Masters Degrees (Documentary)

This is an exciting and dynamic time for documentary practice; in recent years there has been a renaissance in documentary, seeing huge developments in both technology and form. Documentary stories are now being told via telecommunications, in cinemas, on TV, and online.

In this contemporary course you will be provided tuition in the technological, ethical and intellectual developments in this recent boom in theatrical, broadcast and cross platform documentary. You will be taught by award winning documentary filmmakers and high profile TV, film and cross platform commissioners. Tutors Marc Isaacs , Helen Littleboy and Victoria Mapplebeck, are all active filmmakers with excellent industry contacts and through collaborating with them on work in progress you will gain a unique learning opportunity that will provide genuine vocational experience. We also welcome regular guest lecturers, giving students a direct link to industry professionals and the opportunity to learn from their substantial experience and expertise.

On graduating, our students are skilled in creative and professional documentary practice. We have one of the highest employability rates amongst UK Universities and our graduates have gone on to become award-winning filmmakers and journalists.

This is a split campus course, taught in both Egham and Bedford Square in central London.

See the website https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/mediaarts/coursefinder/madocumentarybypractice.aspx

Why choose this course?

- We have had regular lectures from award winning filmmaker Marc Isaacs, Channel 4 commissioner Kate Vogel and Emily Renshaw Smith, commissioner of Current TV. Forthcoming guest lectures include BBC Director Adam Curtis, feature director Chris Waitts and Matt Locke, Commissioning Editor for New Media and Education at Channel 4.

- Guest commissioners provide students with knowledge of and links to current commissioning strategies. Several of our invited commissioners have subsequently worked with our students on developing their projects.

- You will have exclusive 24-7 access to six purpose-built editing rooms equipped with Final Cut Studio 2 on Mac Pro editing systems. Our Location Store provides an equipment loan and advisory support service with a lending stock that includes twenty Sony HVR-V1E cameras, twenty Sennheiser radio microphone kits and a selection of professional quality sound recording and lighting equipment.

- With access to the latest digital recording and editing equipment, and covering areas from authorship to authenticity, this course offers you an in-depth study of creative production, taking you from conception through commissioning to research, composition and exhibition.

- You will be provided with excellent tuition in self-shooting documentary filmmaking techniques. You will be able to meet the growing demand for self-shooting directors and producers in both the independent and commercial documentary industries.

Department research and industry highlights

- TRENT is an exciting and innovative collaborative project between the British Universities Film and Video Council (BUFVC) and Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL) and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). Led by John Ellis the project brings together the nine existing online databases hosted and curated by the BUFVC which provide important film, radio and television material along with accompanying metadata and contextual information for academics, students, teachers and researchers. This project brings together all the material contained in these databases, yet Trent is not simply a master database. Instead it foregrounds creative searching through a common interactive interface using real-time ‘intelligent’ filtering to bringing disparate databases into a single search and discovery environment whilst maintaining the integrity and individual provenance of each.

- The EUscreen project is major funded EU project which aims to digitise and provide access to European’s audio-visual heritage. This innovative and ambitious three year project began in October 2009 and the project consortium is made up of 28 partners from 19 European countries and is a best practice network within the eContentplus programme of the European Commission. The Department of Media Arts at Royal Holloway’s is responsible for the content selection policy for EUscreen and those involved include John Ellis, Rob Turnock and Sian Barber.

- Video Active is a major EU-funded project aiming to create access to digitised television programme content from archives around Europe. It involves collaboration between the Department of Media Arts at Royal Holloway and Utrecht University, and eleven European archives including the BBC, to provide access to content and supporting contextual materials via a specially designed web portal. The team from the Department of Media Arts, who are John Ellis, Cathy Johnson and Rob Turnock, are responsible for developing content selection strategy and policy for the project.

- Migrant and Diasporic Cinema in Contemporary Europe is an AHRC-funded international Research Network, led by Daniela Berghahn, which brings together researchers from ten UK and European universities, filmmakers, policy makers and representatives from the cultural sector. The Research Network explores how the films of migrant and diasporic filmmakers have redefined our understanding of European identity as constructed and narrated in European cinema. The project seeks to identify the numerous ways in which multi-cultural and multi-ethnic presences and themes have revitalised contemporary European cinema by introducing an eclectic mix of non-Western traditions and new genres.

