Cinematography is at the heart of film and television production, orchestrating camera, lens, light and motion to create the visual aesthetic of the film. This course provides high-level industry staff-expertise and image capture technologies, which will enable you to flourish in the continually evolving arena of imaging for film and television.
The course will help you develop key intellectual and practical skills that meet, or challenge and exceed, current industry practice and expectations. It seeks to develop in parallel; your artistic eye, your technical skills, your team-working skills as part of camera crews, and your collaborative skills working with directors.
The course is suited to those who have some previous experience in filmmaking or photography, have a good aesthetic sense and critical eye and wish to develop these further. We would also welcome those who come with professional experience and wish to further develop their creative skills and showreel, while undertaking an immersive learning experience in the theory and practice of cinematography.
You may have an undergraduate qualification in a related subject or may be able to show your suitability for this programme of study through associated work-experience or evidence of and outputs from other related activities.
The specialist production units provide an environment in which to develop creative skills, technical proficiency in digital camera and lighting, narrative storytelling and collaborative working. The crossframework units develop critical analysis, research methods and perspectives on the changing media industry and your role within it.
This course is accredited by the International Moving Image Society (IMIS). You will use industry-standard technology, and learn from academic experts whose research and industry expertise will equip you to make the most of the evolving digital marketplace.
This MA will consolidate your skills in narrative moving-image making to the level of Director of Photography. You will develop your visual storytelling ability during workshops and subsequent application in the context of live filmmaking projects.
This Masters, a pathway of the MA Filmmaking, is housed in a new purpose-built media facility equipped with state-of-the art teaching spaces including film and photography studios equipped with Arri lighting and Greenscreen, Avid Media Composer, Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Film Editing, Animation, Digital Special Effects, Pro Tools Audio Postproduction and Foley suites.
We work with a range of digital formats from high-end cinema cameras like the Red Epic to smaller, flexible units like the Black Magic. You will additionally benefit from the discipline of working on Super-16mm film.
You work on at least one film per term in your specialist role, culminating in a major production towards the end of the degree. In addition to your specialist area, you attend classes in related disciplines such as Film Directing and Editing and collaborate with students across specialisations on film projects. This framework is designed to stimulate collaborative practice by providing you with a breadth of filmmaking knowledge combined with a high level of expertise in your chosen filmmaking discipline.
Experienced tutors such as the highly-regarded Witold Stock (Close My Eyes, Murphy’s Law, Best) and industry guests provide expert guidance designed to enhance the flow of your individual research, experimentation and artistic achievement.
At the same time, you advance your collaborative skills by working in teams on a variety of scheduled films across the year. You leave the course with a diverse portfolio of moving-image work that spans fiction, and documentary as well as hybrid and experimental genres.
You will learn sophisticated lighting and gripping techniques, and you perform all camera department roles from Director of Photography to Camera Operator, Focus-puller, Gaffer, Camera Assistant, Spark and Grip.
For two terms you will spend a full day a week in specialised contact with your specific programme convenor, plus a further day in Screen Lab working with colleagues across the programme in a Talent Campus-style project-led learning structure with:
You will also have a variety of research projects to undertake, as well as other module options.
The third term will be taken up with your final substantive project, and in writing up a process paper on your work and research over the year.
Screen Lab
You will also advance your collaborative skills by working in teams with fiction and documentary producers and directors and sound and edit students, on a variety of projects and at least three scheduled films across the year.
You will leave the programme with a diverse portfolio of moving-image work that may span a variety of formats – music video, web series drama, documentary, campaign/commercial, experimental art pieces and feature-scale short fiction films.
Screen School options
As well as your Cinematography specialism, you will undertake three short courses to enhance your other skills and critical approaches.
If you are passionate about fashioning an exciting career for yourself as a cinematographer in an environment that promotes innovative filmmaking, this course is for you.
On completing the programme you will be equipped to enter the global job market, armed with an enhanced understanding of your practical, intellectual and creative capacities as a cinematographer.
