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Documentary Film: An Australian Focus (FTV2710/3710)
2011

Description

This unit will investigate a range of key issues in documentary and non-fiction film production from the inception of cinema to the present day, with a major focus on Australian documentary. Australian films examined include feminist films, television documentaries, deconstructive 'essay' films, documentary-fiction mix experiments, ethnographic films and films made collectively by minority groups. The theoretical and practical issues discussed in relation to the Australian films will provide a framework for the examination of a number of important phases in the historical development of documentary.

Objectives

By the completion of this subject students are expected to demonstrate: an understanding of the styles, strategies and structures of documentary film:

a knowledge of the major 'schools' in the international history of documentary film and to employ this knowledge in the examination of recent developments in documentary theory and practice

an understanding of the various modes of documentary film as they are influenced by technological developments, institutional policy and ideological inflections

an understanding of the complex relationship between the pro-filmic event, its representation and modes of reception

an understanding of the meanings and implications of a range of concepts as they inform documentary film theory:these include narrative, rhetoric, realism, mode of address, metaphor and metonymy, and expository form

an ability to critically engage with written and filmic texts in a clear and confident manner in both written and oral presentation.

Assessment

Visual Test (1500 words) : 40%

Essay (3000 words) : 60%

Other Details

Offered in: 2010
Levels: Undergraduate
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