School of Culture & Communication Cinema Studies

Masters in Cinema Management

Cinema Management is part of the Cultural Management Program. This course is designed to provide students with the necessary knowledge and skills to work in the film culture industry. It is not intended to train students in the art of becoming a practitioner; instead it will train students to work in one of the many film culture bodies locally and internationally. These include: the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI); The National Film and Sound Archive (Canberra), Screen Australia; film festival bodies; commercial mainstream exhibitors (Village, Buena Vista International) art house exhibitors (Cinema Nova), the Australian Film Institute; and Film Victoria. Opportunities also exist for our students in international film festivals, in moving image museums and archives and within distribution and exhibition in international markets. Students will study the structure of the film culture industry, the nature of feature film production, film festival cultures, arts management, marketing, publicity and new media. A key feature of the course is an industry work placement in which students learn relevant skills in the work place. There is opportunity for students to undertake their work placement overseas.

 

Our Staff:

Highlights:

Work Experience Placement

A unique feature of the course is the Industry Placement, which introduces students, through practical placement in a public sector work environment, to the range of ideas and skills involved in taking up professional work in such a body. Placements are in organisations such as moving image museums (for example the Australian Centre for the Moving Image), galleries, conservation organisations, film festival bodies, commercial film exhibition bodies, government departments or media bodies. They enable students to apply the information, ideas and skills they have already developed in the core Master of Cinema Management units.

To date our students have had experience working with:

Internships - local:
The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI)
The Australian Film Institute
The AFI Research Collection
The National Gallery (Victoria)
The Melbourne Museum (IMAX)
The National Film and Sound Archive
Experimenta
The Melbourne International Film Festival
The Human Rights Arts and Film Festival
The International Portable Film Festival
The Melbourne Underground Film Festival
The Melbourne Cinematheque
Cinema Nova
Village Roadshow
Madman Films
ABC Television Production
Ruby Entertainment
Albert St Films
Early Works Films,
Potential Films
Senses of Cinema

Internships - International:
Shanghai Film Group Corporation (Ang Lee)
Big hArt Community Arts (NSW)
BBC Television (London)
The Museum of the Modern Image (New York)
Exit Art (New York)
Film Movement (New York)

Admission Requirements:

For the 200 point program:

For the 100 point program:

Subjects:

First 100 points

Compulsory:  

107-590 Film Production: From Script to Screen
107-414 Film Censorship and the Media
760-484 Audience and the Arts

Core:

107-440 Hitchcock Film & Art
107-421 Contemporary Film Theory
107-409 Indigenous Photography, New Media, Film
107-458 Screen Affect: Culture, Bodies, Emotion
107-463 Dream Screen: Film and Psychoanalysis
107-429 Ethnographic & Documentary Cinema
107-432 Melodrama, Class & the Cinema
107-459 Screen Media and Mediated Experiences

Electives:

107-405 Spectacles: Museums to Theme Parks
107-471 Histories and Theories of Conservation
760-433 Arts Law
760-442 Arts Policy & Issues
760-555 Finance & Budgeting
760-431 Arts Management

Second 100 points

Compulsory:

107-544 The Director’s Cut
107-540 Film Culture Bodies
107-551 Digital Imaging: Film & Web Publishing
107-543 Film Festival Cultures
107-542 Work Experience Placement

Electives:


100-571 Media Convergence & Digital Culture
760-522 Advanced Management
760-550 Communicating the Arts

760-523 Financial Management

760-527 Advanced Arts Policy
760-528 Advanced Arts Law

107-545 Cinema Management Thesis

Full time - 4 subjects per semester (50 points)
Part time – 3 subjects or less per semester.

Link to Handbook

Industry Links Include all internship partners and:

Contributing Directors:

Careers – Cinema Management Students Are:

Graduate and Alumni Profiles:

Elly Smart
Master of Arts (Cinema Management)
Distribution Manager, Sharmill Films

In 2004 I completed a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Cultural Studies. After working for a period of time in several different jobs I realised that I needed something 'more'. Thus, in 2006, I returned to University to undertake a one year Master of Arts (Cinema Management). Best decision ever! The course offered me everything that I was seeking: practical experience combined with in-depth industry knowledge.

Having the opportunity to meet and learn from key figures in the industry through the incorporation of guest speakers really stood out for me as a major highlight of the course. I also found the Internship a fantastic stepping stone from which I could further develop my individual interests within the industry. Placed at the Melbourne International Film Festival I not only got to be involved behind the scenes of this major Festival but I also was offered an ongoing intern position. This experience greatly helped me to network within the industry and successfully secure a full-time paid position post-graduation.

Lauren Williams
Master of Arts (Cinema Management)
Curator, Australian Screen Online project at the National Film and Sound Archive

In the MA course, I focused on a broad range subjects which encompassed both the moving image and other related art forms with a view to developing an appreciation of visual culture management in a community and human rights context. Through this, I investigated the social impact of the arts; the importance of cultural heritage and visual culture; and community cultural development projects.

The unique industry placement provided me with on-the-ground experience in community arts work with marginalised communities and gave me a supportive environment in which to explore some of my own ideas and intentions. This included a spontaneous participatory video project.

My minor thesis also continued this theme and explored the valuable contribution that participatory arts projects can bring to building peace and promoting sustainable development in communities impacted by conflict and trauma.

I believe fostering a culturally rich and creative environment can inspire individuals and create positive outcomes for the communities involved. Whether it is working with screen culture, photography or performance - building networks between creative, cultural and social welfare/human rights organisations can strengthen the social fabric, identify community needs and sometimes even impact on policy.

In the future, I hope to continue exploring the many ways that arts and visual culture practice can be applied to contexts outside of the 'conventional' creative industries, and the contribution that this work can have in facilitating individual and community empowerment.

Thesis Format

Three copies of the Masters thesis must be submitted for examination to Arts Research and Postgraduate Studies Office by the expected completion date. The thesis copies should be secured in temporary binding; thermal binding is ideal. Two copies are sent to the examiners and the third copy is retained for the Chair of Examiner’s reference at Faculty.

The format required for a Masters Thesis submitted in the Arts Faculty complies with Statute 12.5 of the University's Standing Resolutions, as follows:

The thesis must contain:

  1. A title page including the full title of the thesis; full name and qualifications of the author; degree for which the thesis is submitted; name of the school and Faculty to which the thesis is submitted; name of the University; month and year the thesis was submitted for the degree; a statement of whether the thesis is submitted in total or partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree, as follows:
  1. The title page must be followed by an abstract of 300-500 words in English.
  2. The abstract must be followed by a declaration, signed by the student, as follows:

"This is to certify that the thesis comprises only my original work except where indicated in the preface; due acknowledgment has been made in the text to all other material used; the thesis is 30 000 words in length (or 20 000-22 000 for Shorter Thesis), inclusive of footnotes, but exclusive of tables, maps, appendices and bibliography."

  1. The remainder of the thesis should be formatted as follows: Acknowledgments; Table of Contents; List of Tables, figures and illustrations (not necessary if less than ten list items); Main text; Bibliography; Appendices.
  2. The name of the author, the title (abbreviated if necessary), degree and the year of submission must be on the spine for the final bound copies only.

Masters students are welcome to seek advice on format and presentation of theses from the Arts Research and Postgraduate Studies Office. Further information about thesis format requirements may be obtained from the University of Melbourne Postgraduate Association publication, Practical Aspects of Producing a Thesis. This publication is kept on the shelves in the reference section of both the Baillieu Library and the ERC Library. Other style manuals are also on the library shelves in the 808.02 area, or for sale in the Melbourne University Bookroom.

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