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COURSE OVERVIEWTo develop excellence in the art,craft and technology of screenproduction, we believe studentscrucially need critical thinking skillsto analyse and evaluate currentindustry practices and strategicallyexplore new modes of storytellingand dissemination, whether it’s in acinema or online. Upon graduation,students will have acquired screenproduction, storytelling andentrepreneurial skills, andspecialised capabilities such aswriting, directing, cinematography,design, sound or post-productionthat will equip them to beinnovative, professional and ethical.The Bachelor of Screen Production is a program of 144credit points consisting of 24 core units of study and8 electives.Students begin the course by building competency in arange of production skills such as directing andcinematography, complemented by progressively morechallenging and divergent production projects.As students progress they select and specialise in one ortwo production roles through mentoring and advancedtraining. Theory is integrated throughout the course asstudents deepen their awareness of how filmmakingtechnology impacts and shapes social values by changes indifferent expressions of screen communication.As they finish their degree, students learn practical skills indesigning a creative career to confidently enter the industryand establish their future.8

BACHELOR OF SCREEN PRODUCTIONENTRY REQUIREMENTSEDUCATIONAL PREREQUISITESApplicants for admission into the Bachelor of Screen Production will be required to provide evidence of completionof the NSW Higher School Certificate or its interstate or overseas equivalent, or attainment of tertiary qualification, orsatisfactory completion of at least one year’s full-time load in a tertiary course.ARTISTIC AND ACADEMIC SKILL ASSESSMENTPortfolio: Applicants are required to present two short examples with a written rationale that demonstrate the applicant’screative work. For more details on requirements, refer to: /bachelor-ofscreen-production/Interview: Applicants will discuss their special areas of interest in film or video, any related experience they may have, andwhy they wish to do the course.FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTSOverseas students applying for admission to Excelsia College courses must have reached the age of 18 years by thecommencement of their studies. Excelsia College will not admit overseas students who have not yet reached 18 years of age.ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCYCandidates whose qualifying studies were completed in a language other than English will normally be required todemonstrate English proficiency equivalent to the overall minimum score of 6.0 (no band less than 6) in the IELTS Academictest or equivalent. For test score equivalencies for alternative tests visit: /WORK AND LIFE EXPERIENCE APPLICANTSFor the applicants with life and work experience, TAFE or VET studies and higher education, please find the admissionrequirements at: /bachelor-of-screen-production/9

Core UnitsF I RST SEMEST ERProduction IThis unit introduces students to thetheoretical and practical skills requiredto complete development and the preproduction stages of filming for a shortfilm project. Practical on-set exercisesto develop students’ understandingof on-set protocol and logistics arecombined with theoretical studies intothe pre-production and productionchain of command, personnel andprocesses. Students are organised intoworking short film crews to practiseon-set exercises and develop thenecessary creative and organisationaldocumentation to launch into filming insecond semester.Introduction to Specialty WorkshopsStudents are introduced to aspecialised role in screen productionand acquire technical and theoreticalskills required to perform that role inthe corresponding Production I-VI unit.Specialisations in this first workshopcould include producing, 1st assistantdirecting, costume/set design, soundrecording, production management,and continuity/script supervision, andneed to be decided in consultationwith the lecturer and Course Manager.Students learn these skills in weekly,hour-long small group sessions witha mentor from their specialisation,culminating in the production ofexercises related to their specialisation.Production DesignStudents will be provided with conceptualand practical tools to develop and realisethe visual approach of a screen project.They will be introduced to fundamental10concepts of production design includingthe role and responsibilities of theproduction designer, the collaborativeprocess and the physical elements ofa production design. Script analysisfor design is explored, analysing story,characters, themes, narrative structureand stylistic elements.CinematographyThis unit introduces cinematographytheory and industry-standard practicesto enable students to undertake therole of cinematographer and other

