Capturing Creativity: The Video Portrait
Louise Turley
Email: louise.turley@rmit.edu.au
Studio times
Mon 11.30-2.30pm (54.5.94)
Wed 10.30-12.30pm (13.3.11)
Imagine a Raft (Close Group), Jon Cattapan (2012)
When I start to paint, it is real agony. I get nervous. The day before, I am already working up to it. Then I get to the studio and, once the image
starts to emerge and come together, pleasure kicks in. And then you can see things that no other person can see.
Luc Tuymans, Artist ‘When Luc Tuymans met Wilhelm Sasnal’, Art Review
How can the modern day documentary filmmaker capture and represent the artist’s creative process?
Description:
The image of a ‘tortured genius’ suffering in their lair for their art has long dominated perceptions of the artist in their studio.
Post, postmodernism, this studio visits another studio the space of the artist, a creative, fragmented, disjointed and complex place of art making, and home to 16 artists
in residence. Gertrude Contemporary is a notforprofit dynamic centre for the production and presentation of contemporary art. Openly fostering ‘a culture of risk’ with
the artist at its centre, Gertrude Contemporary provides a creative community for some of Australia’s most celebrated and innovative artists.
Students will liaise directly with emerging artists to research, script, shoot and edit a video portrait representing their art making practice. They will learn how to represent
an artist’s career, investigate their inspirations and record the complexity of contemporary art making practices in
short they will interrogate the very notion of capturing creativity in our time.
These films will be made in collaboration with other students and the final portraits will be embedded within the gallery’s website.
However, capturing contemporary creativity can be a hard task: the social, the political and the conceptual often override traditional materiality. In this studio students will
be immersed in a world of shape shifting ideas and bits and bytes. They will face many challenges: how to work with artists who are in early developmental phases, how
to identify and film a specific creative practice and how to paint a portrait of an artist in a digital age.
This studio presents a unique opportunity to work with some of the very best emerging Australian artists and to produce work that may be featured on the gallery website.
Aims :
● to research, write and create a high quality short documentary for the web
● to explore and expand notions of representing creativity in documentary
● to develop abilities to collaborate with artists, stakeholders and others
Studio Learning Approach and Schedule
The five contact hours each week will operate flexibly around different learning modes
including, but not limited to:
● lecture/seminars discussing key concepts/theories/readings.
● screenings of short form documentaries
● student presentations of work in progress,
with verbal feedback from studio leader and peers
● student sessions and group work focussed on class exercises and/or
assessable project briefs
● Practical workshops
Attendance is required at both sessions. ?
Teaching Schedule
If you have a long term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to
vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program
coordinator or the Disability Liaison Unit if you would like to find out more.
Your course assessment conforms to RMIT assessment principles, regulations, policies,
procedures and instructions which are available for review online:
http://www.rmit.edu.au/policies/academic#assessment
Students will be assessed according to the Learning Outcomes of the Media Course they are
enrolled in (see below):
COMM2625 Media 2
1. Investigate, design and produce media at a basic level
2. Work collaboratively at a basic level
3. Reflect on and evaluate your own and other’s creative process
4. Demonstrate basic critical literacies in the media discipline through
engagement with relevant theories and frameworks
COMM2627 Media 4
1. Investigate, design and produce media at an advanced level
2. Work collaboratively at an advanced level
3. Provide reflective evaluations of your own and others creative process at an
advanced level
Assessment:
This studio guide provides a summarised overview of each PROJECT BRIEF with key learning
outcomes. Specific details including submissions details and dates for each PROJECT BRIEF
will be provided as the studio progresses, as separate documents via the online teaching
tools.
Project Brief #1 (0%) Due Week 2 (no formal grade; feedback will be provided)
Post to your Media Factory blog by 5pm, Friday 29 July.
(a) Visit an exhibition and prepare a Powerpoint presentation on an artist of your choice
(b) 250 word statement of goals – What do you want to get out of this studio? This can be a
discussion of your goals for the semester as well as any areas of development that you’d like
to focus on.
Project Brief #2 (15%) Due Week 6 (Amended)
Upload to your Google Drive submission folder by 5pm, Friday 26 August.
A. A Research Brief on your Artist containing your One Page Pitch document and Proposal
B. Write a reflection (min 500 words) on the collaborative process so far and on the
your project’s progress what’s working and what’s not.
