Paper presenting research findings on a project investigating how lecturers in media production use theory.

1. The Definition and use of ‘Theory’ in
Teaching Media Production at Undergraduate Level in
UK Universities: Lecturer’s
perspectives
Paper Presented at MeCCSA 2018
South Bank University London
Marcus Leaning

2. Media Production
• Where the emphasis is upon students producing media content, not
media courses in general.
• UCAS lists 696 courses for the generic name of Media Production
(JACS 310) – lots of ‘cousins’ of media production (Film and TV
production, Digital Production, Broadcast Media Etc.)
• Mix of providers in the UK:
• Universities,
• university colleges,
• FE colleges
• and ‘new providers’.

3. Teaching theory in production
• Media literacy debates in the 70s, 80s and early 90s looked to the role of
practice in developing criticality in students (Messenger-Davis, 1997;
Hobbs, 1998; Buckingham, 2004).
• The growth in (media) student numbers, split of MP from MS, and growth
size of the creative media sector in the late 1990s & 2000s and 2010s led to
alternate approaches.
• Media Production a field in its own right with an emphasis on creativity,
• PSRBs – the professionalization of academia, training centres in universities,
• Academicization and bureaucratization of practice - training and qualifications,
• Creative industry agenda.
• Both approaches still very evident and very normative.

4. Research aim
• Research stems from debates I have had with colleagues during
validations and reviews about the nature and role of theory in
teaching media production at undergraduate level.
• I wanted to investigate the perspectives of lecturers who teach
production regarding the idea of theory and what role it plays in a
student’s education.
• Goes some way to exploring Pete Fraser’s note that we do not really
know what goes on in media classrooms (2015).
• Why do the lecturers do what they do?

5. Research design
• Interviews with established (not visiting or paid by the hour)
academic staff who teach into media production degrees.
• So far 11 interviews, these acquired through acquaintances and
‘snowballing’.
• A short questionnaire details the aims of the project and asking
questions about their background and length of service.
• Interviews were held at the interviewees institution and typically
lasted about 45 minutes, recorded and then transcribed.
• Semi structured interviews on topics such as how they teach,
techniques used, the fit of theory, and their views on theory.

6. Preliminary Results
• Emerging from the analysis of the transcripts and questionnaires are a
number of themes:
1. Definition of theory;
2. Theory is linked to and informs practice;
3. The point of teaching theory is to enhance practice.

7. Defining theory
• Theory is the ideas that inform media practice.
• It is the: “ideas and rules” (R.9) “conventions of practice” (R.7), it is
“knowledge applied” (R.6).
• It exists in a variety of forms and can also come from outside of ‘media’ in
fields such as Fine art (R.2), journalism (R.9), documentary (R.11).
• And includes topics such as “the theory of colour” (R.2), semiotics (R.5),
cinema and film theory (R.1, R.9).
• Though others asserted it was different to “traditional media and film
theory” (R.11).
• In essence it is “the ideas used to make film and TV, be they solid things or
just, like, the tricks people use. They are the reason we do things a certain
way” (R.10), the “ideas of practice” (R.3).

8. Theory is linked to and informs practice
• Theory and practice are like a “chicken and egg” (R.6).
• Though it comes out of practice - it is the “ideas of practice” (R.3) it is
“basically essential” in production (R.2).
• Practice is possible but not good without it.
• Interestingly theory should not be studied without practice as “It’s studies
then, it’s film studies or media studies.” and there is “no point” (R.6).
• It is essential to creativity, students need to be “informed, so that they will
create more interesting work” (R.1) – “some of us think that ‘theory’ is very
important because only then can you get any kind of content… You can’t
just have something that has some nice shots in it and is well-lit. It has to
have meaning.” (R.7)

9. The role of theory is to enhance practice and
practitioners
• Theory is used to enhance practice, good practice is the desired goal “It’s
talking the talk and walking the walk” (R.6).
• Theory is taught to facilitate that:
• “the core to making anything worth watching is a good idea. And you only get good
ideas from theory, they’ve got to get some theory or they’ll just be making thin
facsimiles of films”(R.8).
• “It’s to create rounded and intellectually savvy and curious practitioners” (R.4).
• It assists in the development of the practitioner:
It enables an individual to take a function, whether that be pressing record on a
camera, whether it be turning on a light, whether that be knowing how to press cut on
Adobe Premier, and giving it meaning and letting the individual understand why
they’re making that decision beyond “It just goes like that.”(R.2)

10. Analysis
• This is an alternate position to the relationship of theory and practice
in media studies / media literacy education.
• In MS practice is taught to enhance the criticality of students - practice serves
to support the development of critical analysis.
• In MP theory is used to enhance the practice capability – the desired aim is
to educate media producers, criticality is there to facilitate the production of
better media texts.
• The approach detected here is:
• Celebrated by some (van raalte et al. 2013) as it is seen to further a particular
agenda of vocationalism and employability in HE.
• However it is widely decried by others (see Ramsey and White, 2013) as a
consequence of the neo liberal / vocational agenda in HE.

11. Lecturer’s perspectives
• However the lecturers
interviewed did not see
themselves as in some way on
one side or the other, they saw
this as the best way to educate
students in the field of media
production.
• They certainly do not see them
selves as part of the neo-liberal
agenda.