BACHELOR OF SCREEN PRODUCTIONroles within the camera and lightingdepartments. Students are required todemonstrate a foundational technicalknowledge of cinematography andarticulate an understanding of thecreative aspects that will inform acinematographer’s approach to screenproduction, including collaboration withother key creative departments.DirectingThis unit introduces students to thespecific functions of the screen directorthrough a foundation in the theory ofscreen direction and its application inscenes. The unit includes a historicaloverview of screen performance and aseries of practical workshops that scaffoldstudents through scene breakdowns,casting actors, conducting rehearsals,defining blocking and devising coverage,including storyboarding and shot lists.Students also learn to analyse andapproach a text from a directorial pointof view.Foundations of Screen StorytellingThis unit introduces students to thefoundations of screen storytelling. Theunit provides an overview of storytellingthrough image, sound, design, direction,editing and performance. Students willlearn to analyse and evaluate screenworks in regard to the various creativecontributions (direction, scripting,cinematography, design, performance,sound, and editing). This foundationalunit provides a common, shared languagefor analysis and evaluation of screenexcerpts that students will encounter inthe various discipline-specific units theywill study elsewhere in the Bachelor ofScreen Production course.production and post-production phasesof the screen production cycle. Theunit examines the production phase inits actualisation and flexibility aroundall that was envisaged and planned inthe pre-production period. Similarly,the post-production phase is analysedin regard of both the development ofediting skills and the stage of reflectionwhere students can evaluate theirpersonal development and areas forimprovement. Students are kept inthe same crews as first semester towork on the post-production exercises,complete their short films andparticipate in a debriefing phase fortheir films.Screen EditingThis unit introduces students to theconcepts, structures, aesthetics,techniques and technologies involvedin digital post-production. Studentlearning has a particular emphasisin the editing process, with a generaloverview of sound, graphics, and colourgrading. Non-linear editing techniquesand approaches are demonstrated,discussed and applied by students withregard to both technical and aestheticperspectives. Students will analyseeffective storytelling as it is achievedthrough the craft of editing and throughan appreciation of various editingtheories and post-production processes.They will also develop media workflowSECON D SEM EST E RProduction IIThis unit continues studentunderstanding of the theoretical andpractical skills involved in producingshort films with the introduction to the11and project management skills, evaluateappropriate media exchange processes,and identify the personal skills requiredto edit footage for a variety of screenproduction projects.Sound Post-ProductionThis unit equips students with aconceptual understanding andtechnical foundations in the use ofaudio post-production techniques andsound design for screen production.Students will be instructed in the useand application of the digital audioworkstation Pro Tools as it is consideredto be the industry standard. Studentswill construct and edit audio in screenproductions and analyse the importanceof sound in relation to moving image.Philosophy for the ContemporaryFilmmakersThis unit introduces students to arange of tools, concepts and ideasthat will enable them to examine boththeir own particular world view andthat of others. It challenges studentsto engage critically with philosophy,popular culture, religion and their ownart to begin to examine what they thinkabout the world and why. Students arechallenged both as consumers andproducers of content to evaluate thesubconscious world view assumptionsand didactic intent of the culturalproducts they engage with.

Core UnitsTHI RD SEMEST ERProduction IIIThis unit introduces students to thecreative and practical considerations ofcreating documentaries in the modernworld. Students are encouragedto examine the breadth of thedocumentary genre and its creativepractice as well as its role in news,journalism and the media.Specialty Workshop IThis unit is the second in the sequenceof three units where students focuson a specialised screen productionrole. In this unit students furtherdevelop the technical and theoreticalskills required to perform that specificrole in the corresponding ProductionI-VI unit. Students learn these skills inweekly one-hour one-to-one sessionsacross the semester, culminating in theperformance of a role in a productionand a creative task pertaining totheir specialisation. Specialisationscould include 1st assistant directing,cinematography, sound recording,production design, productionmanagement, post-production sound,editing, continuity, directing andproducing, and need to be decidedin consultation with the lecturer andCourse Manager.points. They will critique their workthrough script editing processes andexercises to explore how charactersform the basis of stories through acinematic format.Screen HistoriesThis unit provides students with thetheoretical framework and analyticalskills to appreciate the interplaybetween technological, social, political,economic, cultural and aesthetic trendsthat have shaped the various historiesof film, television and online screenproduction in the West. Students areencouraged to explore specific periodswhere technological innovation and/or cultural change generate newstories and new audiences, and tounderstand that the patterns of thepast continue to impact present andfuture modes of storytelling on screen.While the focus in the early decadesScreenwritingThe purpose of this unit is to introducestudents to the processes of screenwriting including finding inspiration forconcepts and formulating ideas into adramatic and visual form. Students willanalyse short film genres by applyingstructural techniques and industrystandard writing formats to produce afinal draft short film screenplay. Theywill learn to identify character point ofview and start analysis between outerand inner journeys of their characters.They will draw focus on a lyricalmoment in their film to bring emotionto their character’s major turning12of the twenieth century will focus onAmerican and European cinema (dueto their significance in the shapingof contemporary Western screenstorytelling) recognition will also bemade of the effects of exposure toscreen stories from the Pasifika regionin more recent decades.FOUR T H S E ME S T E RProduction IVThis unit offers students the opportunityto produce and direct their own thesisfilm. Students will learn to build ontheir existing knowledge of filmmakingto create a screen product, from initialconcept, to pitching, filming and postproduction. Students are encouraged toreflect on the creative process, examinewhere their work fits in the overall bodyof modern screen content and devisework that reflects both their creative andcareer ambitions.