Media Two Learning Outcomes: 1,3,4
Media Four Learning Outcomes: 2, 3
Project Brief #3 (25%) Due Week 8
Presentations in class on Monday in Wk 9; all other elements to be uploaded to Google Drive
submissions folder by 5pm, Friday 16 September.
A. 2-3 minute presentation on your Video Portrait. It should include background
information about your artist and the following elements: list of subjects, style of
production, production elements (interviews / abstract imagery)
B. All other elements need to be uploaded: Craft Exercises (compressed via
instructions) / Work in Progress Report / Shooting Schedule / Shooting Script
Media Two Learning Outcomes: 1, 2, 4
Media Four Learning Outcomes: 1, 2
Project Brief #4 (40%) Due Week 13
Upload everything to your Google Drive submission folder by 5pm, Friday 21 October.
A. Final Edit Script
B. Final 3-4 minute Video Portrait
C. Marketing Kit Press release with key images & Social Media strategy
Media Two Learning Outcomes: 1, 2, 4
Media Four Learning Outcomes: 1, 2
Project Brief #5 (20%) Due Week 14
Upload everything to your Google Drive submission folder by 5pm, Friday 28 October.
Blogs, Weekly Updates, Final Presentation Video + Website and Final Reflection
A. Blogs (5%) Weekly
Each week students will be expected to reflect on their experiences in the Studio that week.
They can be comments on readings, screenings, discussions or any aspect of Studio content.
B. Studio Updates (5%) Due 5pm each Friday throughout semester up to Week 11.
Each week, two students will be making a 45-90 second video that updates the rest of the
Media program on the studio’s progress. This video can include stills of work in progress,
interviews with other class members about the content covered in the Studio that week and
updates on student projects. This update will be shared to the Media Factory website, and
uploaded to Google Drive.
C. Final Presentation Video + Website (5%) To be exhibited for the Media program
presentations, Thursday 27 October.
As a single group, the studio will produce a 5-8 minute video summing up the journey of the
studio over the semester. The exact nature of the video will be developed by the students
and will contain excerpts taken from the ‘Weekly Updates’ and highlights from the Final
Video Portraits. You will also create a studio website with links to the finished work
produced in the studio (including the final video presentation).
D. Final Reflection (5%) Due Week 14
Each student will prepare and post a substantial final reflection that considers what they’ve
learnt; and critically assesses the studio experience, their own performance and, the success
of their film project in relation to the methods employed.
Media Two Learning Outcomes: 1, 2, 3,4
Media Four Learning Outcomes: 1, 2,3
Submission of Work:
All assessment materials are required to be submitted electronically via Blackboard or
shared folders on your RMIT Google Drive account (please refer to your assessment task
sheets for specific instructions and requirements). Each separate submission must be
accompanied by the following electronic declaration:
I declare that in submitting all work for this assessment I have read, understood and agree to
the content and expectations of the assessment declaration
Students should ensure that they keep backup copies of all and any type of work submitted.
Technical Resources:
Students must bring a laptop to class each week. Students should ensure they have access
to Adobe Premiere – either their own copy, or that which is available via RMIT’s MyDesktop
service.
Further Information:
Safety and shooting protocols
Safety issues in media production (including dealings with the public) will be addressed in
the studio and are taken extremely seriously. Any transgressions against these policies will
be dealt with severely.
Use of student work/s in research
There may arise occasions where the work that you undertake, including work that is
submitted for assessment, may be quoted or commented upon in research. Permission to
cite work will only be sought after all assessment tasks have been completed and individual
permission will be sought in all instances. All such work will be appropriately acknowledged
and cited, and if you wish it will not specifically identify you.
Grading Principles
HIGH DISTINCTION (80% and above) Indicative
of work. Distinguished by original thought, highly creative and innovative implementation, depth and
clarity of documentation and/or discussion and an intelligent critical and/or creative engagement with the tasks.
DISTINCTION (70-79%)
Excellent work, containing original ideas and creative or innovative
implementation, a comprehensive grasp of the requirements and their expression, but
marred by one or two minor problems.