- Lina Khatib was awarded an AHRC Research Leave Grant to complete a book on the representation of Lebanese politics and society in Lebanese cinema over the last thirty years. The study focuses on cinema’s relationship with national identity in the context of the Civil War and the post-war period in Lebanon.

- Gideon Koppel was awarded an AHRC Research Leave Grant to complete his feature-length documentary portrait of a rural community in Wales, The Library Van, which has been partly funded by the Arts Council of Wales.

Course content and structure

You will study three core units during the year.

Core course units:
- From Idea to Screen
From Idea to Screen introduces the practice of documentary film making - exploring eclectic notions of the genre, from the conventional to those more associated with fine art. The course tutors also use their own work which is deconstructed across all its constituent parts idea, conception, pre-production planning, and research, shooting and post-production. Ideas to Screen will explore ways of translating observations and ideas into imagery – both visual and aural. There will be an emphasis on experimental forms of narrative – at time crossing the boundaries between fine art and documentary. For the final and assessed project in this unit, each student will be asked make a video ‘portrait’ of a character.

- Foundations of Production
Contemporary documentary production requires managerial and business skills as well as creative ones. This unit will instruct you in the industrial skills required for the production of video, television and multimedia documentary. These include researching the market, writing proposals, acquiring funding for development and production, drafting contracts, drawing up budgets, copyright clearance, and marketing.

- Major Documentary Production – Dissertation
Developing out of study, research and practice from previous units, you will direct and produce a substantial documentary production. This is the largest assignment in the course and is appropriately weighted. The unit is tutorial based.

On completion of the course graduates will have:

- gained invaluable experience of both authored and commercial documentary production

- the ability to develop their own ideas, preparing them for the documentary industry but also finding ways to reinvent it

- an understanding of documentary film genre and its changing boundaries as well as the changing technologies and their impact on the genre

- an advanced understanding of the processes of making a documentary film from initial concept to final form and the various stages of production.

- an awareness of the institutions and mechanisms of the UK film and television industry

- a critical knowledge of the current and changing platforms for documentary film, from cinema to television and the internet.

Assessment

Assessment is carried out by a variety of methods including project work, photo essays and written production papers.

Employability & career opportunities

On graduating, our students will be skilled in creative and professional documentary practice. We have one of the highest employability rates amongst UK Universities and our graduates have become award-winning filmmakers and BBC journalists; recently one of our alumni Charlotte Cook was appointed Strand Co -Coordinator of BBC’s prestigious Documentary Strand Storyville.

Our graduate students have won and been nominated for many awards including, The One World Broadcasting Trust Award and The Jerwood First Cuts Documentary. In 2009 two of our students, Aashish Gadhvi and Michael Watts won the One World Student Documentary Fund which funds challenging international documentary projects.

Syed Atef Amjad Ali has recently had his film The Red Mosque previewed at The Amsterdam International Documentary Festival. The Red Mosque was made with production funds Syed received from The Jan Virijman Fund and also from the One World-Broadcasting Award.

Chung Yee Yu has won the Cinematography Award at Next Frame (A Touring Festival of International Student Film and Video) Chung Yee Yu has also won the Silver Award of Open Category of IFVA (The Hong Kong Independent Short Film & Video Awards)

Recent graduate Suzanne Cohen has just has her work selected for the BBC’s Film Network website; an interactive showcase for ‘new British filmmakers, screening three new short films in broadband quality every week, adding to a growing catalogue of great shorts’.

How to apply

Applications for entry to all our full-time postgraduate degrees can be made online https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studyhere/postgraduate/applying/howtoapply.aspx .

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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- http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/ma-filmmaking-screen-documentary/

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.

What we offer

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:

an awareness of documentary production techniques, ethics and aesthetics
specific filmmaking and production management skills
technical skills (including camera, lighting and sound editing)
an understanding of the workings of the media and their broad cultural and social impacts

Our former students have gone on to win awards including:

Best Documentary at the Exposures Film Festival
Postgraduate Factual Prize at the Royal Television Society Student Awards
Student Award at the One World Media Awards
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.

Our students say...

"From first-hand coaching from industry experts, access to the newest facilities and cameras, to fantastic mentoring – it was the perfect course to develop my skills and prepare me for a career in documentary filmmaking."
"The different theory courses provided both the history and ethics when filming documentary as well as providing artistic inspiration to approach reality in an innovative way."

Quality

The MA is one of only two MAs in the UK to receive the Creative Skillset tick. The tick is a kitemark of quality that identifies a course that will effectively prepare you for a career in the creative industries, and which benefits from strong links with industry.

