Methods and Techniques of Audiovisual Communication
Code: 100065 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Humanities | OT | 3 |
| Humanities | OT | 4 |
Contact
- Name:
- Maria Carmen Ávalos Del Pino
- Email:
- mariadelcarmen.avalos@uab.cat
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites
Objectives and Contextualisation
In today’s audiovisual world, profound and exciting changes are taking place, both in the media used for exhibition and in the techniques employed for content production.
The first objective is to provide knowledge about these media and techniques through the viewing and analysis of multiple high-quality extracts from contemporary audiovisual works. This will also serve as a basis for humanistic reflection on crucial aspects such as: (a) the emergence of AI in the audiovisual field, (b) the impact of democratizing technology in image production, and (c) new forms of audiovisual storytelling.
The second objective is to enable students to work creatively and develop their own projects within the field of audiovisual production or audiovisual research. In this way, the knowledge acquired in theoretical sessions will be put into practice. Students’ practical work will be directly supervised by the professor through project tutorials.
The course content will be sensitive to issues related to gender perspective.
Competences
- Humanities
- Critically analysing the contemporary culture.
- Identifying the historical processes of contemporary culture.
- Properly using the resources and methodologies of the study of contemporary culture.
- Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
Learning Outcomes
- Applying the knowledge of the different cultural genres to the media.
- Assessing the implications of photography, cinema, video and television as culture spreading media.
- Defining the value of cultural magazines in the contemporary culture.
- Identifying the production and realisation techniques in printed, audiovisual and hypermedia.
- Questioning the established behaviours concerning audiovisual media.
- Relating the artistic creations from various periods with other cultural phenomena.
- Using the appropriate terminology and style in the drafting of a journalistic text.
Content
1.- ANALYSIS OF GENRES, AND AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA
Media convergence: Film, Series, Documentary, Advertising, Music Videos, Video Games, Animation
Reformulation of narrative genres
New visions: audiovisuals made by women
Streaming platforms and linear programming media
Reflections on artificial intelligence as a support tool in audio-visual creation
How to distinguish between filmed reality and computer-generated imagery (CGI)
2. TECHNIQUES FOR CONTENT CREATION
Introduction to planning, production, and editing of an audio-visual project
Scriptwriting: character development, plotlines, and narrative structures
Visual composition and framing
Camera techniques (movements and angles)
Soundtrack and sound design
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Seminar (development of audiovisual projects: topic selection workshop, script writing, presentation workshop in public, preparation for pitching | 6 | 0.24 | 4, 5, 2 |
| Theory | 15 | 0.6 | 1, 4, 5, 6, 2 |
| Tutorials | 24 | 0.96 | 1, 5, 6, 2 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Others | 3 | 0.12 | 1, 4, 5, 2 |
| Pitching | 6 | 0.24 | |
| Written Exercises | 35 | 1.4 | 1, 3, 7, 4, 5, 6, 2 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Preparing for practical work | 38 | 1.52 | 1, 5, 6, 2 |
Four types of activities are proposed:
- Classroom sessions to develop theoretical aspects. Professor-directed activity.
- Written exercises: students will write down their reflections on what they have learned in each lecture. Accepted languages for writings: Catalan, Spanish, French, English. Professor-supervised activity.
- Visualization and analysis of audio-visual products related to the content developed in the theoretical lectures. Autonomous activity.
- Practical work with two goals: (a) to assimilate the knowledge and techniques learned in theory, (b) to apply them in the development of an audio-visual project. Professor-supervised activity.
At the beginning of the course the lines of the audio-visual project will be defined. Moreover, the date of delivery, the date of the exhibition and written presentation, will be provided.
Innovative teaching methodologies will be used:
Flipped learning: selected audio-visual products (films, series or documentaries) will be provided to students for them to watch outside the classroom. This practice will allow more time in class for analyse and debate the main ideas. Two sessions will be dedicated to this activity.
In the practical part, project-based learning (PBL) and active learning (learning by doing) will be applied to acquire knowledge and skills.
This approach to the subject implies regular class attendance, active participation, the viewing of audio-visual products proposed and the involvement in an audio-visual project, as well as the presentation of the results of this work.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practical Work | 50 | 13.8 | 0.55 | 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 2 |
| Theory assignment 1 | 10% | 1.84 | 0.07 | 1, 3, 7, 4, 5, 6, 2 |
| Theory assignment 2 | 10% | 1.84 | 0.07 | 1, 3, 7, 4, 5, 6, 2 |
| Theory assignment 3 | 10% | 1.84 | 0.07 | 3, 7, 4, 5, 6, 2 |
| Theory assignment 4 | 10% | 1.84 | 0.07 | 1, 3, 7, 4, 5, 6, 2 |
| Theory assignment 5 | 0,60% | 1.84 | 0.07 | 1, 3, 7, 4, 6, 2 |
This course does not provide for a single-assessment system.
