BACHELOR OF ARTS IN DRAMATIC ART (BADA)Specialization in FILM AND TELEVISION

The Bachelor of Arts in Dramatic Arts (BADA) is a professional four year degree.
Film and Television is one option for specialization in this degree program. The other two options for specialization are Performance Studies and Design and Drawing.

Overview of Undergraduate Film and Television

Foundational courses offer an introduction to the historical and social context of television and film reception, interpretation and production. Second year courses are concerned with the politics of representation, the ideologies that inform production practices and socio-economic domains of content creation and its reception. Students are also introduced to the technical and practical aspects of film, digital video and television production. In third and fourth year students are equipped with technical and conceptual skills to research and create their own projects.

These projects are informed by courses taken in documentary and fiction, experimental cinema, the music video, which are informed by historical, conceptual, aesthetic and social inquiry. Students also have options to study television studio production, video art and sound design as elective modules.

Students interested in writing for the screen (film and television) can take writing modules from first to fourth year level.

Admission Requirements:

• Matric with University exemption, and the required points on the Wits rating system.
• Admission process includes an interview or audition. Click here for audition requirments.
• Successful completion of Audition and Interview

For closing dates and auditions, please contact student liaison officer at Wits School of Arts

CHARLOTTE FRASER, Charlotte.Fraser@wits.ac.za , 011- 7174656

COURSES

First year BADA (Specialisation in Film and Television)

THE SILENT LANGUAGE

The course looks at the evolution of a visual language of film in the early years of cinema. In the silent era the absence of a synchronized soundtrack forces the filmmakers to develop a purely visual form of storytelling. The lectures chart the development of film technique from the rudimentary one-reelers of the Edison period to D.W. Griffith's highly crafted action, continuity and shot variation just two decades later.

The focus then shifts to the new form of filmic expression emerging in German Expressionism in the early twenties. The course also interrogates the revolutionary cinema practice(s) propagated by Eisenstein and Vertov against the backdrop of the consolidation of studio genres in Hollywood. With each addition to the language of film we examine the innovation in relation to subsequent usage in films up to the present; for example how Eisenstein's metric montage is manifested in music video editing, or how Griffith's use of cross-cutting is still a common device for creating narrative tension.

TELEVISION GENRES

The course will offer an analysis of television genres from sitcoms to soap operas to drama series and television game shows. By looking at a series of different television forms and formats, the course will investigate the conventions of these genres and how they have evolved. Students will apply genre characteristics and theoretical principles to case studies specifically comparing and contrasting elements of race and gender in American and South African television programmes.

CONCEPTUALISING TELEVISION

This course aims to expand students understanding of television as a social, economic and political institution embedded in national and global contexts. The course begins by offering a general background to the historical and technical conditions that facilitated the development of television as a form of (national) mass communication. Students will be exposed to the early debates around content and programming. The course also examines the politics of representation and questions of cultural imperialism in a globalised context of transnational television trade and syndication. The course also introduces theories of ideology, identity and audience reception through practical examples of television content.

THE LANGUAGE OF FILM

The course is aimed at introducing students to the tools of visual narrative through an examination of film techniques and directorial innovations. Selected viewings and discussions will focus on the development of film techniques and narrative strategies from the advent of the sound film to the present day. Lectures will explore the influences of interventions of film noir, Italian neo-realism, the rise of the auteur, the French New Wave, the  innovations of the eighties as well as contemporary and experimental contributions to the medium.

Second Year BADA (Specialization in Film and Television):

THE VISUAL DOCUMENT: FICTION FILM

This course aims to offer students an introduction to the styling and staging of visual images that are bound to narrative, mise-en-scene and/or portraiture.

Students will be exposed to a number of leading photographers and visual artists who have employed staging techniques in order to offer social or political commentary and who employ strongly the use of design elements in order to suggest characteristics and traits of celebrities.

Some of the artists to be explored are: Cindy Sherman, Annie Leibowiz, Tracey Rose, David LaChapelle, Ross Gareth, Philip Kwame Apagya, Seydou Ke, Malick Sidib

Aspects of design, use of space, composition and construction of the image are the central concerns in this course.

The emphasis on this course is on setting the texture and life of the image for picture storytelling.

