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SAQA All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.
SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: 

Bachelor of Arts in Motion Picture Medium 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
35934  Bachelor of Arts in Motion Picture Medium 
ORIGINATOR
South African School of Motion Picture Medium & Live Performance (Pty) Ltd / AFDA (The) 
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education  HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework 
QUALIFICATION TYPE FIELD SUBFIELD
National First Degree  Field 02 - Culture and Arts  Film, Television and Video 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  360  Level 6  NQF Level 07  Regular-Provider-ELOAC 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Reregistered  SAQA 1141/23  2021-07-01  2024-06-30 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2025-06-30   2030-06-30  

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.  

This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification. 

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
To equip graduates with all the necessary theoretical and practical skills for sustainable and profitable careers in the motion picture industry immediately upon graduation.

Rationale

This degree is designed to offer the graduate a sustainable and profitable career in a discipline of his or her choice in the motion picture entertainment industry. The outcomes-based structure of the programme ensures graduates who command both theoretical and practical expertise in their areas of specialisation. 

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
Primary and secondary schooling. The typical learner accepted to this program will have secondary or tertiary schooling emphasis on arts-related subjects such as:
  • Languages
  • Fine art
  • Drama/theatre studies
  • Computer studies
  • Media and communication

    and will have areas of personal interest associated with film, television, the entertainment industry in its broadest sense, and the arts in general. Primary criteria in the selection process are personal portfolios and attributes that point to creativity, determination, passion, reliability, humility, integrity and self-discipline.

    Recognition of prior learning

    In keeping with parameters laid down by government legislation, processes are in place for the acknowledgement of previously acquired competency equivalents in terms of course components. 
    		•

    RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 
    Y 

    QUALIFICATION RULES 
    N/A 

    EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
    The only exit level in this programme is after successful completion of three years full-time study.

    Mid year project requirements: The learner will be required to complete a fifty page major discipline treatment and pass the appropriate competence tests. The learner will also be required to complete all other discipline tasks that have been requested by the lecturer for hand in or presentation with the written discipline treatments for project final pre production. The learner is required to complete all other project work that has been assigned for final presentation by the discipline lecturer.

    Summary of Mid year project work:
  • A five to ten page experimental screen play ( writing and directing disciplines only).
  • A fifty page major discipline treatment with HVI file reference document attached.
  • Screen tests and rehearsal performances recorded on tape for rolls in an experimental film project.
  • The pre production presentation of a five to ten minute experimental film project to be recorded on super 16mm film.
  • The production of a five to ten minute experimental film. Five day shoot and two contingency days.
  • The rushes, first cut and final presentation of a five to ten minute experimental film project.

    End of year graduation production requirements: The learner will be required to complete a fifty page major discipline treatment and pass the appropriate competence tests. The learner will also be required to complete all other discipline tasks that have been requested by the lecturer for hand in or presentation with the written discipline treatments for project final pre production. The learner is required to complete all other production work that has been assigned for final presentation by the discipline lecturer.

    Summary of End of year graduation project requirements:
  • A five to ten page narrative screen play.
  • A fifty page major discipline treatment with HVI file reference document attached.
  • Screen tests and rehearsal performances recorded on tape for a rolls in a narrative film project.
  • The pre production presentation of a five to ten minute narrative film project to be recorded on super 16mm film.
  • The production of a five to ten minute narrative film. Five day shoot and two contingency days.
  • The rushes, first cut and final presentation of a five to ten minute narrative film production for paying public and audience response evaluation. 
    		•

    ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
    Integrated assessment

    It is important to note that AFDA`s final exit evaluations take cogniscance of the important fact that graduates of this program have the final outcome objective of originating entertainment products that will engage the public, thus fulfilling AFDA`s ultimate objective which is to produce graduates capable of sustained and profitable careers in a discipline and medium of their choice in the entertainment industry. The composition of final assessment systems reflects this fact.

    Final evaluation requires successful completion of two evaluation phases:
    1. Submission of major discipline thesis research treatments pertaining to proposed project outcomes (minimum 10 000 words);
    2. Generation of the project outcome as researched and proposed in the discipline thesis, and presentation of the project outcome to the internal and external panels, described hereafter.

    Final evaluation for exit from this program after three years is effected through a final Value Added Learning Audit (VALA), executed by two formal panels - The Internal Quality Assurance Panel and the Public Panel - and one informal panel - the Professional Panel. The two formal panels have direct input on the final grade awarded to the learner, while the Professional Panel offer moderating input to the Internal Quality Assurance Panel.

