Designing and Delivering a "Low-Tech‟ Movie-Making Course at a "High-Tech‟ University

Abstract

 Abstract-The industry of movie-making has truly become democratized in recent years, by which I mean it is no longer solely the province of those with access to expensive, high-end technology. With this realization I set out in March 2014 to design and deliver a two module syllabus for students at Institut Teknologi Brunei, a leading government university of technology in Asia, at which there were no audio visual production facilities or equipment yet in place. Innovatively, the course would require students to make short movies using nothing more than the technology they already had at hand: the video cameras in their own mobile phones, tablets etc.; the free editing software available on their own computers; the improvised recording studios they could construct in their private living spaces; and their access to free online sites for distributing their work such as Youtube, Vimeo and Facebook. Students were encouraged to use the CGI, 3D modeling, digital audio processing, special effects and motion graphics skills learned in additional computer-based modules on offer at this other-wise 'high-tech' university but were not assessed according to the technical proficiency of their finished AVPs, rather their intentions regarding the conventions and language of cinema were what mattered and what were evaluated. The module specifications, including aims, content and desired learning outcomes -for each of the two modules are described in this paper, as are two representative 'low-tech' movie-making tutorials specifically designed for the course. Index Terms-Democratization of film, low-tech film-making, low-tech movie-making, university film course.