Possibly the most important skill we furnish you with is the rigorous discipline of working collaboratively under pressure as part of a creative team on challenging projects.
In addition to your practical filmmaking skills, we enable you to develop a variety of transferable intellectual, organisational and communication skills to equip you for a broad range of employment opportunities across the arts and media landscape (film, television, online, the creative arts, advertising and related hybrid forms).
Our graduates
Recent alumni are active in the film, media and cultural industries around the world as:
Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths.
On this programme, students develop a practical and critical approach to the relationship between film production workflows, digital film technology, and creative practice. The programme seeks to develop students' creative abilities to a high professional standard, preparing them for employment in increasingly dynamic film and media sectors, and to facilitate film projects that foreground the importance of practice-based research, expertise and experimentation.
The MA route allows students to refine a critical approach to creativity in areas such as writing, directing, and producing; the MSc focuses on creative technological agendas in areas such as cinematography, editing, and VFX. To find out more about the MA/MSc in Film Production visit our blog at http://blogs.gre.ac.uk/filmproduction.
From October to April, you will attend three core courses (Cinematography 1, Production Practice, Film Research Workshop) and choose four courses from the following options: Cinematography 2, Film Screenwriting, VFX, Directing Screen Performance, Sound Design and Editing. From May to September you will undertake a final project.
You will use digital camera equipment current in the industry, including RED, Canon C300 and Arri Alexa systems. Teaching takes place in brand new film production facilities in the Stockwell Street building, which includes studios, post-production suites, and a sound studio.
Year 1
Students are required to study the following compulsory courses.
Students are required to choose 30 credits from this list of options.
Year 1
Students are required to study the following compulsory courses.
Year 2
Students are required to study the following compulsory courses.
Students are required to choose 30 credits from this list of options.
Students are assessed on their film project work and creative portfolios.
This programme is aimed at students preparing to make the transition from education to employment in the film industry. The film sector needs graduates with specialist expertise, but also creative thinkers who are deadline-driven and project-minded; capable of managing digital workflows in an enterprising manner, and taking initiative. This is the kind of approach we encourage and help our students to develop.
If you want to be a filmmaker this is the place to learn, gain experience and make films you will be proud to have on your show reel.
As a student on one of the six pathways you'll develop your specialist skill. In addition, you'll also have a range of short optional modules in other production areas of your choosing to give you the kind of flexibility that the industry now expects. The options include script and project development, web drama, online content, and social activist filmmaking, alongside more traditional media such as camera and editing skills.
Our filmmaking facilities and scheduling are geared around fiction production, as this is a major opportunity that the learning on the programme provides. The ethos of the course is “form follows function.” Your study and practice throughout the year will equip you with the most appropriate means of telling your story in order to connect with an audience.
Filmmaking is a team activity. Every student is required to work closely with others as part of a creative team to produce their final project. All the programmes also have good contacts and connections with students in the other specialist areas your productions might require, such as music composition, hair and makeup, set design, scriptwriting and of course acting talent.
Filmmaking is very demanding; it requires a lot of commitment, imagination and teamwork. You will be fully stretched on these programmes.
This MA has six pathways you can follow:
The programmes also retain close links with MA Scriptwriting.
The filmmaking programmes are located within a large and very lively Media and Communications Department that is also home for a range of practice MA programmes in radio, journalism and scriptwriting for example.
There is also a range of theory MAs and strong research tradition, with the Department coming top in the entire country on research intensity. This makes for a very stimulating and creative environment.
Where is cinema going? Where is TV heading? How and where are people going to watch moving images? What do new audiences want these to look and sound like? What new platforms are on the horizon? How are the traditional craft skills relevant to the digital age?
These are the kinds of questions we’re interested in. And we don’t explore them alone. Our annual Olive Till Memorial debate features world-renowned industry speakers including directors Danny Boyle, Gurinder Chadha and Paul Greengrass, and producers Tessa Ross and Tim Bevan, so you get the best kind of insight while you’re here.
