Film as a Research Tool

How can we think in terms of film, and how can we publish our research as film? Digital forms of publication are becoming increasingly common; digital archives, websites and interactive exhibitions complement writing when research is disseminated and made accessible. The video essay, where research is presented in the form of a film, is part of this development. It is primarily distributed through YouTube and Vimeo, but also at conferences, exhibitions and in digital journals. This course gives students an opportunity to try out the video essay as a publication form for their own research. The video essay moves between science, artistic research, academic publication forms and artistic practice. It starts out from existing audio-visual material as its object of study, and combines different sources as a basis for scientific or essayistic reflection. Most video essays are compilation films of passages taken from feature films, complemented by integrated spoken or written commentary. These films can take different forms, with differing degrees of scientificity. So far, the video essay has been a rather isolated phenomenon within the subject field of film studies. Through this course, we will broaden its utility, and open it up for other disciplines. This course is unique in Sweden. It has been developed by Linnaeus University, and is offered in collaboration with Valand Academy in Gothenburg. As a result of this collaboration, the student gets the chance to create their own video essay based on their own research. Teachers from Linnaeus University and Valand Academy contribute with their knowledge about film history, their expertise in film pedagogy and their competence as supervisors of artistic research. The course will be online with one meeting from Valand in Gothenburg. The meeting will by hybrid: online and on location for those who want to travel. Those who do not hold a bachelor’s degree in a subject within the arts and humanities, need to send a project description (one A4 page with the required title PROJEKTBESKRIVNING VIDEOESSÄ) to subject coordinator Anders Åberg (anders.aberg@lnu.se). Project descriptions that do not have the required title will not be considered. Do not forget to include your name and social security number with your project description.