Business concepts in the documentary industry

Realizowany zdalnie

Course objectives:

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the specifics of the film industry, with particular focus on the documentary film industry. Students will get to know the process of producing a documentary, the players involved in it, as well as the possibilities of distributing and selling the finished film. By discussing these aspects of film production, students will acquire vocabulary that allows them to understand and discuss film industry specific matters, but that they will also be able to apply to other branches of business.

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total hours 30

total ects 2

1 ects = 30 hours in the classroom

1 ects = 10 hoursw of consultations + 15 hour of preparation

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contact:

coordinator of the Study Programme: m.tukiendorf@uni.opole.pl

Course content:

1.Stages and roles of creating a documentary

2. What does a producer do? What is a co-production and how does it work?

3. Pre-production: making a plan

4. Searching for funding, funding bodies, pitching

5. Who owns what rights? Film rights, intellectual property

6. Production stage

7. Industry Markets – meeting decisionmakers

8. Rough-cut stage and post-production

9. Film festivals

10. Distribution strategies. What is a sales agent?

11. Marketing campaign, impact campaign

12. Distribution platforms, how does distribution work? Broadcasters, slots etc.

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Methods of teaching: interactive lecture, discussion classes, film projections, multimedia presentations.

Reading list:

Obligatory reading (to get a credit):

1. Matthew C. Nisbet & Patricia Aufderheide (2009) Documentary Film: Towards a Research Agenda on Forms, Functions, and Impacts, Mass Communication and Society, 12:4

2. Meg McLagan (2012) Imagining Impact: Documentary Film and the Production of Political Effects in Sensible Politics: The Visual Culture of Nongovernmental Politics. New York, Zone Books

3. Diana Iordanova (2015) The Film Festival as an Industry Node in Media Industries

Used for self-study

Aida Vallejo (2014) Industry Sections. Documentary Film Festivals between Production and Distribution, Ilumince vol.26, no.1 (93)

Supplementary reading

Florin Vladica and Charles H. Davis (2008) Business Innovation and New Media Practices in Documentary Film Production and Distribution: Conceptual Framework and Review of Evidence.

Learning outcomes acc to PRK 2017

Knowledge

1. Student has knowledge of the roles involved in documentary film production, the necessary steps in the documentary film production, and examples of successful productions and distribution strategies (s-W-2)

Skills

2. Student understands and correctly uses the new terms introduced (s-U-1)

3. Student is able to give an oral presentation in English (s-U-2)

4. Student is able to discuss different approaches and choices in film production, based on practical industry knowledge (s-U-2)

Social competences

5. has acquired a critical understanding of what processes condition the films the audience get to see and of the media content they encounter on a daily basis (s-K-2)

Forms of evaluation of the learning outcomes acc to PRK 2017

1. active participation in discussions and other interactive activities (50%) (1,2,4,5)

2. oral presentation (50%) (1,2,3,5)