We offer advanced skills training to film school standards. You will work within a building with studio and rehearsal spaces, screening rooms and up-to-date camera, lighting and sound equipment, plus sound and edit suites. And we now have the Curzon Goldsmiths as our on-site cinema so you can showcase your work to the public.
We encourage you to meet filmmakers, work with others, and exchange ideas. The programme includes regular Master classes where students from all the programmes and others come together to learn about current industry trends, new opportunities and ideas with leading figures of the UK film and television industries. But filmmaking is not only about these industries, it also offers a wealth of transferable skills for students interested in all media platforms, including web drama, video games, art gallery installations of all types, interactive mixed media and live performance and music videos.
All programmes include:
You will also have a variety of research projects to undertake, as well as other module options. The third term will be taken up with your final substantive project, and in writing up a process paper on your work and research over the year.
There is also a choice of short modules, such as:
In addition students are encouraged to “audit,” (that is, attend but not be assessed on) any other lecture course in the Department – in so far as their timetable allows.
For full module information, refer to the individual pathways.
From Steve McQueen to Sam Taylor-Wood, Goldsmiths graduates go on to shift the public perception of what makes film matter. And our MA filmmaking graduates are creating award-winning work including Best Cinematography at the NAHEMI Encounters International Film Festival and Best Documentary at the Exposures Film Festival.
The best advice we can give you is to make the most of your time with us. For a whole year you have access to the best in the field: highly qualified, industry-active and award-winning staff and guest speakers.
Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths.
This MA will develop your skills and creative vision in documentary production. It enhances your understanding of the historical context and contemporary modes of documentary production against a backdrop of the wider issues in media production.
This Masters, a pathway of the MA Filmmaking, will encourage your understanding of the politics, aesthetics and ethics of documentary production, and the nature and diversity of documentary practice in contemporary society.
The programme is housed in a new purpose-built media facility equipped with state-of-the art teaching spaces including a range of digital cameras, Avid Media Composer, Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Film Editing suites, Animation, Digital Special Effects, Pro Tools Audio Postproduction suites.
You will be able to make your own documentaries, learning and refining research, interviewing, self-shooting and editing techniques – but also have the unique opportunity to be part of a programme that includes specialised producers, cinematographers, editors, sound recordists and sound designers, so that you can develop the scope and range of your filmmaking by collaborating with them.
You work on at least two films during the year, culminating in a major production towards the end of the degree. In addition you can attend classes in related disciplines such as Cinematography and Editing and may collaborate with students across other specialisations on film projects. This framework is designed to provide you with a breadth of filmmaking knowledge combined with a high level of expertise in your chosen filmmaking discipline.
The MA encourages you to develop
They've also launched their own film festivals, worked on critically acclaimed films and documentaries, and have had their work screened at the London International Documentary Festival, National Geographic's All Roads Film Festival and Open City, the London Documentary Festival.
How you will learn
You will be taught the skills to be able to self-shoot and edit, but will also have the chance to work with specialised camera-people, editors and producers. You complete several short films and exercises, then make your own 15-25 minute documentary, during which you will fully explore research methods, visual and thematic storytelling, experimental and multi-platform formats and much more.
For two terms you will spend a full day a week in specialised contact with your specific programme convenor, plus a further day in Screen Lab working with colleagues across the programme in a Talent Campus-style project-led learning structure with:
You will also have a variety of research projects to undertake, as well as other module options.
Screen Lab
You will also advance your collaborative skills by working in teams with both fiction and documentary producers and cinematography, sound and edit students, on a variety of projects and at least three scheduled films across the year.
You will leave the programme with a diverse portfolio of work that may span a variety of formats – essay or diary film, web and multi-platform content, activist or campaign film, longer form feature-documentary
Screen School options
As well as your Screen Documentary specialism, you will undertake three short courses to enhance your other skills and critical approaches.
If you are passionate about fashioning an exciting career for yourself as a filmmaker in an environment that promotes innovative filmmaking, this course is for you.
Our alumni are active in the film, media and cultural industries around the world, working and winning awards as documentary producers and directors.
Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths.
Immerse yourself in hands-on filmmaking and real production budgets on this practical course. Creativity and collaboration will be at the heart of your learning, which will take place in the University's Northern Film School, giving you access to industry-standard equipment and facilities.
Informed by professional film production techniques and processes, this course will give you the opportunity to gain specialist knowledge in key areas, including producing, directing, cinematography and editing. Throughout this learning process, you will have the support of a teaching team with current and extensive industry experience.
The course is driven by filmmaking itself, but you will also focus on theory - we want you to think, research, discuss and watch films. Drawing on established ideas and techniques used in independent filmmaking, you will be encouraged to base your productions on inspiring stories and innovative concepts.
Research Excellence Framework 2014
Research Excellence Framework 2014: 38% of our research was judged to be world leading or internationally excellent in the Communication, Culture and Media Studies, Library and Information Management unit.
As film financing, production and distribution move away from old models our course prepares you for an industry that expects you to be self reliant and self-employed.
You will be taught by practising filmmakers with experience across documentary and fiction, from cinematography to editing, some of whom can boast BAFTA and Oscar nominations. As a consequence of relationships between staff and the industry, you will have the opportunity to learn from visiting filmmakers during guest lectures and workshops. The Northern Film School is also a member of The International Association of Film and Television Schools (CILECT), an organisation of only the best film schools worldwide.
The School was the first in the UK to receive JAMES accreditation, in recognition of the professional expertise of our staff, our industry-standard facilities and the opportunities we provide for our students to crew on professional shoots. JAMES represents creative and technical organisations across the media industries sector such as the Association of Professional Recording Services (APRS), the Music Producers Guild (MPG), UK Screen and UK Drama. On this JAMES approved course, you will be studying the latest in industry practice and gain access to professional contacts and work experience opportunities. JAMES described us as 'a benchmark against which all other film courses need to be measured'.
At the Electric Press in Leeds city centre where the School is based, you will have access to an impressive range of facilities. These include both 16mm and digital production equipment, two production studios, edit suites, screening facilities, a props store and film and script archive.
Your course will give you a competitive edge in a challenging industry. Guest lectures from visiting professionals will enhance your career networks alongside the creative abilities and technical skills you will develop under the guidance of an experienced teaching team. The opportunity to promote your graduation film on the international film festival circuit and the chance to attend film festivals should also serve to strengthen your professional networks.
The MA provides the requisite specialist techniques and advanced production skills which will equip students for a career in any of the major areas of the industry where moving image content production is focused: Film, TV, Games, Adverts and Trailers. Students are taught by working industry professionals and great emphasis is placed upon working to real-world briefs, to real-world deadlines and in a professional environment within a state of the art media technology facility.
For the first 12 months (24 for P/T) students will engage with lectures, research, analysis and skills development classes as they further develop their specialist and collaborative understanding. They will also be taught through technical and creative workshops and project development sessions. All will all be a part of the normal timetables activities. You will also be expected to undertake independent study and practical individual and group work outside of the timetabled sessions.
Students will learn to process critical notes, to iterate their work and deliver a finished product on time, on budget and on brief. They will work collaboratively with post-graduate composers, directors, screenwriters and producers and they will have the opportunity to contribute to professional projects.
The degree programme will allow for study in:
Students will enter into a collaborative practice programme, engaging with industry professionals and drawing on teaching expertise within the Creative & Digital Technologies Department. Important elements of the programme will be supported by external experience at the BFI, International Film & Screenwriting Festivals and Conventions.
During the programme, and as part of the collaborative practice approach, MA students will be commissioned by the department to produce a professional quality short narrative film (10-15 minutes). They will receive a commercially viable budget and be expected to collaborate with other students across the programme and the wider department in successfully completing this commission.
Across the programme, but specifically the final 6 months, students are expected to immerse themselves in independent study and industrial interactions. You will be expected to be professional at all times and work towards establishing a professional network to assist in gaining career development opportunities.