CREDIT (60-69%)
Good to very good work, displaying some original thought and creativity
and/or innovation, but undermined by gaps in documenting or discussing what you have
done and why, insufficient critical engagement with your ideas and work, or work that
interprets the required tasks in an overly literal manner.
PASS (50-59%)
Average work, displaying a basic grasp of the requirements, but with a
range of more or less serious flaws, such as technical problems, a lack of communicative
clarity, lack of appropriate and adequate documentation and discussion, poor reasoning,
and so on.
FAIL (0-49%)
Fail, or NN grades are given to inadequate work. Some reasons for failing
include where there is no evidence of any attempt to cover what is required, or the work
simply demonstrates the task rather than interprets and engages with the task. Plagiarism
can also be grounds for failure. DNS indicates that no work was submitted for the
assessment task.
Late submission
If you are unable to complete your assessment project, assignment or essay by the due date,
and you are seeking an extension of up to 7 calendar days, you need to apply to the course
coordinator. The course coordinator will consider your request and will notify you within 24
hours as to whether your request for an extension of up to 7 calendar days from the due
date has been granted or not.
This Application for Extension is to be made using the form downloaded from here:
Application for Extension t ogether with supporting evidence such as a medical certificate.
The Application is to be submitted to the course coordinator (by email or in person), no later
than one working day before the official due date.
However, if you are seeking an extension of longer than 7 calendar days, or if you are
seeking an extension for an exam, test or labbased
assessment, you need to apply to the
University for Special Consideration.
If you are unsure which application to make, please discuss with your program director or
appropriate student adviser.
If the course coordinator does grant you an extension of up to 7 calendar days after the due
date, or if the University does grant you S pecial Consideration, and you submit the work
within the time approved, you will not be penalised for lateness. However, if you submit
your work late without an approved extension, your work will be penalised for lateness as
follows: work submitted after the deadline without an approved extension, or approved
Special Consideration, will incur a penalty of 5% of the total mark available for the
assignment for each calendar day after the due date. For example, if an essay is worth 40
marks and is submitted 3 calendar days late, you will lose 3 x 2 (5% of 40) = 6 marks.
Work submitted more than two weeks beyond the due date without an approved extension
or approved Special Consideration will not be graded, resulting in a mark of zero (0%).
Study and Learning Centre
If you need help with English expression or how to learn effectively in your course, you
should make the time to investigate and use the following resources. RMIT has an English
Ready Centre in building 80.3.17
Information and appointments can also be made at the Study and Learning Centre website
as well as at their drop in centre in building 8, Level 4, Room 12, City campus. No
appointment needed for city campus; just drop in.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a serious academic offence and it is your responsibility as a student to be
familiar with the University’s Policy and Procedure related to Plagiarism. It is essential that
you refer to the “Academic Integrity” section of the RMIT website, which includes
information about Plagiarism (what it means, and the process and range of academic
penalties when it is identified). This information can be found at
http://www1.rmit.edu.au/students/academic integrity.
Plagiarism in oral, written or visual presentations is the presentation of the work, idea or
creation of another person, without appropriate referencing, as though it is one’s own.
Plagiarism is not acceptable. The use of another person’s work or ideas must be
acknowledged. Failure to do so may result in charges of academic misconduct which carry a
range of penalties including cancellation of results and exclusion from your course.
Course Evaluation and Feedback
Student feedback is welcome at any point throughout the course either in class, or via the
teaching staff. A Course Experience Survey (CES) will be made available towards the end of
semester whereby students can provide feedback anonymously. The results of these surveys
contribute directly to the content and learning processes of this course in future.
Special consideration If, during the academic year, you believe that your performance has been affected by illness
or other serious cause, and this has either p revented you from meeting an assessment
deadline OR c aused you to perform below standard during the assessment, you may apply in
writing for a special consideration in the assessment of performance. Such applications must
have supporting evidence attached (e.g. medical certificate) and shall be considered by the
Head of Department or departments concerned, in accordance with the conditions laid
down from time to time by the Board. Application forms can be obtained at any Hub or by
accessing h ttp://www1.rmit.edu.au/students/specialconsideration. Applications must be
lodged no later than 48 hours after the due date for assessment.
Student complaints policy
For information about how to make a complaint and the Student Complaints Policy go to
your Faculty or Departmental Office. More information at
http://www1.rmit.edu.au/students/complaints .