Filmmaking in the Academy \u2013 Special Issue for JMP<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Guest Editors:<\/b>
\nJoanna Callaghan, University of Sussex, UK
\nSusan Kerrigan, University of Newcastle, Australia<\/p>\n
Over the last 15 years\u00a0the academy has struggled to agree on the nomenclature of \u2018practice as research\u2019, \u2018practice based research\u2019, \u2018research through practice\u2019, \u2018applied research\u2019 (Crofts, 2007 p. 2). In spite of this practice research has consolidated its status as equal to traditional research outputs at research assessment level in the UK\u00a0Research Excellence Framework\u00a0report though Australia is still arguing for similar recognition (2015 p. 112). Filmmaking Research is one form of practice research, enquiring into production practices, techniques, modes and genres used in cinema, television and online\u00a0and produces film outputs that may include fiction, documentary and hybrid forms.\u00a0Filmmaking research pushes at the boundaries of both traditional filmmaking and traditional research methods by adopting unique approaches to professional and critical practices and pursuing forms of content creation that might otherwise fall outside of industry production modes and dissemination.\u00a0As\u00a0an emerging mode of research, it is often attempting to satisfy multiple and competing academic purposes and agendas\u00a0(e.g interdisciplinarity, impact).\u00a0The result is a field of research that is not well defined.\u00a0Qualitative measures are often locally determined with few universal standards of best practice, there is a lack of expertise on research assessment panels and in peer review colleges and some scholars believe the term practice itself is confusing debates. (Knudsen, 2016; 2). There is also misunderstanding around methodological approaches \u2013 reflective practice, Participatory Action Research (PAR), Practitioner Based Enquiry (PBE) and auto-ethnography \u2013 and conflation between practice as subject of enquiry, practice as methodology and practice as outcome.<\/p>\n
In\u00a0Australia and the UK,\u00a0filmmaking research is gaining momentum evident through activities such as the AHRC Research in Film awards, conferences such as Sightlines and some spectacular success stories (Act of Killing<\/i>\u00a0(2013)). In both countries filmmaking research has tended to reside in one of two disciplines, creative arts (fine art, experimental, video art) or media, communication and film studies (fiction film, documentary). This has made it fragmented and subject to different forms of support and engagement. Researchers come from a range of backgrounds, some moving from industry into academia seeking to reframe their work within a HE environment.\u00a0In the UK, filmmaking research is taking place in a large\u00a0dispersed sector that has arisen from post 92 expansion and been subject to significant policy developments (creative industries, employability, widening participation).\u00a0In Australia, filmmaking research has come to be known as\u00a0screen production research and a new methodology for\u00a0filmmaking research\u00a0may be emerging. (\u2018Screen Production Enquiry\u2019 (Kerrigan et al. 2015)).<\/p>\n
The purpose of this special edition is to stimulate new international debates that will foster a deeper understanding of filmmaking research and how this research can inform and transform work in educational, cultural and industry contexts.\u00a0 It arises from the research undertaken by the Filmmaking Research Network (FRN), a UK-Australian network funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council.\u00a0\u00a0http:\/\/filmmakingresearch.net<\/a><\/p>\n The creative practice surrounding the making of films and how these completed works reach and impact its audiences are of interest.\u00a0We are encouraging co-authorship, so that researchers\/filmmakers can mount one argument and draw on a number of examples from each author\u2019s work to demonstrate both academic research outcomes and impact. To this end, arguments could be built from a common perspective based on these suggestions:<\/p>\n We are open to formats that could include but are not limited to: traditional journal articles, short opinion\/provocation pieces, dialogues and interviews. \u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Timeline: Please email 300 word abstract and 150 word biography to:<\/b><\/p>\n\n
\n<\/b>29 September 2017\u00a0 \u2013\u00a0Abstract submission deadline extended by 1 week.
\n1 November 2017\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Notification of acceptance
\n15 February 2018\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Articles due
\nFrom\u00a01 April\u00a0\u2013 Peer review \/ revisions
\n1 September 2018\u00a0\u2013 Edition published<\/p>\n