REGULATIONS FOR THE MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE IN FILM, TELEVISION AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES (AH24)
1.0 PURPOSE OF PROGRAMME
The Master of Arts in Film, Television and Digital Technologies Degree (MFTDT) is structured to meet the media and communication needs of Zimbabwe, the region and beyond. It intends to equip students with both academic and practical skills that enable them to enter the media industry as well as to do research and academic studies. The programme aims to develop the sound conceptual, technical, analytical, critical, managerial and entrepreneurial skills that are required to succeed in the field of Film, Television and Digital Media.
2.0 ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
To be enrolled into the programme, prospective students should have a good Honours Degree in Radio, Television and Multimedia Production, Film and Theatre Arts, Media and Society Studies, Media and Cultural Studies, Journalism and Media Studies, Media Studies and any related discipline. A Postgraduate diploma in related areas is also recognised.
3.0 PROGRAMME CHARACTERISTICS
3.1 Areas of study Theories of Film, Television and Digital Technology; Communication and the Media; Media and Cultural Studies; Media and Society Studies, Practical Media Production (television, film and video, social media and marketing) and Communication.
3.2 Specialist focus Film, Television and Digital Media studies with emphasis on theory and practical production in the digital age
3.3 Orientation Research and innovation-oriented. Teaching and learning are professionally oriented and focused on theory and practice in media, social identities, societal relations (cultural studies) and communication.
3.4 Distinctive features The programme builds the research-technology-innovation continuum and focuses on knowledge development and application using a student-centred approach.
4.0 CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AND FURTHER EDUCATION
4.1 Employability: MFTDT graduates have career opportunities in a wide range of industries which include the following:
Mainstream and alternative (communication) film and video, television, digital media production organisations, social research organisations, advertising agencies and information and publicity departments in different private and public sector organisations, nongovernmental organisations, teaching and lecturing, media consultancy and entrepreneurships.
4.2 Further studies Doctoral studies in Film and Television, Journalism and Media Studies, Media and Society Studies, Media Studies, Journalism Studies, Development Studies and Advertising, Marketing and International Relations, and related communication disciplines.
Programme Structure
Level 1 Semester 1
| Code | Module Description | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MFTDT 731 | Film and Television Theory | 20 |
| MFTDT 732 | Research Methods for Screen Media | 20 |
| MFTDT 733 | Film for Social Change | 20 |
Electives (Any One)
| Code | Module Description | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MFTDT 734 | Writing for Screen Media | 40 |
| MFTDT 735 | Directing for Film and Television | 40 |
| MFTDT 736 | Production Management | 40 |
Level 1 Semester 2
| Code | Module Description | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MFTDT 737 | Visual Literacy and Reception Analysis | 20 |
| MFTDT 738 | Creative Economies and Technology | 20 |
Electives (Any One)
| Code | Module Description | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MFTDT 739 | Documentary Production | 40 |
| MFTDT 740 | Adapting Literary Texts to Screen | 40 |
| MFTDT 741 | Digital Technologies & Screen Cultures | 40 |
Level 2 Semester 1
| Code | Module Description | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MFTDT 831 | Dissertation | 90 |
| MFTDT 832 | Critical Media Theory | 20 |
Total Credit Load: 310
MODULE SYNOPSES
MFTDT 731 Film and Television Theory
This module focuses on film and television history and theory for fiction and non-fiction genres. It explores the birth and growth of film and video with reference to technological and social developments in the developed world, Africa and Zimbabwe; film genres; local and international film industry, its products, distribution and consumption patterns; challenges and prospects of film production in Zimbabwe and Africa; theories of film analysis with particular emphasis on context and texts from different traditions.
MFTDT 732 Research Methods for Screen Media
Students learn the broad approaches to visual media research, including qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods research. Focus is on methods and concepts attuned to the study of visual media as texts, industries or their audiences. Such concepts include semiotics, discourse analysis, content analysis and genre analysis. Students will learn to apply appropriate methodological approaches to varying research problems. Students must be able to compile research findings, as well as draw evidence-derived conclusions.
