FAVz099 Small nation film and television production cultures: The case of Denmark

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2023
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Dr. Eva Novrup Redvall (lecturer)
Mgr. Katarína Kunkelová (assistant)
Mgr. Bc. Barbora Kyas (assistant)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Šárka Jelínek Gmiterková, Ph.D.
Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 16. 5. 12:00–13:40 C34, 16:00–17:40 C34, Wed 17. 5. 12:00–13:40 C34, 14:00–15:40 C34, Thu 18. 5. 10:00–11:40 C34, 14:00–15:40 C34
Prerequisites
There are none.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 60 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 29/60, only registered: 0/60, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/60
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 10 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
Being a small nation in a global market dominated by big international players and popular US productions naturally presents numerous challenges, both when it comes to producing local content that can compete in an over-saturated national mediascape and in terms of selling national content to other countries. This course focuses on the film and television funding and production frameworks of one small European nation, Denmark (with 5.8 million inhabitants) and the strategies of screen funders, producers, and practitioners for navigating in the complex mediascape of today.

The course introduces basic frameworks for studying the media industries and specific production cultures before moving into particular case studies of the institutional and creative ideas going into a crime series such as Forbrydelsen/The Killing, the political drama Borgen and productions for children and young audiences who are an important part of both the funding setup of the Danish Film Institute and the public service television remit, as citizens in their own right as well as the future adult viewers.

Focusing on feature film and television drama production, the course builds on research and findings coming from the research projects ‘What Makes Danish Television Drama Series Travel?’ (2014-2018) and ‘Reaching Young Audiences: Serial Fiction and Cross-media Storyworlds for Children and Young Audiences’ (2019-2024).
Learning outcomes
After completing this course, students should be able:

1) to identify and describe important aspects of studying film and media production
2) to analyze and discuss individual case studies from particular production cultures
3) to find and work with relevant primary sources and methods when conducting production studies.
Syllabus
  • Session 1:
  • Lecture: Introduction to studying media industries and production cultures
  • Reading:
  • Havens, Timothy & Amanda Lotz (2017): Chapter 1 ‘Understanding Media Industries’ and chapter 2 ‘The Industrialization of Culture Framework and Key Economic Concepts’. In Understanding Media Industries, pp. 1-46.
  • Session 2: Small nation film and television production frameworks
  • Reading:
  • Bondebjerg, Ib (2016): ‘Regional and Global Dimensions of Danish Film Culture and Film Policy.’ In A Companion to Nordic Cinema (eds. Mette Hjort and Ursula Lindqvist), pp. 19-40).
  • Session 3: Danish film and television production in the 2000s
  • Reading:
  • Redvall, Eva N. 2013: ‘Television Writing and the Screen Idea System.’ In Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark: From The Kingdom to The Killing, pp. 20-36.
  • Session 4: Forbrydelsen/The Killing, Nordic Noir and crime dramas that travel
  • Reading:
  • Waade, Anne Marit, Redvall, Eva N. and Pia Majbritt Jensen (2020): ’Transnational Television Drama: Lessons Learned from Danish Drama.’ In Danish Television Drama: Global Lessons from a Small Nation, pp. 1-22.
  • Session 5: The political drama Borgen and ‘auteur’ TV such as Riget/The Kingdom
  • Reading:
  • Redvall, Eva N. (2016): ‘The Workings of a Writers’ Room: Borgen.’ In Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark: From The Kingdom to The Killing, pp. 131-158.
  • Redvall, Eva N. and Anders Grønlund (2022): ‘Borgen is back! This time with an arctic arena and also targeting international audiences.’ CSTonline, 18 February 2022.
  • Session 6: Reaching young audiences in an on-demand age
  • Reading:
  • Potter, Anna and Jeanette Steemers (2022): ‘Children and the Media Industries.’ In The Routledge Companion to Media Industries (ed. Paul McDonald), pp. 247-256.
Teaching methods
The attendance is obligatory on all lectures and will be regularly checked. Combined students may skip two sessions.
Students are required to read all the items from the obligatory reading list, embedded in the session outline. All of the required materials will be provided.
Screenings are not included in this course. Lectures will take place in the screening room C34.
The course will take place in the last week of the Spring semester, that is May 15th to 19th. The exact schedule will be specified in the following weeks.
Assessment methods
Apart from the compulsory attendance students will have to pass two test. First test is a preliminary one and it will take place just before the start of the first lecture. With two questions, the test will check the knowledge of the required items from the reading list for the first three lesson. The other test is final, consisting of three questions testing both students' acquaintance with the reading list as well as their knowledge and skills gained throughout the course itself. Ten points maximum can be gathered from both of the test; six points are the necessary minimum in order to pass the course successfully.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
Teacher's information
Eva Novrup Redvall is Associate Professor in Film and Media Studies at the University of Copenhagen where she heads the Section for Film Studies and Creative Media Industries. Her research focuses on film and television screenwriting production and creative collaborations. She has published numerous books, chapters and articles since the monograph Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark: From The Kingdom to The Killing (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013). She is currently PI of the research project ‘Reaching Young Audiences: Serial Fiction and Cross-media Storyworlds for Children and Young Audiences’ (supported by Independent Research Fund Denmark 2019-2024). Besides her academic work, she has been a film critic for the daily newspaper Information for more than 20 years and is currently a board member at The Danish Film Institute.
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