Course Details

This course will ground students in the conceptual foundations and historical claims made by the field of creative and media industries. And it will compare the features of a series of influential global/regional creative and media industries. Students will learn to skillfully reflect on the concepts and methods scholars have developed to analyse these industries and will build a research project addressing a creative industries topic of their own choosing.

The course aims to discover what media industries are, and how to approach them analytically. Matching research questions with businesses, practices, products and difficulties often found in film, television, and other media industries. Looking for revealing camouflage; learning how to approach media industries in the field, reverse engineering provisional theses from traits visible in media products.

This course will introduce students to some of the basic issues they can expect to face if they pursue a career in media industries, and will also delve deeper into select issues in order to encourage ethical reflection. The course will guide students to (1) discuss the basic legal and ethical issues facing the media in Hong Kong; (2) to reflect on current ethical questions relevant to a career in the media; (3) to discuss their views on ethical issues; and (4) to think creatively about solving ethical problems.

The course aims to install a deeper knowledge of Hong Kong as a robust creative and media industries hub in relation to cultural economy, creative talents and new business models. Students will explore key components and major milestones of the relevant sectors as they developed into a crucial part of Hong Kong’s cultural economy and signposts of the city’s cultural landscape.

This course aims to provide students with the opportunity to engage directly with prominent practitioners, artists, and professionals who work in the creative and media industries. Through this course, students will also have the chance to participate in major industrial fairs in Hong Kong, gaining valuable insight into the latest trends and developments in the industry. To achieve this, the course instructor invites experienced media producers and senior managers in media institutes as guest speakers to share their industry experiences and offer practical guidance for students’ career development. Following the guest lectures, students will participate in one‐hour tutorial sessions to discuss their takeaways and relate them to the theories they learn from the MACMI core courses. Additionally, field trips to events such as Art Basel and the Hong Kong International Film Festival will be arranged to enrich students’ first‐hand experiences of Hong Kong’s media and creative industries showcases.

The course aims to provide students with fundamental theories and analytical tools for investigating the role of architectural heritage in creative industries and its potential contribution to the quality of life and economy of the corresponding areas. It also aims to acquaint students with the visual/architectural skills for conducting on-site case studies and composing architectural proposal for creative reuse.

The course will introduce theories and histories of film conservation and digital humanities. It will show students how to utilise digital technology as a tool for visualisation of knowledge, and processing and analysing digital repositories. In addition, practical and ethical issues derived from digital conservation projects will be highlighted to help students in conducting their case studies.

In recent decades, research in Artificial Intelligence (AI) has produced a multitude of autonomous machines that are now in common use; for example, machines that autonomously perform medical diagnoses or decide on loan applications, self-driving cars, speech and facial recognition programs, and war robots. This course offers a gentle introduction to the philosophical, ethical, and technical notions required to understand the current debate on AI and its impact in various areas of the creative and media industries. Influential theories and arguments that bear on the possibility and ethics of machine intelligence and decision-making will be surveyed. The course also discusses some popular representations of AI in movies and TV shows. Issues include: is it possible for a machine to think? Are creativity and emotion necessary for intelligence? Can a machine be creative or have emotions? Is there a gap between the media’s representation of AI and the reality of AI, and does this matter? Is the practice of using AI techniques to collect data and make recommendations on social media morally defensible?

The course provides a general introduction of the new discoveries and uses of data, consumer behaviors, and new business models brought about by the technological innovation of creative media platforms. Each week, different sectors in the digital media industries will be discussed, including social media, film and television, live streaming, podcasts, and music. Analysis of individual industries are accompanied by case studies of digital media giants, including Google, YouTube, Spotify and Instagram. In addition to discussing US-based companies, Chinese platforms will be examined, with a focus on similarities and differences between the Chinese and Western context.

This course offers an immersive, hands-on introduction to digital media production, empowering students to develop their creativity and master essential technical skills. Through analysis of both fiction and non-fiction films, students will learn the art of visual storytelling.

The course assignments are carefully structured to help students practice and apply what they learn throughout the term, gaining comprehensive experience in the filmmaking process—from idea generation and research to execution and reflection.
Hands-on workshops, group discussions, in-class exercises, peer reviews, and collaborative group projects foster the development of critical skills such as effective communication, teamwork, and creative problem-solving, which are essential for future innovators in the creative and media industries.

In this course, students will learn about current trends in the global film industry through insights into renowned international film festivals, specifically in the form of their creative and operational strategies as they adapt to the changing of times. Students will also hear from veteran professionals about the significance of festivals in the film industry today.
Meanwhile, students will also accumulate experience of their own through assignments about analysis of existent film festivals, and also their invention of a new one with their fellow classmates. The course is designed to equip students for careers in the creative media industry that emphasize individual initiatives, peer collaborations, global perspectives and sensitivity to the local context.

Internships are an essential element that benefits students’ professional experience and development. This course provides MACMI students with supervised workplace experience in the local and regional creative and media industries. Participating organizations or events may include media and cultural organizations, NGOs, and other relevant professional bodies. Partner institutions may vary from year to year. 

Throughout the internship period, students will engage in practical tasks such as administrative support, coordination, research assistance, project-related duties, and other media-related responsibilities assigned by the host organization. Students are expected to comply with workplace schedules and standards of professional conduct. Upon completion, students must submit a reflection report and internship log to document their learning.
 

This course empowers students to apply theories and methodologies learned across the MACMI curriculum to analyse – in depth – a creative and media industries topics of their own choosing. With the supervision of a faculty member with relevant expertise, students will engage in self-directed research and interrogate relevant scholarly perspectives on the object of their study. The capstone project will offer students a valuable opportunity to connect their MACMI scholarship with their future careers.