MFD20010 Producing Music, Film & Drama

Academic Year 2020/2021

Music, Film and Drama all require a huge apparatus of specialists and logistics in order to function properly. Anyone who watches the credits at the end of a movie knows how many different people and professions are involved in producing it, and the same applies to drama and music. Alongside the artists, theatres, orchestras, film companies and festivals need craftsmen to prepare the stage/set as well as administration and PR; artists have agents promoting them; distributors, radio and TV stations are involved in disseminating material (radio and TV may also commission it); while the internet has created new ways of producing material and connecting with audiences.

This module will explore the range of professions and people involved in producing, administrating and promoting music, film and drama, following the path of a few exemplary dramas, pieces of music and films. Tracing these projects from the initial idea to the idea's further development into a live or a mediated (recorded or filmed) performance, we will consider the social contexts, finances, and technologies that shape the creation and the dissemination of these artistic projects. We will examine a diversity of examples, touching not only upon works with a high level of state and/or corporate support, but also underground and DIY projects that work around such structures. Students will visit Music, Film and Drama institutions in the Dublin area and/or be addressed by a variety of producers and/or artists in class.

Show/hide contentOpenClose All

Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module students will
• be able to critically account for the complexity of the art world with relation to music, film and drama
• be familiar with individuals working in the areas in question and relevant institutions in the Dublin area
• understand the path from idea to realisation in music, film and drama
• be able to identify and potentially avoid risks and pitfalls that could lead to failure of a project
• be able to present and speak about music film and drama

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

22
Tutorial

2
Specified Learning Activities

28
Autonomous Student Learning

50
Total

102
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Students in this module will be challenged to gain insights into the working world of music, film and drama production, largely through speaking first-hand with individuals involved in these worlds or studying the various stages of development of a select number of specific examples. Our weekly meetings will alternate between these two approaches, and the reading students prepare outside of class, consisting of source materials (i.e. plays, scripts, scores/charts) and both scholarly and journalistic accounts of the processes involved in realising these materials on the stage or screen, is designed to inform and expand upon what we do in class. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Pre-requisite:
MFD10010 - Making, Doing, Interpreting


 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Journal: Learning Journal Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

50
Group Project: Presentation on a specific element of production as it relates to music, film, and drama. Week 12 n/a Graded No

50

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Students will start to prepare the presentation, which will be due in the second half of the term, well in advance of the due date, in a small number of supervised group work sessions. During these sessions, both formal and informal peer- and self-assessment will be carried out. The presentation will be given to both peers and faculty, and assessed according to a clear rubric. The learning journal will be completed weekly as formative assessment, with feedback and a pass/fail mark only. Students then have an opportunity to revise and resubmit journal entries for summative assessment following each of the three units.