THE VISUAL DOCUMENT: DOCUMENTARY
The course will introduce students to the theory and practice of documenting visual events. The course is divided into two components, one focusing on documentary filmmaking, the other on photography. Students will focus on how communities in conflict have been represented via the visual media, specifically with reference to the representation of conflicts in Africa in the global environment.

TECHNICAL CORE COURSE - BASICS OF VISUAL STORY TELLING

The course gives the student a basic understanding of light and sound, video and television technology, use of sound, editing and lighting equipment.

During the course the student is expected to investigate basic components of visual storytelling. These include aspects of operating the camera, lighting, recording and editing sound, understanding the implementation of the 180 degree rule, blocking of scenes, and developing characters visually.

During the course the student is introduced to non-linear editing systems, basic sound equipment and DV cameras. The course consists of lectures and exercises based on the above mentioned components, and prescribed readings.

SCRIPTRWRITING II

First Semester:

Offers students an introduction to the craft for writing for the screen. Establishing and exploring the principles of dramatic storytelling, lectures and tutorials investigate these ideas within the context of a variety of feature films. Lectures will examine forma and format, structure and its application, as well as characters and genre. Course offers an in-depth understanding of scriptwriting concepts and terminology as well as the opportunity to apply this knowledge in several short exercises.

Second Semester:

This is an introductory course that aims to expose students to the variety of writing styles and practices in the televised medium. Students will be given a background into how specifically television content is researched and written. Students will be expected to work to briefs provided in class and complete a series of writing and research exercises. The course aims to give students an opportunity to develop insight into how television programmes are conceived and written and establishes a platform for a career as a writer in the television industry.

Third Year BADA (Specialization in Film and Television):

COMPONENTS OF VISUAL STORYTELLING

This course builds on the Basics of Visual Storytelling course, exploring in more detail the principles and building blocks available to filmmakers in preproduction and production processes. The emphasis here is on investigating the possibility of utilizing these components to fully exploit the dramatic and expressive potential of a film. Students continue to learn practically through a series of progressive exercises geared towards fictional film genres (although also applicable to documentary). The emphasis is on blocking/staging for the camera, working the line and establishing new lines, working with dialogue, working with actors and pure visual storytelling (performance without dialogue). In the second quarter students? work towards a 5-7 minute fiction film. Students will also be required to write a test.

SUBJECTIVE VOICE DOCUMENTARY

The principal purpose of this course is to introduce students to the notion that documentary filmmaking could be more than just the transmission of objective information, whether it be the arrangement of facts, or the expose (a perception derived from the dominant mode of South African broadcasting that passes as documentary. A film doesn't just record action, it is an act in itself.

The focus is on the act of subjective expression, and to explore this both in terms of the subject of the film, and in what the filmmaker(s) subjective take on this subject is. This emphasis on the subjective voices of documentary subject and documentary filmmaker assists in introducing the kind of documentary that is consistent with trends in contemporary performative documentary practices.

In groups, students will research the life, practice or craft of a particular artist, and then find a representational strategy in a subjective documentary that reflects their artist's being  (and doing-) in-the-world (so that the documentary reflects the idiosyncrasies of the artist and the artwork).

CAMERA, LIGHT, EDIT AND SOUND

The course aims to build upon the technical core course from the 2^nd year, offering practice in the fields of camerawork, lighting, editing, and sound and production management. The course is designed to broaden the technical and practical understanding of students wishing to gain further insight into specific production technologies and skills.

The ability to manage time, scheduling, management of equipment, and production design is enforced as a necessary discipline within the production praxis. Television Production 3A is a workshop-based course using a series of exercises to develop the abilities and portfolios of students. The final project should demonstrate the accumulation of skills developed in the course.

MULTI-CAMERA STUDIO PRODUCTION

During the course the student will be introduced to the different aspects of multi-camera studio production. Students will work in the WSOA TV multi-camera studio and the course will familiarize students with professional studio production facilities found at most industry studios.

The students will meet practical challenges through simulations of professional productions. .

