissions is as follows:

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – 10 marks out of 100 credit will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted seven days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline.  No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests, etc.

 

 

To be very clear:

·         Unless you have applied for special consideration and had your application approved, for each day your assignment is late, 10 marks will be deducted. For example, if you submit your assignment 7 days late, 70 marks will be deducted, which means you will fail that assignment.

·         If your assignment is more than 7 days late (including weekends), you will get 0 marks for your assignment.

These are serious penalties that will substantially alter your final grade and even determine whether you pass or fail this unit. Please make every effort to submit your assignment by the due date.

If you find you cannot submit your assignment on time, please apply for Special Consideration through AskMQ. Make sure you read Macquarie University's policy regarding Special Consideration requests before you apply: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/special-consideration

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI Approach
iLearn Quizzes & Tasks 15% No weekly - weeks 1 to 6, 11:59pm Sundays No
Creative Task 1 (minor) 35% No 11:59 pm 10/04/2022 No
Creative Task 2 (major) 50% No 11:59pm 03/06/2022 No

iLearn Quizzes & Tasks

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: weekly - weeks 1 to 6, 11:59pm Sundays
Weighting: 15%
Groupwork/Individual:
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach:

 

Students will respond to a series of low-stakes iLearn activities such as quizzes, short practical exercises, or critical viewing tasks. Students will be expected to draw on resources informing these tasks for their productions and reflection statements.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • analyse technical and creative strategies through a critical appraisal of non-fiction screen works.
  • evaluate critically one's own and other's creative screen works.

Creative Task 1 (minor)

Assessment Type 1: Creative work
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours
Due: 11:59 pm 10/04/2022
Weighting: 35%
Groupwork/Individual:
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach:

 

Creative Screen Production Task. Refer to iLearn for further information.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • synthesise practical, technical and conceptual skills through the research, development and collaborative realisation of creative non-fiction screen production.
  • develop and implement strategic creative and technical pathways towards the production of non-fiction screen works.
  • evaluate critically one's own and other's creative screen works.

Creative Task 2 (major)

Assessment Type 1: Creative work
Indicative Time on Task 2: 60 hours
Due: 11:59pm 03/06/2022
Weighting: 50%
Groupwork/Individual:
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach:

 

Creative screen production task. This is a creative project incorporating advanced production techniques discussed in the unit. Refer to iLearn for further information.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • synthesise practical, technical and conceptual skills through the research, development and collaborative realisation of creative non-fiction screen production.
  • develop and implement strategic creative and technical pathways towards the production of non-fiction screen works.
  • evaluate critically one's own and other's creative screen works.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation.

3 An automatic short extension is available for some assessments. Apply through the Service Connect Portal.

Delivery and Resources

Weeks 1, 2, and 3 of this unit are online via Zoom.  You will need internet connectivity and a computer. 

Weeks 4, 5, 6, and 7 are face to face workshops on campus.  In these workshops you will get instruction in the gear you may use for this unit.  Attendance is mandatory in order to be able to book and use the professional standard MQ gear. 

Your individually authored documentary or video essay is due at the end of week 7 (Creative Task 1)

Mid-semester break and weeks 8 and 9 are your Creative Task 2 production period.  During these four weeks you and your team will shoot your documentaries, make a paper edit and get your editing process started.

Weeks 10, 11, 12 are post-production (editing, sound, titles and music).  You wil have zoom classes during these weeks to get feedback on your edits.  Attendance is required far achievment of the unit's learning outcomes!

week 13: final productions (Creative Task 2) due for submission at the end of the week

Unit Schedule

week 1 - seminar - approaches to documentary - online

week 2 - ideas development - individual and group documentaries - online

week 3 - pitching and crewing group documentaries - online

weeks 4, 5, 6, 7  - skills development (in workshops) production development (self directed and in workshops) 

mid semester break, weeks 8, and 9 - production period - self directed shooting of documentaries in groups

weeks 10 - 13 post production (editing, sound, music & titling) of documentaries for submission at end of week 13

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

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

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

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

Unit information based on version 2022.03 of the Handbook