KPB220 Factual Screens
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | KPB220 |
|---|---|
| Equivalent(s): | KPB205 |
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
|
| CSP student contribution | $2,124 |
| Pre-2021 CSP student contribution | $996 The pre-2021 commonwealth supported place (CSP) contribution amount only applies to students enrolled in a course prior to 2021. To learn more, visit our Understanding your fees page. |
| Domestic tuition unit fee | $4,356 |
| International unit fee | $4,668 |
Unit Outline: Semester 2 2025, Kelvin Grove, Internal
| Unit code: | KPB220 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Equivalent: | KPB205 |
| Coordinator: | Sean Maher | s.maher@qut.edu.au |
Overview
This unit introduces the traditions of documentary film and television production, stylistic practices in documentary and documentary scripts, and methodologies for producing ethnographic, indigenous and cross cultural documentaries. Understanding the role documentary performs in our media age provides a crucial literacy to this film forms. You will be exposed to the history and theory behind documentary, enabling you to conceptualise and plan your own documentary productions and critique the place of them alongside factual and fictional forms of filmmaking in the contemporary media landscape. The documentary filmmaking tradition has involved many crucial aesthetic, technical and ethical concerns throughout history. For film, screen and animation students, this unit aids you to integrate its contents into documentary scripts and productions, while for other disciplines' students, the unit provides the theoretical underpinnings and processes of documentary production.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Identify and explain issues confronting audiences and practitioners in documentary practice.
- Critically analyse ethical and cross-cultural considerations central to documentary practice.
- Identify different production methodologies and stylistic choices in documentary.
Content
This unit introduces you to a diverse range of topics such as: theoretical and practical considerations on for instance, the nature of documentary; modes and style of representation within documentary; the documentary tradition in Australia; documentary ethnography; the documentary as ‘truth’ construct.
Learning Approaches
This unit will be taught through lectures and tutorials, complemented by required readings and screenings. All screened films and reference texts will be available through a combination of library reserve items and freely accessible through QUT licensed online downloads. As appropriate, in tutorials you will concentrate on expanding your understandings of the theoretical and historical issues underpinning contemporary documentary practices as outlined from the lectures and screenings.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Feedback in this unit is provided to you in the following ways:
- a range of formative exercises discussed and applied in class
- generic comments posted to the whole cohort via the unit Canvas website
- feedback from peers as you investigate and discuss issues raised throughout the unit
- comments about summative assessment work included on criteria sheets with your grade.
Assessment
Overview
There are two assessments for this unit. The first is an oral presentation, where you offer a critical analysis of a documentary. The second is a major written essay in which you present an argument addressing historical, theoretical and formal issues relating to the genre of documentary as it manifests in many forms.
Faculty Assessment Information
To access the Faculty Assessment Information see the Canvas site for this unit. This includes information on late assignments and assignment extensions.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Critique (oral)
For this assessment you are required to present an in-class critical analysis of a documentary.
This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.
Assessment: Essay
The final assessment is a critique-based essay, addressing a combination of historical, theoretical and formal elements contextualising documentary.
This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Requirements to Study
Requirements
All students and staff who access campus buildings and facilities are required to complete the Tier 1 General Health and Safety Induction. This must be completed online.
Resources
As well as the list of recommended references below, you will have access to readings and other resources via the unit Canvas website.
Resource Materials
Prescribed text(s)
Fox, B. (2018). Documentary media : history, theory, practice (Second edition.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Reference book(s)
Barnouw, E. (1983) Documentary: A History of the Non-Fiction Film, OUP, Oxford.
Bruzzi, S. (2000) New Documentary: a critical introduction, Routledge, London.
Corner, J. (2005) New Challenges for Documentary, Manchester University Press, Manchester.
Ellis, J. (2011) Documentary Witness and Self-revelation, Routledge, London/New York.
Fitzsimons, T., Laughren, P., Williamson, D. (2011) Australian Documentary – history and practices and Genres, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Moran, A. (1991) Projecting Australia: Government Film since 1945, Currency Press, Sydney.
Nicholls, B. (2001) Introduction to Documentary, Indiana Uni Press.
Ragiger, M. (1998) Directing the Documentary, Focal Press, London.
