57685 Studio: Scripted

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.

Subject level:

Postgraduate

Description

Tracing the path from concept to screen, this subject equips students with an understanding of how stories transition from initial ideas to visual narratives on film and television, enhancing their appreciation for the craft of screenwriting and production. Students gain knowledge of storytelling theories and principles, and develop practical skills in creating compelling mise en scène. Students' learning involves active participation in research, discussions, and presentations, alongside seminars and workshops that hone their collaborative and technical abilities for scripted productions.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)

This subject engages with the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs), which are tailored to the Graduate Attributes set for all graduates of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences:

• Analyse, develop or produce creative media projects within a framework of specialised practice-oriented knowledge and skills. (1.1)
• Engage critically with your creative practice research through the application of established theory. (2.1)
• Apply collaborative practice, research, and entrepreneurial skills to business, curation and understanding audiences (3.1)
• Critically reflect on ethical practices to work effectively with and for Indigenous peoples and communities as professional screen arts practitioners. (4.1)
• Engage screen audiences and communities for impact and change. (5.1)
• Demonstrate high-level abilities and self-awareness as an oral, written and audio-visual communicator. (6.1)

Teaching and learning strategies

This subject is delivered through engagement with online content, on campus seminars and technical workshops. Seminars incorporate activities such as student presentations, in-class screenings, and creative practice exercises. Workshops provide technical proficiencies in professional film lighting, camera operation, sound recording and editing. Throughout the session students receive formative feedback from their tutor and peers, including before census date, which is aligned to their assessment items. As the subject progresses, the focus shifts from the theories that underpin screen story to an emphasis on hands-on collaborative practice. In group projects students perform individual crew roles assigned by the lecturer and deliver the project to a professional standard.

An aim of this subject is to help you develop academic and professional language and communication skills to succeed at university and in the workplace. To determine your current academic language proficiency, students enrolled in the Graduate Certificate of Screen Arts and Production (Drama) must complete OPELA in the first two weeks of their commencing session. Students who receive a Basic or Intermediate result for the OPELA must attend additional Language Development Tutorials in order to pass the subject.

Content (topics)

This subject explores how screen dramatists have come to understand and apply the core principles of character, structure, plot and theme to the creation of screen works. As part of the context for discussing representation and equity, students learn the protocols and processes that govern the development and production of scripted Indigenous screen stories. The subject introduces students to elements of mise en scène, including visual style, space, time and point of view, framing and shot sizes, editing and coverage, storyboarding, design and staging, sound and music. Students engage in practice-based exercises and workshops to explore the fundamentals of scripted screen production. Topics covered include cinematography and visual style, continuity and editing practice within narrative film, achieving sync with double-system sound, sound design, fundamentals of production management, and crew roles and responsibilities within narrative media production.

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Mise en scène Presentation

Assessment task 2: Script Treatment and Key Scene

Assessment task 3: Indigenous Protocols for Scripted Content

Assessment task 4: Scripted Narrative Scene and Reflection

Minimum requirements

Student must pass the Lighting Safety Test in order to operate equipment associated with this class. This requirement is for safety reasons. If students haven’t passed the test they will not be allowed to handle lights or any electrical equipment.

Students are required to submit documentation to an online approvals system for Media Arts & Production student projects in which they confirm they have acquired the appropriate approvals (locations, crew and cast) necessary to undertake the work that they propose. In addition, students must also identify any and all safety risks that the production of their student project reasonably presents and provide evidence of how they will mitigate those risks while adhering to industry-standard safe work practices. These tasks address the various legal, safety and ethical requirements of screen production. Failure to provide tutors with the required documentation before published deadlines will result in the student crew not being authorised to collect the equipment required to complete their projects from FASS MediaLab.

Attendance at all teaching activities (classes and workshops) is essential in this subject. Teaching activities are based on a collaborative approach that involves essential workshopping and interchange of ideas with other students and the tutor to build capacities towards meeting the subject learning objectives. A roll will be taken at each activity (whether on campus or online). Students who have more than two absences from class and/or fail to attend four out of the five workshops will be refused marking of their final assessment (see Rule 3.8).

It is a requirement of this subject that students in the Graduate Certificate of Screen Arts and Production (Drama) must complete the OPELA. Students who receive a Basic or Intermediate result in the OPELA are required to attend 80% of the Language Development Tutorials in order to pass the subject. Students in this cohort who do not complete the OPELA or do not meet the 80% attendance requirement in the Language Development Tutorials will receive a Fail X Grade.

Generative AI may be permitted in specific assessment tasks. If so, it will be noted in your assessment brief and its use will need to be referenced. In this case refer to the UTS Library Guide on the use of Generative AI for instruction about how to reference correctly.

Required texts

Required and recommended readings will be available via UTS Library and through the subject site.

References

Aronson, L. (2011). The 21st Century Screenplay. Allen & Unwin.

Barnwell, J. (2022). Production design & the cinematic home. Springer.

Brown, B. (2022). Cinematography: Theory and practice for cinematographers and directors (Fourth edition). Routledge.

Thompson, K., & Smith, J. (Eds.). (2020). The Shot: Mise-en-Scene. In D. Bordwell, Film art?: an introduction (Twelfth edition., pp. 112–158). McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Chattopadhyay, B. (2021). The Auditory Setting: Environmental Sounds in Film and Media Arts (1st ed.). Edinburgh University Press.

Clevé, B. (2018). Film production management: how to budget, organize, and successfully shoot your film (Fourth ed. ed.). Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

Dancyger, K. (2010). The Technique of Film and Video Editing (5th Edition). Focal Press.

Field, S. (2005) Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting. Bantam Dell.

Holman, T. (2002) Sound for film and television. Focal Press.

Janke, T, & Gray, C. 2009, Pathways & Protocols : a filmmaker's guide to working with Indigenous people, culture and concepts, Screen Australia, Sydney.

Kessler, F., Barnard, T., & Le Forestier, L. (2022). Montage, découpage, mise en scène?: essays on film form (First edition.). Caboose.

Knight-Hill, A., & Margetson, E. (2024). Art of Sound: Creativity in Film Sound and Electroacoustic Music (1st ed.). Routledge.

Rabiger, M. (1997). Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics (2nd Edition) Focal Press.

Weis, E., & Belton, J. (1985) Film Sound: Theory and Practice. Columbia University Press.

Weston, J. (1996) Directing Actors. Michael Weise Productions.

Yorke, J. (2013) Into the woods: a five act journey into story. Overlook Press.