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Daisy Asquith.

Modules & Structure

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:

Masterclasses
Pitches
Role-plays
Exercises aimed at using your skills specialism in a variety of live shoot situations
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.

Skills & Careers

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.

Other entry requirements

Please note that unless you are exempted (Please check your status with our Admissions Team: [email protected]) overseas students require an English language qualification of IELTS 7.0 in order to be considered for a place on the MA Filmmaking programme.

If you have not yet achieved IELTS 7.0, we advise you to sit your IELTS exam at the earliest opportunity and to submit your application immediately after receiving your result. The annual IELTS deadline for the programme is April 30th.

Because funding deadlines and requirements vary around the world, applications are considered on a rolling basis and places on the programme fill up across the recruitment cycle. For this reason, we strongly advise you to submit your completed application as early as you can.

Funding

Please visit http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/fees-funding/ for details.

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As part of this course you will produce a major, practical documentary project informed by contemporary debates and historical perspectives, having gained the practical skills via a firm grounding in digital video production and exploring photography and multimedia using industry-standard equipment.

You will cover all stages of documentary production - from initial proposal to final edit, learning how to research and write a documentary, and create and edit film.

Choose from video, photography and multimedia technologies, discovering new and unique features of each medium. Underpinning the strong practical element are the political, legal, moral and ethical issues informing contemporary production and exhibition.

Intermediate qualifications available:

• Postgraduate certificate – 60 credits at Masters level
• Postgraduate diploma – 120 credits at Masters level

Visit the website: https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/courses/postgraduate/next-year/documentary

Course detail

• Study an intensive specialist course in creative documentary, focused on practice informed by ideas, with access to state-of-the-art documentary film-making equipment and excellent links with industry professionals
• Explore a unique opportunity to study documentary practices in moving image, photographic and journalistic forms with opportunities to attend documentary festivals in the UK and mainland Europe
• Develop specialist knowledge of specific areas of the media and use the opportunities presented by your project work to enter competitions and make industry contacts
• Gain a qualification valuable to anyone seeking employment in the rapidly changing field of media: with the knowledge and skills to pitch ideas, write proposals, identify sources of funding and find appropriate avenues of distribution and exhibition of your work
• Benefit from a degree that prepares you for roles such as documentary producer, researcher or director, or qualifies you to continue to MPhil and PhD research degrees

Modules

• Documentary Practice
• Stills and Movies
• Production Research
• Practical Post Production and Digital Effects
• Documentary Project A
• Documentary Project B

Assessment

Assessment is an integral part of your learning. Your assessments will follow the pattern of teaching and learning.

As you complete each stage of your production we will give you feedback and give you advice on how to further develop and improve your work so that you can take it to the next stage. We will assess both the processes you use to produce work and the quality of the final production.

The media industry expects high quality work completed to absolutely fixed distribution deadlines. We will reflect this in our assessment of your work.

Careers

MA Documentary provides the opportunity for the committed student to engage with a range of industry relevant events, this includes professional practice seminars, developing documentary ideas into workable projects and visits to international festivals such as IDFA, British Shorts Berlin and Sheffield International documentary festival.

Funding

For information on available funding, please follow the link: https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/money/scholarships/pg

How to apply

For information on how to apply, please follow the link: https://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/course/applicationform

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Introduction

Direct and produce your own film. Learn from experienced tutors who've screened work for the BBC and Channel 4. Find out how to pitch and compete for commissions. With MA Documentary graduates who've achieved distinction in leading industry awards and screenings, this course gives you the chance to become another of the celebrated faces behind the camera.

Content

Get to grips with the entire documentary film making process on this comprehensive course which blends theory with practical experience.

London College of Communication’s MA Documentary Film course leads on exploring the full range of documentary genre and modes of production that have brought about recent innovation. The digital revolution means new ways of directing, producing, and showing documentary films in the broadcast, independent and web 2.0 media. You will learn the entire process, taking the roles of Producer, Director, Camera Operator, Sound-Recordist and Editor.

You can expect to be grounded in documentary direction, camerawork and editing - the key artistic and technical skills for a successful production team. Each year students take their work from LCC onto the competitive British and international documentary filmmaking circuit. You will enhance your career prospects through the valuable skills, vision and opportunities that this postgraduate course provides, including guidance on pitching for funding and commissions.