Renov, M. (1993) Theorizing Documentary, Routledge, London.
Renov. M. (2004) The Subject of Documentary, Univ of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.
Winston, B. (1995) Claiming the Real, BFI, London.
Other
To enable your full participation in the virtual learning environment, for example, participating in online activities and engaging with online learning materials, you will need access to a reliable computer with an internet connection, webcam, headset and microphone, as well as a learning environment where you are able to fully participate undisturbed when required.
Risk Assessment Statement
For risks associated with using campus buildings or facilities, refer to the Tier 1 General Health and Safety Induction. This must be completed online.
This unit also requires a Tier 2 Health and Safety Induction which is provided by the technician on site in the theatre, workshop or studio. 'Not all students are required to complete the Tier 2 induction.
This unit also requires a Tier 3 Health and Safety Induction which is a hands on induction on specific machinery. Not all students are required to complete the Tier 3 induction.
Where substantial computer-based work is required, particularly in the case of fully online students, you are recommended to take regular rest breaks when engaging in prolonged computer-based work, and ensure that your workstation is set up for optimal comfort to prevent strain or injury.
There are no out-of-ordinary risks for this unit.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.KK34 Bachelor of Fine Arts
- Cite and discuss a broad and coherent knowledge of historical and contemporary cultural contexts for creative practice, including the contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges.
Relates to: ULO2 - Identify and demonstrate knowledge of the techniques and concepts underpinning your field of creative practice.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO3 - Demonstrate complex problem solving through iterative experimentation and the creative and critical development of ideas and outcomes.
Relates to: ULO2, ULO3 - Discern, critically analyse and synthesise knowledge in complex creative practice settings.
Relates to: ULO3 - Demonstrate respect for cultural and social differences, and work with integrity across creative practice networks.
Relates to: ULO2
KK43 Bachelor of Creative Industries
- Demonstrate broad and coherent theoretical and practical knowledge required for creative enterprise, career development and interdisciplinary collaborations, supported by depth in at least one creative disciplinary area.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, ULO3 - Demonstrate well-developed cognitive and ideation skills to identify, analyse and evaluate opportunities to address authentic complex problems.
Relates to: ULO2, ULO3 - Embody social and ethical responsibilities and exhibit well-developed judgement with resilience, integrity, curiosity and responsibility.
Relates to: ULO2
Unit Outline: Semester 2 2025, Online
| Unit code: | KPB220 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Equivalent: | KPB205 |
Overview
This unit introduces the traditions of documentary film and television production, stylistic practices in documentary and documentary scripts, and methodologies for producing ethnographic, indigenous and cross cultural documentaries. Understanding the role documentary performs in our media age provides a crucial literacy to this film forms. You will be exposed to the history and theory behind documentary, enabling you to conceptualise and plan your own documentary productions and critique the place of them alongside factual and fictional forms of filmmaking in the contemporary media landscape. The documentary filmmaking tradition has involved many crucial aesthetic, technical and ethical concerns throughout history. For film, screen and animation students, this unit aids you to integrate its contents into documentary scripts and productions, while for other disciplines' students, the unit provides the theoretical underpinnings and processes of documentary production.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Identify and explain issues confronting audiences and practitioners in documentary practice.
- Critically analyse ethical and cross-cultural considerations central to documentary practice.
- Identify different production methodologies and stylistic choices in documentary.
Content
This unit introduces you to a diverse range of topics such as: theoretical and practical considerations on for instance, the nature of documentary; modes and style of representation within documentary; the documentary tradition in Australia; documentary ethnography; the documentary as ‘truth’ construct.
Learning Approaches
This unit will be taught through lectures and tutorials, complemented by required readings and screenings. All screened films and reference texts will be available through a combination of library reserve items and freely accessible through QUT licensed online downloads. As appropriate, in tutorials you will concentrate on expanding your understandings of the theoretical and historical issues underpinning contemporary documentary practices as outlined from the lectures and screenings.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Feedback in this unit is provided to you in the following ways:
- a range of formative exercises discussed and applied in class
- generic comments posted to the whole cohort via the unit Canvas website
- feedback from peers as you investigate and discuss issues raised throughout the unit
- comments about summative assessment work included on criteria sheets with your grade.
