Mission Statement:
Regent University serves as a center of Christian thought and action to provide excellent education through a Biblical perspective and global context equipping Christian leaders to change the world.

SECTION 1: COURSE OVERVIEW

Regent University

School of Communication & the Arts

CTV 505 AESTHETICS FOR THE CONTEMPORARY COMMUNICATOR (3)

Spring 2016

Dates March 14 – May 7th 2016 (8 weeks)

Location: Distance

Instructor: Stuart Bennett (Professor of Reference Andrew Quicke)

Location: COM 259 / Online

Office hours: by arrangement

Email: ,

In the subject line of your email, please include the course number (e.g. CTV505) and have your full name in your email signature. Note: All students are required to keep their mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone numbers up to date in GENISYS to facilitate communication between instructors and students.

Communications Policy

Response time for emails is 24 hours minimum and 48 hours maximum. The preferred method of contact is by attending the office hours or by appointment.

Welcome to CTV 505; a clear knowledge understanding of aesthetics will make your visual communication style so much more effective. This is a fun course with a lot of student participation in creative projects using PowerPoint and Prezi. I know many of you do not like reading, but the three textbooks I have chosen contain great wisdom, and I cannot hope to cover as much in class and with PowerPoints. So please, please, read them. Also remember on time film critiques submitted on the 3rd and 17th of April and the 1st of May are very important.

SHORT BIO

Andrew Quicke studied for his BA and MA at Oxford University, UK, and did later study in Hollywood for two Faculty diplomas; the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ATAS; he was also a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the Royal Television Society. He began his successful international career as a film and television writer, director and producer for 27 years at BBC, working in the famous Ealing film studios, then later for Reuters Visnews and for his own company Kensington Film Services. He was VP Programming for Clearview Cable in Bangkok, Thailand, and News Bureau Chief for CBN in Jerusalem and Beirut. He is author of 4 books on film and television, and over 50 peer reviewed academic papers. He believes that writing, directing and producing film and television can be one of the most rewarding God-given careers you can have. His professional life took him to some 44 different countries; every summer he and his wife go to their apartment in the medieval walled town of Anghiari in Tuscany, Italy to write and reflect on God’s goodness. See full bio at andrewquicke.com

Stuart Lachlan Bennett earned a BA in Graphic Design and film at Leeds University, UK and an MFA in Script and Screenwriting from Regent University. His film and television career began in England where he worked as a film editor for BBC Television and graduated from the BBC film-training program at the prestigious Ealing Film Studios in London. He has many film and TV credits to his name and won a Telly Award for best documentary for the Death at Antietam episode of the TLC Archaeology series in 1994. International productions have given him the privilege to produce in more than 30 countries for TV networks such as Chinese Central TV, Russia’s Channel 1 and Japan’s NHK. He has also worked for companies in the USA such as Discovery, ABC and The Christian Broadcasting Network. He currently writes, produces and directs independent films through his nonprofit film company, Lachlan Creative Group (www.lachlancg.org). More information is available on his IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5900933/

Course Description

Aesthetic experience in various media, including the relationships between morality and art, between beauty and truth seen through the lens of the Christian faith, provide an emergent media literacy.

Themes from Scripture:

I Chronicles 1:10: Give me wisdom and knowledge that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?

I Timothy 3:13: Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus

Program Outcomes

MA in Cinema-Television, Concentrations in Production and Producing

1.  The student will be able to integrate their Christian faith into their professional-quality media work.

  1. Students will be able to evaluate film and television theories and aesthetics
  2. Students will be able to conceptualize and produce scripts for short format productions.
  3. Students will be able to analyze film and television through a historical-critical lens and a Christian worldview.
  4. Students will demonstrate the ability to apply production techniques to the process of creating film, television, and web projects.
  5. Students will be able to integrate appropriate personnel roles within the creation of various media forms.

MFA in Cinema-Television, Concentrations in Producing and Directing

1.  The student will be able to integrate their Christian faith into their professional-quality media work.

  1. Students will be able to evaluate film and television theories and aesthetics.
  2. Students will be able to produce quality projects from conception to delivery in a breadth of contemporary media formats.
  3. Students will be able to analyze film and television through a historical-critical lens and a Christian worldview.
  4. Students will demonstrate the ability to apply research skills to the process of creating media projects.
  5. Students will be able to integrate appropriate personnel roles within the creation of various media forms.
  6. Students will be able to evaluate the major components of production.
  7. Students will create a professional body of work competitive with the marketplace that includes interaction with professionals in the field.

MFA in Film & Television, Concentration in Script and Screenwriting

  1. Graduate students who integrate their Christian faith into their professional quality media work.
  2. Incorporate applied film and television theories and aesthetics into multiple categories of scripts.
  3. Produce quality projects from conception to script in a breadth of contemporary formats.
  4. Apply research skills to the process of creating media projects.
  5. Professionally pitch and present work in a manner that demonstrates a clear understanding of the business side of script and screenwriting.
  6. Create a professional body of work competitive with the marketplace that includes interaction with professionals in the field.

MA in Film & Television, Concentration in Scriptwriting

  1. Graduate students who integrate and apply the Christian faith and Biblical truth and principles to the study and practices of mediated communication.
  2. Articulate the process and elements needed for the various aspects of writing for media, which includes development, research, scriptwriting, character development, scene analysis, and storyline development.
  3. Incorporate applied film and television theories and aesthetics into scripts.
  4. Explain current business practices in script and screenwriting, including model professional pitching techniques.

Relationship of course to Regent’s Mission

Mission: Regent University serves as a center of Christian thought and action to provide excellent education through a Biblical perspective and global context equipping Christian leaders to change the world.