Continuous assessment
Theoretical part:
A written exercise for each theoretical class where students must demonstrate an understanding of the ideas presented as well as their application (5 exercises in total)
Practical part:
In this subject there are two modalities of evaluation of the practical part, depending on whether the student’s practical work consists on the realization of an audio-visual product (A) or a research work (B)
(A) Realization Audio-visual Project:
- Exhibition: 10%
- Written presentation (dossier of the project): 10%
- Video: 30%
(B) Realization of a research work about some audio-visual aspects of the program
- Exhibition: 10%
- Written work 40%
Plagiarism
In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities or a very serious irregularity, the final grade for this subject will be 0.
REVALUATION
Students will be entitled to reassessment in the course if they have been evaluated on a set of activities accounting for at least two-thirds of the total course grade.
Students will be NOT EVALUABLE if they have presented a part inferior to 20% of the requested works and attendance (in the theoretical part as well as the practical part).
The reassessment is not intended as a means to improve the final grade.
For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively for support tasks, such as bibliographic or information searches, text correction, or translations. Students must clearly identify any parts generated with thesetechnologies, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how AI has influenced the process and final outcome of the assignment. Failure to disclose the use of AI in this assessed activity will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in a partial or total penalty to the assignment grade, or more serious sanctions in severe cases.
Lecturers will inform students (Virtual Campus) about the procedures for reviewing grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place
Bibliography
Bibliography
- Brown, Larry A (2018): How Films Tell Stories. The Narratology of Cinema. Creative Arts Press.
- Català, Josep Maria (2021): Posdocumental. La Condición Imaginaria del Cine Documental. Shangrila
- Cruz, Coral (2014): Imágenes narradas. Como hacer visible lo invisible en un guion de cine. Laertes Ediciones.
- Davis, Rib (2016) Creating Compelling Characters for Film, TV, Theatre and Radio. Bloomsbury Academic.
- Dunham, Lena (2018): Dueñas del Show. Las Mujeres que están revolucionando las series de television DUEÑAS DEL SHOW. Joy Press / Alpha Decay
- Jenkins, Henry (2008): Convergence Culture: La Cultura de la Convergencia de los Medios de Comunicación. Paidos Ibérica.
- Magro-Vela, Silvia; Navarro-Sierra, Nuria; Sánchez-López, Pablo (2024): The Revolution Will Be Artificial. An Analysis of AI-generated Audio-Visual Creation. Tripodos. Artificial Intelligence and Communication. Opportunities and challenges (55)
- McKee, Robert. (2002) El Guion: sustancia, estructura, estilo y principios de la escritura de guiones; traducción: Jessica Lockhart. Ed Alba, Barcelona
- McGonigal, Jane (2011): Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World
- Mead, Rebecca Mead et Al. (2019) El cuento de la criada. Ensayos para una incursión en la república de Gilead. Errata Naturae.
- Piñol, Marta et Al. (2019) Imaginar Mundos. Tiempo y memoria en la ciencia ficción 2019. Sans Soleil ediciones
- Rabiger, Michael (2000), Dirección Cinematográfica. Técnica y Estética. 2 edición. 2000, IORTV, RTVE
- Reisz, Karel: Técnicas del montaje cinematográfico (2003). Ed. Plot Ediciones.
- Saló, Gloria (2005) Qué es eso del formato. Cómo nace y se desarrolla un programa de tv. Madrid: Editoral Gedisa.
Webs
www.upf.edu/web/rainfilmfest/
www.rtve.es/television/dias-cine/
http://www.uhu.es/cine.educacion/
http://www.uab.es/comunicacio/
http://www.documentalcreativo.edu.es/web/
hhttp://www.tv3.cat/documentals
http://www.tv3.cat/coproduccions/presentacio_projecte.htm
https://www.in-edit.org/webapp/programacion
http://www.cinemadautor.cat/es/
http://www.festivaldemalaga.com/index.php?seccion=secciones&cat=7
CONSELL DE L'AUDIOVISUAL DE CATALUNYA
Software
It is recommended to work with Davinci (free version) or Adobe Premiere. If this is not possible, any image and sound editing program that students may have installed on their computers, will do.
Students who choose to write a script or to write a research paper in the practical part of the course, will not need to use any specific software.
For those students who choose to create an audiovisual project in the practical part of the course, it is recommended to use DaVinci (free version) or Adobe Premiere. If this is not possible, any editing software students may have installed on their mobile devices will work.
Groups and Languages
Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Spanish | second semester | morning-mixed |