Developing a learning model for teaching film production online

• Main Author: Ziemsen, Eva
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2017
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/63862

Through my roles as a film professor, filmmaker and PhD student, I have acquired a strong motivation to develop a learning model for the teaching of film production online. My initial interest for conducting research in this area began a few years ago when I taught a screenwriting workshop in Bhutan. On my return to Canada, I wished there was a way for me to continue teaching my students in Bhutan in the domain of film production. Further research has led me to discover that machinima, a virtual mode of recording animation, could be the solution to teaching almost all aspects of filmmaking, entirely online. Machinima is already very popular amongst educators, both face-to-face and as an online mode of delivery, however, its legitimacy as a cinematic art form has given rise to a controversial debate. My goal was to employ the research method of a/r/tography (standing for artist, researcher, and teacher), to create a complex artistic and academic work to demonstrate that machinima is a valid method of filmmaking and is an immersive mode of teaching film production in the online context. The Art entailed creating a short hybrid film using machinima and live action, entitled, Romeo & Juliette2016. The Research included a literature review that situated my work in the theory that underpins machinima as an art form and in the context of online learning. The Teacher component included a documentary in which I exhibited my film to select ‘critics’, in film, media and film education, and invited them to respond. The documentary was intended to produce discourse around the notion of machinima as an art form and as a teaching tool. Finally, in conclusion, I wrote a response chapter to this interaction and to the project as a whole. This study is highly relevant in the current landscape of media and 21st century education as virtual reality applications are taking hold in the professional filmmaking process and as a teaching tool, and machinima is part of this revolution. Supplementary materials available at: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/63862 === Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies === Graduate