The course consists of lectures and exercises based on the above mentioned components, viewings, and prescribed reading

SCRIPTWRITING III

Second Semester:

The foundational years of script writing were aimed to introduce students to the key concepts and structure of developing a narrative script. This course aims to bring into the scriptwriting tradition, alternative script writing methods that are distinct from the North American tradition of narrative script writing. Students will be exposed to concepts of scenario and dialogue as developed from the European model of scriptwriting and emphasis will be placed on developing scripts that are inspired from a more avant garde tradition.

Fourth Year BADA (Specialization in Film and Television)

EXPLORING THE DOCUMENTARY FORM

The aim of this course is to deal with broader theoretical questions of representing the other, to focus more specifically on practical ethical considerations of working with and representing another community or culture when making a documentary.

The course explores the strategic positioning of film maker as insider/outsider, the implications of deploying different documentary gazes, and the question of the other in relation to the gaze. Ethnographic filmmaking and the related issues around this filmic practice will be central to the course in attempts to engage with why and how the cultural other is represented. Questions around interpretation, anthropological ?evidence?, and dialogic filmmaking will be addressed.

To this end students will be expected to complete a series of visual exercises to develop a reflexive understanding of their documentary voice and, this approach will be augmented with screenings and readings. While the recommended screenings are not discussions in class will draw on these documentary forms and approaches.

EXPLORING THE FICTION FILM

Students work with visiting Carnegie Scholar and experimental filmmaker in a work-shop-based course on Fiction filmmaking. Students will have privileged access to the creative process and input in the form of weekly lectures and consultations. Students will have two exercises in the first quarter and they will work towards making a short 8-10 minute fiction film in the second quarter. Students will be mentored in groups in the development and shooting of their scripts.

EXPERIMENTAL CINEMA - MUSIC VIDEO - PERSONAL FILM

Television IV B offers an introduction to the history and development of experimental cinema, with a view to examining its contribution to contemporary cinematic and televisual practice. The course provides students with a theoretical framework around experimental cinema, encompassing traditions from the early avant-garde to contemporary practices incorporating new media technologies. The course also introduces students to the concept of video art and kinetic sculptures. Students are expected to produce exercises and final projects that speak to the theoretical concepts explored in lectures and readings.

THE CINEMATOGRAPHER - CAMERA AND LIGHTING

The object of this course is to introduce the student to the cameras, equipment, cinematographical operations and philosophies of good filmmaking. The course demonstrates and exercises the various tools and available techniques to the cinematographer in both video and film formats, and reinforces and extends students understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the camera department, as well as on-set protocol and communication (bearing in mind that everyone is working on the same production and not making individual separate works).

FINISHING THE FILM

The course offers students an introduction to sound design, the art of the promotional trailer, title sequencing, broadcast design, post-production FX and basic DVD authoring.

The first quarter will explore the physics, psychology and history of sound design in film and television (sound effects, voice over and mixing), the art of the promotional trailer for film and television (meaning and manipulation) and the craft of title sequencing (history of broadcast design, key innovators, fonts, compositing, credits).

The second quarter will enable the students to finish their own short films by conforming their film for the on-line, creating a conceptual trailer for the film and finally authoring a DVD of their finished product.

Throughout the course students/groups will meet with the course coordinator who will supervise treatments, concepts and the eventual productions.

SCRIPWRITING IV

Semester 1:

The course offers 4th year students the opportunity to plan, develop and write a 26minute screenplay. Primarily a workshop based course, lectures are designed to develop and concretize narrative ideas. Outcomes will include a narrative treatment, scene breakdown or step outline and a fully written first draft of a fully formatted screenplay, ready for subsequent drafts or pre production. Throughout the course students will meet with the course coordinator who will supervise the development of the screenplays.

Semester 2:

Students are introduced to the process of planning and proposing a feature film. The emphasis is on writing in the South African context, and successfully developing detailed script treatments and part of a script. The course examines script structure and other screenwriting tools and techniques, as well as the often neglected elements of research and cultural nuance.

*Note that courses are subject to change from year to year.

FEES

For this information regarding the degree courses please check with the Fees Office at (011)7171531.
For the Certificate course call (011)7179749.

FURTHER INFORMATION:<WSOA
Wits School of Arts

CONTACT
Wits Scool of Arts Television
Senate House Basement 2
Telephone (011)7179749
Fax (011) 717 9755
tvadmin@wits.ac.za

or Wits School of Arts Student Liaison Officer (011)7174656