FT2DOC: Documentary

Module code: FT2DOC

Module provider: Film, Theatre and TV; School of Arts and Comm Design

Credits: 20

Level: 5

When you’ll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Adam O'Brien , email: adam.obrien@reading.ac.uk

Module co-convenor: Dr Faye Woods, email: f.woods@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2025/6

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 24 April 2025

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module aims to develop analytical skills for and production knowledge of non-fiction film and television through close analysis of texts alongside an engagement with broader industrial, technological, institutional, as well as cultural, contexts. Students will engage with key critical debates and conceptual issues through discussion and analysis of texts, putting some of these ideas into practice. These methodologies will enable students to understand documentary-makers creative decision-making and their connection to wider ideological concerns.  

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Analyse and evaluate some of the major debates about the role of documentary in film and television
2. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the relationship between production process, aesthetics and narrative in documentary practice
3. Use methods of textual and contextual analysis along with short practical exercises to consider the effects of choices and decisions in the construction of meaning in documentary-making
4. Develop skills and competencies which are central to the course. It is expected that the level of skills and competencies achieved in the following will be appropriate to the level of study: oral communication and argument in group situations; deployment of research using printed and electronic resources; critical analysis and coherent argument; undertaking self-directed, independent work; presentation of written and practical exercises using IT and digital technologies; identifying and addressing problems in the analysis of documentary film and television; creative deployment of technology in the development and presentation of analysis and practical exercises.

Module content

The term will cover a series of case studies pertaining to classic and contemporary documentary film and television. We will look at key documentary modes including observational, interactive and poetic. We will consider the role of the archive in expository and compilation documentary, along with the effect of different kinds of narration and editing choices, and decisions over the level of reflexivity present. Authorship, together with documentary-makers’ relationship with their subject, will be an ongoing thread. (Note: this outline content is indicative and may vary in practice).  

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The normal teaching pattern will be a combination of lectures and seminars, plus screenings, but may also include some longer interactive workshops. Lectures will be used to establish contexts and to introduce issues for discussion and debate. Seminars will concentrate mainly on the close analysis of extracts from television texts and the required reading. Short practical or desktop-based exercises will put some of the module’s theoretical ideas in practice, with space for reflection and peer feedback.  

Study hours

At least 40 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.