Module overview
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Present your research findings in the appropriate format
- Collect data on audiences using appropriate methods and sources
- Obtain ethical approval for your research project
- Design a proposal for a short piece of audience research
- Analyse your research findings with reference to relevant theories and debates about how audiences engage with film in particular contexts
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- Methods and sources used to study audiences
- The cultural and economic significance of audiences within film industries and cultures
- Contexts in which audiences engage with film
- Theories and debates about film audiences
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Collect data using appropriate methods and sources
- Analyse your research findings
- Present your findings in the appropriate format
- Deliver work to a given length, format, brief and deadline
- Design a research proposal
Syllabus
This module examines the cultural and economic significance of audiences within film industries and cultures. Lectures will explore how the film industry attempts to measure, target and build audiences through strategies like advertising, previews screenings, exit polls and algorithms, along with the different spaces, technologies and practices through which audiences engage with film. They will also consider debates about censorship and ‘media effects’ and explore different academic theories about how audiences engage with film, including concepts like reception, taste, pleasure, affect and fandom. Workshops will examine the practical and ethical implications of studying audiences through surveys, focus groups, ethnography, social media, archives and other research methods, with a view to designing and carrying own your short piece of audience research.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching methods include:
- Lectures, used to introduce key theories and issues
- Workshops, focusing on specific methods of audience research
- Individual consultations with tutor in office hours
Learning activities include:
- Independent study/research
- Designing a short research project
- Collecting and analysing research data
- Writing up the findings of a short research project
- Contributing to discussions in lectures and workshops
Type | Hours |
---|---|
Lecture | 10 |
Practical classes and workshops | 30 |
Independent Study | 110 |
Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
Roy Stafford (2007). Understanding Audiences and the Film Industry. London: BFI.
Karen Ross and Virginia Nightingale (2003). Media and Audiences: New Perspectives. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Virginia Nightingale (1996). Studying Audiences: The Shock of The Real. London and New York: Routledge.
Máire Messenger Davies and Nick Mosdell (2006). Practical Research Methods for Media and Cultural Studies: Making People Count. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Research Report | 70% |
Research proposal | 30% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Resubmit assessments | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Resubmit assessments | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External