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 New and Emerging Technologies and shares the same syllabus. Interactive Documentary students create an interactive moving image project as part of their coursework for this module. New and Emerging Technologies students produce a research report. The idea of syllabus sharing is in order to encourage an ongoing conversation and collaboration between creative practice students and research-oriented 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 - 5

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 research, planning, creative and practical work (including the development of a proof of concept). Students will have independent access (as required) to filmmaking equipment including 360 cameras, VR-capable post production facilities and computer labs.

Students will present a proof of concept and work in progress, in-class feedback and discussions encourage self-reflection, which is reinforced by peer and tutor input.

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

LO1 Critically analyse and contextualise new and emerging media production and distribution technologies.

LO2 Plan and devise a proof of concept for a creative project that engages with new and emerging practice.

LO3 Explain and apply concepts of presence and interactivity in a film or VR context.

LO4 Create a film or moving image project which includes interactive content.

LO5 Reflect and critique their own practice, identifying areas for improvement and contextualising it within the framework of expected professional standards.

The assessment consists of two parts. The first is a 5-minute proof of concept presentation delivered in class to tutors and peers. The presentation will incorporate research plans and a technical overview for an interactive documentary project.

The second part, based on plans outlined above, is an Interactive Documentary (practical assignment). Due to the broad and experimental nature of the genre, the duration and format of the project work will be established in the proof of concept and agreed with the tutor as part of a negotiated learning agreement.

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