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1.  Biblical Perspective: In this course, we will study Aesthetics in filmmaking from a Biblical perspective, understanding it as a meaningful expression of human experience, as a means of pursuing God’s truth, and as an act of love and community. The readings and assignments focus on cultivating your understanding of the act of filming—what it means to communicate with others through the medium of film and video, and thus engage more deeply what it means to be human. In our class dialogue, we will apply Biblical truth to the aesthetics of narrative and documentary film that are addressed in the course. The writing and Powerpoint assignments allow you to develop your skills in effective descriptive and critical writing, thus practicing the Biblical call to love others (through the act of writing well) and to live in community when the community is cultivated through film and television communication.

2.  Global Context: In this course, we will study aesthetics as an expression of the human condition, a method of communicating human experience that crosses the boundaries of time and place. In seeking to understand and appreciate film and television communication by ourselves and others, we will cultivate love and empathy, both of which are essential to interacting in a global context. The films chosen for critical study assessment come from many countries, including France, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

SECTION 2: COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

1.  Identify the aesthetics of film and television from a Christian perspective;

Assessment: Half term Aesthetics test April 10

2.  Solve the challenge of writing about film and television from an academic Christian perspective, based on textbooks and class power points.

Assessment: diagnostic essay on Citizen Kane due Sunday, March 20th at 11.55pm

3.  Identify the screenplay structures of the narrative filmmaker from a global perspective.

Assessments: three 1000 word Blackboard critiques of designated films, due on 3rd and 17th of April and the 1st of May

4.  Students will integrate their faith and their learning from a theological viewpoint using Johnston’s textbook Reel Theology.

Assessment: research paper/presentation due Sunday, April 24th

Course Objectives (specific tasks/assignments with match to CLOs)

Course Learning Outcomes
Assignments / CLO1 / CLO2 / CLO3 / CLO4
Citizen Kane diagnostic essay / x
Discussion Boards: 3 critiques / x
Half term aesthetics test / x
Final paper / x
Film recognition test

INTEGRATION OF FAITH

The overall faith goals for this class are that students should construct their faith and their learning within a framework of global competency. The course is a graduate level theoretical and historical study of narrative storytelling through the medium of motion pictures and television from a Christian perspective. Strong emphasis is given to the application of Christian worldviews to contemporary communication.

Course Procedures

Attendance & Participation

Attendance is required in order to complete this course. Students failing to attend a minimum number of campus class meetings will automatically fail the course unless arrangement is made with the professor to take an “Incomplete” grade in order to complete the course at a later date in accordance with University policy (see student handbook for more information about withdrawing from a course or the University or for incomplete grades). To prevent automatic failure of a course, the minimum class attendance is as follows:

·  For a 16 week course: Must attend at least 9 weeks of campus class meetings.

·  For a 10 week course: Must attend at least 6 weeks of campus class meetings.

·  For a 5 day Modular (Intensive) course: Must attend all 5 days of campus class meetings.

Note: International students should consult the Office of International Student Services for how immigration status may be impacted if you fail to meet attendance requirements for this course. All students should consult the Financial Aid office for information on how their funding may be impacted as well. International students should consult the Office of International Student Services before registering for a Distance or Modular course.

In addition, the following requirement applies to this course:

In the event of an emergency, it may be necessary for Regent University to suspend normal operations. During this time, Regent University may opt to continue delivery of traditional classroom instruction using the Blackboard Course Management System. It is the responsibility of the student to monitor the course Blackboard site in the event of campus closure.

Blackboard Requirements

Blackboard will be used to aid communication and delivery of extemporaneous and other content as the semester progresses. We may also utilize the Discussion Board to extend our in-class discussions. Participation in Blackboard does not supplant course requirements for attendance or class participation. Therefore, while access to and use of Blackboard is required for this course, it should not be seen as a surrogate for class attendance or other course requirements. Also, please keep the following in mind:

·  All discussion posts should be scholarly in nature and respectful of colleagues.

·  Students are expected to check the Announcements section of Blackboard each week beginning one week before the start of the course.

·  Students must keep their e-mail address current in Genisys in order to receive communications from Blackboard and the instructor. Students are expected to check their Regent e-mail daily to ensure timely receipt of messages from the professor.

Unless otherwise instructed, all assignments for this course must be submitted via the “Assignment Link” found in Blackboard. All files should be submitted using the following naming convention:

YourName_AssignmentName (e.g. John Smith_Essay 1)

·  Papers should be in MS Word format (.docx) compliant with the MLA writing style guide.

·  Scripts should be in Final Draft software format.

Unless otherwise stated in Blackboard, no assignment will be accepted if submitted via any method other than Blackboard. Assignments are due no later than 11:59 pm on Sunday. It is recommended that students give themselves a buffer of time before the deadline to allow for trouble-shooting should your upload attempt fail. Students should look at the assignment submission page to verify that the submission was successful.

Late assignment penalties

Papers will lose points for every day their paper is late. Papers more than 2 weeks late will not be marked.

NOTE: Technical difficulties when submitting to Blackboard will not be accepted unless documented by the IT Help Desk. The IT Help Desk is your first point of contact for problems with Blackboard. Deadline extensions will be allowed only when a system issue occurring on Blackboard’s side is documented by Regent University IT department.

Required and Supplemental Resources

Students are responsible for acquiring the following books and materials for this course before the first class meeting:

Block, Bruce: The Visual Story: Creating the Visual Structure of Film, TV and Digital Media 2nd edition. Focal / Elsevier. ISBN-13: 978-024008890

Johnston, Robert K.: Reel Spirituality 2nd Edition: Grand Rapids, MI Baker Academic: ISBN13: 978-0801031878

Prince, Stephen: Movies and Meaning. 2nd edition. Boston, Allyn & Bacon ISBN 13: 978-0-205-65308-9