Science and the Cinema 1 SCIF1004
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SCIF1004 Science and the Cinema
Free-Form Piece Information
The Free-Form Piece is worth 50% of the course. The assessment item must be submitted via
Moodle and all work will be sent through Turnitin. Failure to submit by the deadline will carry
a 5-mark a day penalty (assignment is out of 100 marks) up to 5 days where the penalty will
be 100-marks (this is the UNSW policy).
Your task, the Free-Form Piece is your chance to not only showcase your creativity but
allows you to amalgamate all that you have learnt during your time studying on this course.
Students in the past have commented (or complained) that this task is too open-ended and
they did not know what to do, unfortunately allowing for creativity and creating a structured
task do not tend to go together. Note I have given suggestions (vide infra), examples of
previous work (on Moodle) and I am available to discuss your work. In this assignment you
have to submit ‘a body of work’ that comes under the general headline ‘Science and the
Cinema’. It is up to you to use the knowledge that you have gained on this course with your
own unique skill set to create a submission that addresses the topic.
Now there are a great many of ways to address this rather general headline of ‘Science
and the Cinema’, below are a list of some suggestions. If you have an alternative idea, please
consult the course coordinator to check the suitability of your idea(s) as all pieces will be
assessed using the same rubric.
Potential ideas/formats
A newspaper article/magazine piece/editorial – You could write about “Whether it is positive
or negative that ‘Science’ is used artistically in Hollywood films – should this be regulated?” or
any other topic that you feel is suitable.
A comic/storyboard for a film – You could have ideas about how you might depict ‘a
science/scientific theme’ in a new blockbuster/B-movie?
Make your own short film – Why not create your own short film depicting the latest ‘science’
and how it might impact our lives for the better/worse?
Create your own mockumentary/news report – Be a reporter outside an institute that has
had some amazing breakthrough, what are the benefits, what are the pitfalls?
Create your own lecture on a topic – Interview an academic (or be the academic) and give a
lecture on a scientific concept then link it to a series of films?
…the decision is up to you…
I am often asked, ‘how long should the piece be…?’ and this can be slightly difficult to
give a precise answer to, remember that this is a 6 UoC course so think about how long you
should spend on an assignment that is worth 50% in other 6 UoC courses. For written
reports/assignments I would be looking at around 2500 words (although this can be shorter
and longer) and for films around 5-15 minutes, but these are a rough guide. Try to keep in
SCIF1004 Science and the Cinema
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mind the examiners, they would not want to watch a 1 hr film that might be difficult to follow,
and a 2 minute submission could seem ‘lazy’. If you are writing an article, it should look like
an article (images, captions etc.) not just an essay. All work should have information regarding
the target audience and the aim of the piece too, vide infra. If supporting information is not
given, then your work will score very poorly as without context we do not know what you
are creating or if you have the correct level of science for the audience.
Submissions and Supporting Information
All submissions must be made via Moodle however I recognise the limitations of this platform
in allowing submission of films so my suggestion in these cases would be to provide a link to
your film (can host on YouTube etc. or share the file via a link on OneDrive). All additional
material that is needed should also be submitted (all in the one document). Some additional
information that might be useful/needed; references are very important for all formats, for
an article you should state which publication you are targeting and the associated
demographic, you might also include a short blurb about the science in you film/article (if you
feel that it is not completely explained in huge depth – after all, I never said the science had
to be ‘real’, but I do not want a science used as a mere plot device/McGuffin) maybe a
transcript/script of the news report that you worked off might help…? A note on film
submissions using YouTube etc. the timestamp of the link will be checked, do not make any
alteration (no matter how small) after the deadline has expired, if you do it will be taken as
late i.e. a mark deduction will be enforced.
Free-Form Piece Key Dates:
Submission deadline: Friday 2nd August
FAQs:
Can I use the same films in assignment 3 as I did in assignment 2?
Yes
Can I work in a group?
No, I’m sorry all submissions must be individual. You can create a film with another person in
it but it must be clear what it is that you did for the submission, the other actor must be
referenced and acknowledged, you will be assessed on what it is that you did
Can I use film X?
Consult the FAQ film list, if still in doubt, send the coordinator an email
Can I base my work on the tv series X?
I’m afraid not, you can only use films in this course, I have to be able to comment or assist the
assessors in the marking, this means I need to be able to watch the film(s) in the piece and I
simply cannot guarantee I can watch an entire series in the timeframe of the assessment (a
new film or two a week is not an issue – assuming it in not really obscure and difficult to get
a copy of)
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Can you check my work before I submit?
I’m sorry, there are far too many students for us to pre-grade or check before submission in
an equitable manner so no, however we can discus your idea to see if it is suitable
Can I create a discussion piece about film X?
That was assignment 2, you cannot submit the same work for both assignments, and you
cannot just create a simple discussion piece
How long does my work have to be?
That depends entirely upon what you are creating, there is no “hard and fast rule” to this,
hence my rough guide. Do not use the 2500 word comment to mean you have to write 2500
words. Also remember that the limits I provided are for the entire body of work, not just the
potential article, you have supporting information too
What is supporting information, what should I include?
That depends upon the piece; if you are creating a film for example, a script might be a good
idea along with some explanation of any shots or intended artistic scope (as we might not
have realised why you did what you did in a scene). Ultimately I would say to add in any and
all parts of the planning of your work including any research you did (providing it is in a
reasonable state), you will need references no matter what you submit and you will need
some supporting statements to contextualise your piece (we need to know what you intended
to create so we can accurately assess you)
Common Pitfalls:
Before you start your work, please remember the following:
• This piece is more a “body of work” than a single entity (even if you submit one file)
• You must have mention of a target audience and supporting information
• You are not to just go through the plot of the film(s)
• You are not to point out issues with plots
• You are not to point out inaccuracies in film(s), film(s) have artistic licence
Free-Form Piece Assessment Rubric:
A general note on how a rubric works, in order to be awarded a level you must complete all
of the criteria in an ‘area of the grid’, each area builds on from the last i.e. you cannot be
awarded a higher level if you have not fully satisfied all of the criteria in every area that
precedes it (unless it is a null statement in the previous area). Also, each level of the rubric
will have a weighting so you can see how you will be graded, the rubric is also there to help
my markers assess your work and also to give you feedback.
Please consult the assessment document for more information of the assessment
process. The rubric on Moodle has the mark allocations for each area so you can see which
areas are worth more marks.