Assessment
Overview
There are two assessments for this unit. The first is an oral presentation, where you offer a critical analysis of a documentary. The second is a major written essay in which you present an argument addressing historical, theoretical and formal issues relating to the genre of documentary as it manifests in many forms.
Faculty Assessment Information
To access the Faculty Assessment Information see the Canvas site for this unit. This includes information on late assignments and assignment extensions.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Critique (oral)
For this assessment you are required to present an in-class critical analysis of a documentary.
This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.
Assessment: Essay
The final assessment is a critique-based essay, addressing a combination of historical, theoretical and formal elements contextualising documentary.
This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Requirements to Study
Requirements
All students and staff who access campus buildings and facilities are required to complete the Tier 1 General Health and Safety Induction. This must be completed online.
Resources
As well as the list of recommended references below, you will have access to readings and other resources via the unit Canvas website.
Resource Materials
Prescribed text(s)
Fox, B. (2018). Documentary media : history, theory, practice (Second edition.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Reference book(s)
Barnouw, E. (1983) Documentary: A History of the Non-Fiction Film, OUP, Oxford.
Bruzzi, S. (2000) New Documentary: a critical introduction, Routledge, London.
Corner, J. (2005) New Challenges for Documentary, Manchester University Press, Manchester.
Ellis, J. (2011) Documentary Witness and Self-revelation, Routledge, London/New York.
Fitzsimons, T., Laughren, P., Williamson, D. (2011) Australian Documentary – history and practices and Genres, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Moran, A. (1991) Projecting Australia: Government Film since 1945, Currency Press, Sydney.
Nicholls, B. (2001) Introduction to Documentary, Indiana Uni Press.
Ragiger, M. (1998) Directing the Documentary, Focal Press, London.
Renov, M. (1993) Theorizing Documentary, Routledge, London.
Renov. M. (2004) The Subject of Documentary, Univ of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.
Winston, B. (1995) Claiming the Real, BFI, London.
Other
To enable your full participation in the virtual learning environment, for example, participating in online activities and engaging with online learning materials, you will need access to a reliable computer with an internet connection, webcam, headset and microphone, as well as a learning environment where you are able to fully participate undisturbed when required.
Risk Assessment Statement
For risks associated with using campus buildings or facilities, refer to the Tier 1 General Health and Safety Induction. This must be completed online.
This unit also requires a Tier 2 Health and Safety Induction which is provided by the technician on site in the theatre, workshop or studio. 'Not all students are required to complete the Tier 2 induction.
This unit also requires a Tier 3 Health and Safety Induction which is a hands on induction on specific machinery. Not all students are required to complete the Tier 3 induction.
Where substantial computer-based work is required, particularly in the case of fully online students, you are recommended to take regular rest breaks when engaging in prolonged computer-based work, and ensure that your workstation is set up for optimal comfort to prevent strain or injury.
There are no out-of-ordinary risks for this unit.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.KK34 Bachelor of Fine Arts
- Cite and discuss a broad and coherent knowledge of historical and contemporary cultural contexts for creative practice, including the contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges.
Relates to: ULO2 - Identify and demonstrate knowledge of the techniques and concepts underpinning your field of creative practice.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO3 - Demonstrate complex problem solving through iterative experimentation and the creative and critical development of ideas and outcomes.
Relates to: ULO2, ULO3 - Discern, critically analyse and synthesise knowledge in complex creative practice settings.
Relates to: ULO3 - Demonstrate respect for cultural and social differences, and work with integrity across creative practice networks.
Relates to: ULO2
KK43 Bachelor of Creative Industries
- Demonstrate broad and coherent theoretical and practical knowledge required for creative enterprise, career development and interdisciplinary collaborations, supported by depth in at least one creative disciplinary area.
Relates to: ULO1, ULO2, ULO3 - Demonstrate well-developed cognitive and ideation skills to identify, analyse and evaluate opportunities to address authentic complex problems.
Relates to: ULO2, ULO3 - Embody social and ethical responsibilities and exhibit well-developed judgement with resilience, integrity, curiosity and responsibility.
Relates to: ULO2