    The Internal Quality Assurance Panel - referred to at AFDA as the Value Added Learning Audit Panel. Criteria for appointment to the VALA Panel are:
  • A Master of Arts Degree or higher;
  • Permanent retention or appointment by AFDA;
  • In-depth understanding of the AFDA curriculum and pedagogic strategies.

    The Public Panel - is constituted from a broad random sample drawn from the audience who attend the final evaluation presentations. After viewing the product offered for evaluation, members of the public panel complete an evaluation questionaire, evaluation criteria of which have a direct correlation with Core Course skills blocks inputted over the three years duration of the program, thus insuring that not only the student, but the program itself, answers to the public, the engagement of whom is by logical extension the ultimate focus of the student outcomes.

    Graduates are evaluated in terms of their individual discipline contribution to a project outcome, as well as the overall production quality of the project, which grades are blended on a weighted average basis. 
    		•

    INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY 
    The programme`s content and outcome matches and in many instances exceeds those of overseas universities and schools. Graduates are able to work successfully abroad or continue with post-graduate work with this qualification. Universities in the United States of America require four years of undergraduate study towards a Bachelor degree, after which the learner proceeds directly to Masters level. Given the fact that South Africa`s criteria for a Bachelor degree is based on the Oxbridge model of three years full-time study and not four, comparison with American tertiary qualifications is not possible for this qualification.

    However, should the learner complete the fourth year Honours Degree as offered by AFDA, then comparability with USA tertiary degree qualifications exists. This is discussed in further information pertaining to the Bachelor of Motion Picture Medium Honours Degree.

    Comparability with international institutions based on the Oxbridge model will be found in:
  • Any Bachelor of Arts Degree with majors in Film, Television and Video 
    		•

    ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
    AFDA has been acknowledged by the Council on Higher Education as "a unique institution" in South Africa, and also as one of the top six private providers of higher education. This acknowledgement can be ascribed primarily to AFDA`s unique outcomes-based tertiary programme - a programme that allows for the necessary theoretical embedded knowledge input characteristic of traditional academic Bachelor of Arts programs, but also demands the translation of that theoretical input into concrete, measurable, production outcomes. The extent to which AFDA has achieved this, makes it unique in South Africa.

    It is also important to bear in mind that AFDA`s Bachelor of Motion Picture Medium is an outcomes-based degree program, not a diploma or a certificate.
    Consequently, horizontal articulation at under-graduate level is difficult, particularly for non-AFDA under-graduates wishing to make a horizontal transfer from a traditional academic institution B.A. program such as Rhodes, UCT, Wits, etc., given that these applicants have neither acquired the required embedded knowledge input pertinent to outcomes for the motion picture entertainment industry, nor the necessary skills for the translation of theory into measurable motion picture entertainment product outcomes. Similarly, AFDA under-graduates wishing to make a horizontal transfer to a traditional academic institution find themselves in possession of theoretical knowledge tailored for outcomes in the motion picture entertainment industry and not generalist arts subjects.

    To illustrate the point: research work at AFDA is presented in Treatment form, which is the industry norm for the presentation of one`s research as the pre-production preparation before delivering the project outcome. In traditional Bachelor of Arts programs, on the other hand, research is presented in the form of Essays, which are more suited for publication in journals than to serve as the basis for a production outcome. The Bachelor of Motion Picture Medium Degree does not have the objective of producing essayists. It`s objective is to produce filmmakers, who have studied the theory and skills required to such a depth that their competence warrants degree accrediation.

    Vertical articulation of this undergraduate program is almost exclusively with AFDA`s Honours program. The Honours program however, has greater vertical articulation with various post-graduate programs, and are discussed in the section pertaining to the Honours program. 

    MODERATION OPTIONS 
    Moderation falls under the jurisdiction of the Internal Curriculum Quality Assurance Panel and is particularly sensitive towards English-as-second/third language learners and also considers the imbalances caused by the inequalities of Apartheid education. Moderation takes an holistic stance towards the total growth and rounding of the learner, with the aim of supporting the development of the learner, rather than function as a punitive measure. 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    N/A 

    REREGISTRATION HISTORY 
    As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this qualification was Reregistered in 2006; 2009; 2012; 2015. 

    NOTES 
    Until 11 December 2013, this qualification was known as the Bachelor of Motion Picture Medium.
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    LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: 
     
    NONE 


    PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.
     
    1. SA School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance - Johannesburg 
    2. South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance t/a AFDA (The) - Cape Town 
    3. South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance t/a AFDA (The) - Durban 
    4. South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance t/a AFDA (The) - Port Elizabeth 


    All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.