MFTDT 733 Film for Social Change
The module locates the role of film and television in influencing social behaviour, including communicating human rights issues. Attention is given to visual media and its influence on public opinion formation and community development, different characteristics of political media, health communication, participatory video, democracy and the media, and techniques of fostering community participation in productions about themselves. Film and Television representation of social issues is critically explained in the context of discourses of self-actualisation, the influence of media star personalities, group identity, nation-building and globalisation.
MFTDT 734 Writing for Screen Media
This is a practical module that focuses on advanced techniques of writing for screen media, including TV scripts, feature film screenplays and storyboards. The major focus is placed on narrative structure in concept development.
MFTDT 735 Directing for Film and Television
This practical module focuses on techniques for directing film and television productions such as films, television dramas, music videos, advertisements, corporate videos, weddings and funerals etc. Directing is learnt in varying scenarios such as single-camera and multiple-camera production, small and large crew production, micro and big budget production, live coverage etc. Students are taught advanced cinematographic techniques
MFTDT 736 Production Management
This module focuses on the understanding and application of production management for single and multiple-camera studio and on-location productions. Students will learn how to create and manage budgets and schedules and provide cost reporting throughout. With real-world scenarios for both Zimbabwean and foreign filmmaking, students will gain an in-depth understanding of compliance, copyright, time management and legal requirements of programme production and delivery.
MFTDT 737 Visual Literacy and Reception Analysis
The module seeks to develop students’ ability to see, understand and communicate visually. It improves students’ semiology skills so that they appreciate the decoding to which their film texts may be subjected by audiences. Theories on the power and nature of visual media and processes of mass communication are studied together with theoretical approaches to understanding the nature of media audiences and their media consumption processes and habits.
MFTDT 738 Creative Economies and Technology
The module focuses on the political economy of creative industries including film, television, advertising and music, encouraging students to think strategically about their importance. It traces debates on creative arts as industries, including the democratisation of production spaces by digital media, and the role of governments, corporates, communities and incubation/innovation hubs in the development of creative economies. Issues such as policy and regulation in the development of the creative arts, as well as techniques to measure the value of creative industries, will also be studied.
MFTDT 739 Documentary Production
This practical module focuses on documentary production processes from idea conception up to post-production. The documentary production value chain is also studied with emphasis on the roles of different service providers in production. This module equips students with the advanced skills required in producing documentaries for multimedia platforms, such as scriptwriting, sound, lighting, interviewing, voice-over narration, piece-to-camera presentation, cinematography, editing and other technical operations.
MFTDT 740 Adapting Literary Texts to Screen
The practical module focuses on techniques for the adaptation of literary texts such as novels and poems into television drama, soap operas and films. Students get an appreciation of Zimbabwe’s rich literary traditions as well as the dynamics of publication industries. Focus is also placed on copyright acquisition and contracting original authors. Students learn techniques of screenwriting for fiction films, casting and location scouting and directing soundtracks to simulate literary narratives that will be adapted for screen.
MFTDT 741 Digital Technologies and Screen Cultures
This module enables students to explore the role of popular screen culture in student engagement levels, the capabilities of the smartphone camera for screen literacy learning, and the potential of digital communication technology for cultural participation, media democratisation and global citizenship. The module interrogates the modes and ideologies that govern screen content as well as reflects on how screen literacy learning so framed could point to a new pedagogy of cosmopolitanism, cultural diversity and multiculturalism.
MFTDT 831 Dissertation
The module helps students to plan, design and carry out their dissertation on how to choose a suitable topic, undertake a literature to review, and apply appropriate research methodology and theoretical conceptions to the analysis of research findings under a supervisor. The length of the dissertation shall be at least 30 000 words.
MFTDT 832 Critical Media Theory
The module is a systematic study of a wide array of Critical Media Theory aspects which include the following: Specificities and dimensions of Critical and Administrative Research in communication, the critical project and the enlightenment, Dialectic of the Enlightenment and the Culture Industry, Cultural Studies in Britain especially the traditions of the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies and its scholars. The module also studies the different traditions of Critical (Media) Theory at different global centres and in different global contexts including African critical traditions, experiences and perspectives.