BACHELOR OF SCREEN PRODUCTIONSpecialty Workshop IIThis unit is the third in the sequenceof three units where students focuson a specialised screen productionrole. In this unit students furtherdevelop the technical and theoreticalskills required to perform that specificrole in the corresponding ProductionI-VI unit. Students learn these skills inweekly small-group one-hour sessionsacross the semester, culminating in theperformance of this role in Production IV(Minor Screen Production) and a creativetask pertaining to their specialisation.Specialisations could include 1stassistant directing, cinematography,sound recording, production design,production management, postproduction sound, editing, continuity,directing and producing, and need to bedecided in consultation with the lecturerand Course Manager.Screen GenresThis unit provides students with thetheoretical framework and analyticalskills to engage with a wide variety ofscreen (film and television) genres thathave endured and evolved over time.Students are encouraged to identifythe particular screen storytellingtechniques and consequent feelingstates that are used to both assureand unsettle audience expectations.The unit also offers practicalopportunities for students to test outhow genre conventions might workin a screen trailer that they devise.Screen genres are a tool of thestoryteller to both satisfy and createunanticipated desire in the experienceof the audience.The Filmmaker’s Life in FocusThis unit focuses on the everyday andcreative lives of students undertakingthe unit. The interrelationship ofwork, play and creativity will beexamined to allow students to beginto deduce their practical place in theworld both as artists and humans.Particular consideration will be givento topics such as global citizenship, thephilosophy of artistic creation, ethicalcreative practice and sustainableartistic habits.FI FT H S E ME S T E RProduction VIn this unit students learn how to frameand develop creative concepts, projectsupport and human and financialresourcing required for a substantialscreen production. Students fulfil a keycreative role (direction, cinematography,sound (production and post), productionmanagement, production design, orediting) in one or more major screenproductions. Students select theirkey production role in consultationwith both the Lecturer and CourseManager. Screen productions mayinclude short films, web-series pilots etc.This unit enables students to analyse,evaluate and apply themselves to themost appropriate production formatfor their particular vision and futurecareer aspirations. This unit overlapswith Production VI as each studentprogresses from pre-production toproduction to post-production of theirmajor screen projects.13Production Support Role AThis unit supports students in a specialtysupport role on another student’s majorscreen production in Production V/Production VI. Students further developskills pertaining to another field ofspecialisation and develop the abilityto analyse their work in the contextof another student’s vision. Studentsalso learn fundamentals of upwardsmanagement and how to follow acreative brief. Students may choose afield that has previously not been theirspecialty with consultation with theCourse Manager. Specialisations couldinclude 1st assistant directing, continuityor script supervision, 1st cameraassistant, clapper or data wrangler, gaffer,grip, design support (set or prop sourcingand construction, costume, set dressing),producing and production management.International Industry AnalysisThis unit provides students with thetheoretical framework and analytical skillsto engage with current issues within theinternational film industry. Students areencouraged to explore the economicand cultural influences on the filmindustries of a variety of countries andto understand the varying relationshipsbetween individual countries’ industryneeds and creative output.

Core Unitsparticular chosen field of specialisationand develop the ability to analysetheir work in the context of anotherstudent’s vision. Students also focussome of their time on developingan understanding of the particularcareer opportunities and risks of theirchosen specialty within Production V/Production VI. Students may choosea field that has previously not beentheir specialty with consultation withthe Course Manager. Specialisationscould include 1st assistant directing,continuity or script supervision, 1stcamera assistant, clapper or datawrangler, gaffer, grip, design support(set or prop sourcing and construction,costume, set dressing), producing andproduction management.Designing My Creative CareerSI XT H SEM EST ERProduction VIThis second unit for Major ScreenProduction provides the learningopportunity for students to followthrough their creative and pragmaticvision of a project from postproduction to the marketing of boththe screen product and their ownprofessional career. Students willanalyse and evaluate how their ownemergent screen production practicealigns with industry practitioners thatthey admire in their chosen craftdiscipline. They will also identify whataspects of their creative process increating this major screen project canbe effectively marketed to promote thefinal screen production.Production Support Role BThis unit supports students in aspecialty support role on anotherstudent’s major screen production inProduction V/Production VI. Studentsfurther develop skills pertaining to their14This unit provides students withthe opportunity to critically reflecton their own creative and businesspractices and to proactively engagein learning about and constructingtheir own small business to supporttheir craft. Through a multidisciplinarylens, this unit investigates the mental,physical, financial, social and careermanagement competencies requiredto build a sustainable career in thescreen industries in Australia. This unitsystematically integrates academicresearch, national arts policy and smallbusiness practices as it examinesthe place of creatives within theAustralian context. In doing this itprovides the foundations for studentsto engage in lifelong learning aroundtheir craft and aims to build a holisticframework of learning that supportsstudents to engage in sustainedcreative employment. It is imperativethat students not only engage withthe lecture series and tutorials, butapply the concepts, activities and toolsstudied in class to their own creative

1-min walk to bus stop Free parking Metro Station Macquarie University Metro Station Macquarie Park Excelsia College Macquarie Centre Excelsia College is located at 69-71 Waterloo Road, Macquarie Park, NSW, 2113, Australia. Student facilities 280,301 UNDERGRADUATE AND POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS 135 HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS ACROSS AUSTRALIA