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How does one do a Practice-Based PhD in Flimmaking?

This article seeks to explore the issues raised by the process of engaging in a practice-based PhD in Filmmaking. As a sole practitioner, the screenwriting doctoral student is able to explore their practice through their individual development of a screenplay. But what of the potential doctoral students who may wish to explore their specialist and professional filmmaking practices but who are unable to operate as sole practitioners, because of the collaborative requirements of the professional filmmaking model? For example, a cinematography PhD student would require not only a screenplay on which to base their work but a producer, director, production designer, sound recording and designer, actors, etc. in order to complete the practice-based component of their research. So how is a creative arts research program to support this type of collaborative project work? Using the experience of the screenwriting doctoral student as a starting point, we explored a potential model that would enable all filmmaking specialists to engage in doctoral research.

Like other art programs, filmmaking research students engage in practice-based doctoral research in an environment formed by Government requirements that demand cultural, environmental and economic impacts as well as a methodology that to a large extent is formed by social science measures of value. Using this framework as a starting point we attempted to identify a suitable model that would enable filmmakers to undertake practice-based doctoral research. In the end we found a suitable model in the sciences that is rarely applied to practice-based research in the arts, but whose outcomes ideally match the stated goals of a practice-based arts degree and which allow for a potential model which would create PhD research programs even at the most challenging collaborative levels.