Film and Television

Below is a list of courses you may study in Film and Television Studies. To view more details visit the program information page for the Bachelor of Arts or Diploma in Arts. 

Level 1

Introduction to Film & Television Studies (MSTU1001)

An introduction to screen studies which explores the relationship between film and television and provides techniques for analysing screen texts, understanding the industrial and institutional history of film and television, and exploring the impact of aesthetic style, stardom, and genre on meaning and audience responses.

Media and Society (COMU1120)

This course is designed to encourage you to examine and critically assess the relationship between the media and society. You will study how media and cultural industries shape our experience of the world. The course examines how media are used to represent the world and exercise power in society. Critical attention is given to the meaning-making, participatory and data-processing capacities of media.

Multimedia (COMU1140)

This course teaches students to critically pair creative content and information with digital media. It also introduces students to both analyse and create transmedia narratives, drawing on a variety of different genres and media platforms. In producing their own transmedia stories, students will hone a set of media production skills, including audio-visual digital media as well as verbal presentation skills.

Level 2

Film and Television History: From the Cinematograph to CGI and Netflix (MSTU2160)

This course provides students with a historical understanding of film and television in terms of aesthetic, technological, social, economic and industrial frameworks and their interrelationships.

Australian Film and Television (MSTU2006)

Introduces students to Australian cinema from the 1900s to the present day.

Television in the Age of Streaming (MSTU2008)

Investigation of the history and nature of television as a medium, examining television programs and genres in terms of their significance, achievement and relationship to the ways in which they are used.

Creative Writing: Screenwriting (WRIT2120)

This course will introduce students to the basic skills of feature film screenwriting.

Level 3

Realism, Fiction, and Factuality on Screen (MSTU3005)

This course examines a range of theoretical approaches to the issues of realism, fiction, and factuality across various kinds of film, TV, and screen media. In an era of increasing anxiety about fakery, the blurring lines between fact and fiction, and the nature of viewer belief, this course will give students a deeper understanding of past and current ways of thinking about the screen's relationship to realities.

Adaptation: Studies in Transmission Between Cultures and Forms (ENGL3030)

The course considers the changes that occur as particular texts move between various cultural forms. The media under consideration will include print, radio, theatre, television, film and videogames, but some adaptations that change cultures rather than media, such as television formats and cross cultural stage adaptations will also be examined. 

Independent Media Studies (MSTU3012)

This course is offered annually in Semester 1, Semester 2, and Summer Semester. No prescribed syllabus or formal teaching. In consultation with convenor, students devise a topic primarily for individual research. 

Contemporary Theories of Film and Television (MSTU3150)

This course explores recent approaches to the study of film and television as art forms. The course is designed to draw upon and build upon the gateway and cornerstone courses of the Film and Television Major and the Art History Major. We will explore the particular, formal qualities of each art form as well as the meanings and values of particular movements and works in conjunction with recent aesthetic approaches in four main fields of research: art history, film studies, philosophical aesthetics, and television studies.

“The Film and Television Studies major has greatly enriched my knowledge of and passion for cinema, from the course concepts to the theory discussions to the fabulous tutors and lecturers. I can now critically observe and analyse movies to understand the director’s intent.”

 Dianne Mai, Digital Media, Writing and Film and Television Majors

“I liked how there wasn’t a right or wrong with what I was studying. Lots of courses were quite flexible in delivery and with the topics you wanted to cover in assignments. This helped me figure out what I wanted to do in my career.”

 Michael Raftery, Film and Television Studies Major

“You are required to to make a lengthy analysis and you’re asked to look for subtext and make major claims on your own with the appropriate justification...I think that having the ability to sit down and make those assertions is an incredibly important skill to have in the communications workplace to understand, for example, the influence of spin doctoring...It also means that when I’m writing content for the organisation I work for, I know how it’s going to be interpreted by my audience and that’s a very helpful PR skill.”

Melissa Hampton, Film and Television Studies Major

You’ll find countless rewarding and exciting career paths are possible with a Film and Television Studies Major.

Some of these professions include:

• Arts critic
• Content creator
• Marketing coordinator

Graduate opportunities include careers in education, festivals and events, publicity, marketing, film culture, screen corporations and film distributors.

Graduates from this major often find work in areas such as education, events, marketing and PR, film distribution, and digital streaming.