Structure

Phase 1

1.1 Documentary: process and practice
1.2 Documentary: history and theory

Phase 2

2.1 Documentary Practices: taster tape and pitch and critical context
2.2 Documentary: ethics and methodologies

Phase 3

3.0 Major Project

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Documentary filmmaking is constantly evolving and with the rise of internet and social media, there are countless places for filmmakers to publish their work. This course will help you find an audience for your idea and support you in turning your vision into a bold and innovative film.

At the Northern Film School you will have the opportunity to explore and communicate a subject you are passionate about. We support all types of filmmaking from campaigning and issue-led films to observational and character pieces and experimental films to wildlife documentaries. You will develop and pitch your ideas and successful ones will be made into Masters Projects and given real production budgets.

Workshops will train you in the craft and technical aspects of filmmaking: producing and directing, camera, sound, and editing. Using our industry-standard facilities you will produce films of integrity and importance.

Visit the website http://courses.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/documentary_filmmaking_ma

Mature Applicants

Our University welcomes applications from mature applicants who demonstrate academic potential. We usually require some evidence of recent academic study, for example completion of an access course, however recent relevant work experience may also be considered. Please note that for some of our professional courses all applicants will need to meet the specified entry criteria and in these cases work experience cannot be considered in lieu.

If you wish to apply through this route you should refer to our University Recognition of Prior Learning policy that is available on our website (http://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/studenthub/recognition-of-prior-learning.htm).

Please note that all applicants to our University are required to meet our standard English language requirement of GCSE grade C or equivalent, variations to this will be listed on the individual course entry requirements.

Careers

This course will prepare you for the collaborative environment of documentary filmmaking. You will gain the experience and knowledge you need to interpret your ideas and give them exposure to new audiences. Your technical and creative skills will allow you to make films you care about, helping you to make your voice heard and paving the way for your future as a filmmaker.

Careers advice:
The dedicated Jobs and Careers team offers expert advice and a host of resources to help you choose and gain employment. Whether you're in your first or final year, you can speak to members of staff from our Careers Office who can offer you advice from writing a CV to searching for jobs.

Visit the careers site - https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/employability/jobs-careers-support.htm

Course Benefits

As the first and only film school in the UK to receive JAMES accreditation, our Northern Film School (http://www.northernfilmschool.co.uk/) is the ideal environment to explore your ideas and creativity. Our industry-standard facilities and experienced staff will give you the support you need to make your passion a visual reality.

You will be joining a strong and successful group of graduates, many of whom have won Oscars and BAFTAs for their work. The prestige of the Northern Film School will set you up to achieve your ambitions and our reputation will provide you with the foundation to becoming a successful documentary filmmaker. We have contacts with the BBC, ITV and Channel Four and strong connections to Sheffield International Documentary Festival where you will have the opportunity to showcase your work.

Martin John Harris

Senior Lecturer

"The world of documentary is vast and it can often be difficult to decide the route you want to take as a filmmaker. What is most important is that you have an idea - with this starting point we can help you make the right type of documentary."

Martin is an award-winning film editor and documentary collaborator. He was a film editor at the BBC for seven years before working as a freelance editor on dramas and documentaries for major broadcasters. His work includes the BBC series 'Bombay Railway', winner of a Royal Television Society (RTS) award for Best Documentary in 2008, and feature length documentary 'Bloodshot: The Dreams and Nightmares of East Timor' which won the RTS award for Best Documentary in 2013.

Facilities

- Electric Press
Based at the Electric Press, our Northern Film School has dedicated facilities and equipment for you to use. These include studios, camera and grip equipment, lighting equipment, edit suites for post-production and a 75-seat HD viewing theatre.

- Film Studios
There are two production studios within our Electric Press building. The studios are of a significant size, giving you the opportunity to explore film set design and prop building.

- Sound recording & editing equipment
We have an extensive range of professional sound equipment from the likes of Sennheiser, Sound Devices and Tascam. All edit stations are equipped with ProTools software and AVID editing software.

There is a sound recording studio in Electric Press and access to larger facilities elsewhere in our University.

Find out how to apply here - http://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/postgraduate/how-to-apply/

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Develop a wider vision. Designed with photojournalists and documentary photographers in mind, MA Photojournalism and Documentary Photography (online) will help you expand your practice and challenge the potential of the medium. Learn through a series of assignments as part of this internationally renowned programme, and join the graduates who've gone on to win the World Press Photo Daily Life Singles category and the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize.

