module specification

Documentary filmmaking is currently a very fluid medium. Whereas fiction formats have struggled to adapt to new distribution models, documentary and factual formats have positively embraced new technology. From the i-Docs symposium to New York Times Op-Docs and the UN’s Clouds Over Sidra, documentary content continues to evolve. Entirely new formats have emerged (including crowd-based production and interactive and VR storytelling).

This module investigates change and innovation. With a strong emphasis on new and emerging practice it challenges students to research and experiment with concepts of presence and interactivity to imagine and create work that engages the viewer in a different way.

This module is taught alongside Interactive Documentary and shares the same syllabus. New and Emerging Technologies students produce a research report as part of their coursework for this module. Interactive Documentary students create an interactive moving image project. The idea of syllabus sharing is in order to encourage an ongoing conversation and collaboration between research-oriented students and creative practice students.

This course is constantly updated to reflect new and emerging practice. Current indicative content includes:

• i-Docs and Op-Docs
• Deep Fakes and AI
• Netflix and Vertical Integration
• Cinematography for 360 and VR
• Algorithm-based commissioning and the content arms race
• Virtual Reality: Presence and Empathy
• Post Production for VR and 360
• Interactivity and UX design
• Cinema as spectacle: 4K/8K and HDR
• Drones, wearable and consumer camera technology

Learning Outcomes LO 1 - 4

Scheduled teaching and learning will consist of weekly classes comprising a combination of technical labs, screenings, lectures, seminars, student presentations and practical workshops, supplemented by tutorials and use of the University’s blended learning platform (VLE).

Students will undertake independent study, including planning and research work towards a negotiated brief.

Students will present a research proposal and work in progress, in-class feedback and discussions encourage self-reflection, which is reinforced by peer and tutor input (including written formative and summative feedback). The module culminates in the submission of a written research (3500 words).

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

LO1 Define and contextualise new and emerging media production and distribution technologies.

LO2 Present and discuss plans for a research report which includes a clearly defined research question, appropriate structure and relevant research sources.

LO3 Explain the creative possibilities and practical challenges presented by new and emerging media production and distribution technologies.

LO4 Analyse and critique new and emerging technologies with specific reference to non-fiction formats and expected professional standards.

The assessment consists of two parts. The first is a 5-minute Research Presentation. Student formulate a research question based on a topic discussed during the course and present their plans, structure and key research sources to tutors and peers.

The second part, based on plans outlined above, is a written research report (3500 words) based on a topic discussed during the course.

See link to reading list resources here: https://rl.talis.com/3/londonmet/lists/59506AF9-6A0F-65DE-E2BB-626421F9A3EF.html?lang=en-GB&login=1