This MA programme will enable you to start your career across a number of industries utilising the moving image in their content.
The creative industries of gaming, TV, film and advertising all require well trained and professionally aware creatives for the numerous hours of content produced.
You will also have the opportunity to consider further study and enter the academic research environment through a Professional Doctorate pathway.
Our established relationships with a number of commercial companies engaged with, or commissioning, content will allow for you to gain work placement opportunities.
Working collaboratively with both commercial and non commercial partners within the Engineering and Digital Technology Park, students will have direct access to industry on a regular basis.
A part time option is also available at 24 months plus 6 months independent study.
You will be taught by a range of experts in the fields of screenwriting, directing, producing, cinematography, picture editing and sound design. These will include well established and award winning filmmakers and a range of industry experts providing mentoring and master classes.
Summative assessment will take the form of written and practical coursework, presentations & screenings, portfolio and project work. Formative assessment in the Creative & Digital Technologies Department is carried out through peer to peer and tutor feedback on work either through submission, workshops or tutorials regularly across all modules.
A total of 180 credits are required to be awarded the MA.
Feedback on submitted work can be accessed through our VLE digitally or by collected hard copies of work from the Administration Office. We endeavour to complete marking and feedback on all assessed work within a 3 week period though some modules, due to complexity of assessment, may take slightly longer.
This MA gives practitioners and theorists the opportunity to research and develop the new boundaries of image-making made possible by technological change within the context of post-industrial culture.
This programme joins theory and practice, equipping you to develop and achieve highly effectively in the new image media culture. Practice uses both digital and analogue technology, still and durational as well as the study and production of interactivity.
The programme allows for specialisation in photography and/or electronic arts – which, in addition to still photography, can include interactive, durational and internet work – but encompasses a broader interpretation of practice.
You'll look at the meaning, production and distribution of images, and the relationship between theory and practice in the context of debates about post-modernism and beyond.
You also participate in enabling sessions in photography:
and/or in electronic arts:
There is an MRes which follows the MA into a second year, in order to develop your work/voice. This will count as the first year of a PhD. Find out more about the MRes.
This programme uniquely joins theory and practice in a way that will equip you with the tools and the vision to develop and achieve highly effectively in the new image media culture. Practice uses both digital and analogue technology, still and durational as well as the study and production of interactivity.
You will study
The programme draws on a broad range of cultural references and technical practices. It offers the opportunity to take stock of evolving practices and developments in image media culture, and is structured to develop the intellectual imagination within each individual student. This is achieved through a combined study of practice and theory, with extensive instruction through ‘enabling sessions’ which engage technical familiarity; core tutorials; secondary tutorials; Issues in Media and Culture and additional theory course options.
Recognising the rapidly changing definitions and context of these practice areas,and the value/positioning of traditional practices, these categories may also be understood through a variety of practices which involve image construction and presentation both still and durational, including: film/video, animation, interactivity, installations, motion graphics, and hyperspace constructs, as well as evolving new exploratory categories.
The programme provides an opportunity to develop and/or research aspects of visual style, and draw on a broad range of cultural references as well as aesthetic and technical approaches engaged through ‘Practice Theory Sessions’, visiting lectures and the Issues in Media and Culture course. Fundamental to the programme is the space that it creates to make it possible for you to explore, question, change and consolidate your work and your ideas.
Original portfolio submission; coursework and essays.
Tutorials
This course is interested in the development of the individual voice. To this end, there are two types of tutorial:
You'll develop specific practice skills to a high level, and the articulation/understanding of the pleasures of media consumption.
Graduates from the programme are extremely successful, with finalists working commercially, developing as artists or continuing to enlarge their academic knowledge. During the course particular attention is given to the development of the individual voice. This, plus students' exposure to a range of technologies, means that our graduates can step into the arena of their choice, or sometimes of their making.
Here are just some examples of the sorts of careers graduates have gone onto:
Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths.
Edinburgh College of Art: Postgrad study in Art, Design, Architecture, Music, History of Art
