FAVp025 Audiovisual essay

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Ondřej Pavlík, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Ondřej Pavlík, Ph.D.
Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture – Faculty of Arts
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
Course objectives
The audiovisual essay (or video essay) allows for thinking about film through film, combining reflection with artistic creativity and connecting theory with practice. Although essayistic films have a long tradition in cinema, the spread of audiovisual essays among film theorists, critics, and enthusiasts is still a relatively new phenomenon. Various types of essays appear on YouTube, Vimeo, and other platforms, but they are also increasingly becoming part of academic journals. A series of predominantly student-created video essays was recently published by the Czech magazine Film a doba. Annual surveys of the best video essays are regularly released by the magazine Sight & Sound. The peer-reviewed journal Iluminace has recently started offering the option of publishing audiovisual essays as an academic output. The online journal [in]Transition is the first and, so far, the most well-known academic periodical dedicated specifically to audiovisual essays. This course aims to familiarize participants with the current landscape of audiovisual essays, exploring their forms and modes of thought. Another important objective of the course is to learn how to create audiovisual essays, thereby acquiring technical, creative, and theoretical competencies.
Learning outcomes
Upon completing the course, the student will be able to:
- understand a wide range of audiovisual essays, their typology, and purpose
- have knowledge of the historical and theoretical foundations of essayistic practice
- work with video editing and creation software
- create audiovisual essays on film, audiovisual media, and related topics
Syllabus
  • Introduction to the study and creation of audiovisual essays
  • Explanatory video essays
  • Poetic and haptic video essays
  • Media-reflexive video essays
  • Overview of Czech and international video essay production
  • The video essay as a fan format
  • The video essay as a theoretical-academic format
  • Basics of video editing, cutting, and post-production
  • Creation of an original video essay
Literature
  • Thinking through film. Edited by Jiří Anger - Sandra Baborovská, Translated by Patrik Felčer - Jose. Vydání 1. Praha: Galerie hlavního města Prahy, 2023, 189 stran. ISBN 9788070101940. info
Teaching methods
theoretical preparation, reading literature, researching audiovisual essays, using an editing programme, creation of audiovisual essays
Assessment methods
creation of an audiovisual essay - can be done individually or in collaboration with another student
Náhradní absolvování
this course can't be completed in an alternative way (for example, during a stay abroad)
Language of instruction
Czech
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/FAVp025