Content

A practical, cutting-edge Masters course with an international reputation, designed for aspiring photojournalists and documentary photographers.

Photojournalists and documentary photographers explore and record human experience. Beginning with Henri Cartier-Bresson (regarded as the father of modern photojournalism), they have recorded significant moments in history, documented unfolding news and created images that have gained iconic status. Central to their work is the telling of a story through images.

This internationally-recognised course is aimed at people who want to pursue a career in photojournalism or documentary photography. The aim is to equip students with a thorough grounding in the discipline, whether through film or digitally-based photography. You will follow a rigorous programme of photographic assignments, as well as initiating and developing your own projects and areas of special interest. All this takes place within the framework of the history and development of the medium, together with critical ethical and theoretical contexts. You will be encouraged to develop a wider vision of the practice and potential of the medium through exploration of the uses of documentary and reportage photography in magazines, portfolios, gallery exhibitions, books, television, web, CD-based productions and other media.

Structure

Phase 1

- Photojournalism Practice
- History of Photojournalism and Documentary Photography

In the first week, you’ll take part in an online induction programme, using web conferencing, in which you will:

- Become familiar with the course structure,
- Be introduced to the teaching staff and your fellow students,
- Access information about the Student Union, Student Services and Learning Resources,
- Become familiar with PGNET, delivered through the software Moodle.

Phase 2

- Documentary Practice with Research Methods
- Critical Perspectives on Photojournalism and Documentary Photography (including research methodology)

Phase 3

- Major project

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Introduction

Develop a wider vision. Designed with photojournalists and documentary photographers in mind, the MA Photojournalism and Documentary Photography course can help you expand your practice and challenge the potential of the medium. Learn through a series of assignments as part of this internationally renowned programme and join the graduates who've gone on to win the World Press Photo Daily Life Singles category and the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize.

Content

A practical, cutting-edge Masters course with an international reputation, designed for aspiring photojournalists and documentary photographers.

Photojournalists and documentary photographers explore and record human experience. Beginning with Henri Cartier-Bresson (regarded as the father of modern photojournalism), they have recorded significant moments in history, documented unfolding news and created images that have gained iconic status. Central to their work is the telling of a story through images.

This internationally-recognised course is aimed at people who want to pursue a career in photojournalism or documentary photography. The aim is to equip students with a thorough grounding in the discipline, whether through film or digitally-based photography. You will follow a rigorous programme of photographic assignments, as well as initiating and developing your own projects and areas of special interest. All this takes place within the framework of the history and development of the medium, together with critical ethical and theoretical contexts. You will be encouraged to develop a wider vision of the practice and potential of the medium through exploration of the uses of documentary and reportage photography in magazines, portfolios, gallery exhibitions, books, television, web, CD-based productions and other media.

Structure

Phase 1

Photojournalism Practice
History of Photojournalism and Documentary Photography

Phase 2

Documentary Practice with Research Methods
Critical Perspectives on Photojournalism and Documentary Photography

Phase 3

Major Project

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This MA is for you if you have a passion for news, current affairs, documentary or any aspect of factual programme-making. It offers a practical training in, and critical engagement with, journalism and documentary-making.

You’ll learn how to:
-Research, write, subedit and design for print and digital media
-Contextualise journalistic and documentary practice within a theoretical framework of journalism and documentary studies
-Understand how the news media is undergoing rapid and far-reaching change

How will I study?
You’ll learn through core practice and theory modules and options in the autumn and spring terms.

In the summer, you develop a research project that can take the form of a conventional dissertation, a journalism project or a documentary.

Assessment is by:
-Practical video/media work and supporting production documentation
-Term papers and critiques
-Portfolios of journalism accompanied by critical reflections

The final assessment may take the form of a 15,000-word dissertation, a 20-minute documentary or a portfolio of journalism and critical work.

Scholarships
Our aim is to ensure that every student who wants to study with us is able to despite financial barriers, so that we continue to attract talented and unique individuals.

Chancellor's International Scholarship (2017)
-25 scholarships of a 50% tuition fee waiver
-Application deadline: 1 May 2017

HESPAL Scholarship (Higher Education Scholarships Scheme for the Palestinian Territories) (2017)
-Two full fee waivers in conjuction with maintenance support from the British Council
-Application deadline: 1 January 2017

USA Friends Scholarships (2017)
-A scholarship of an amount equivalent to $10,000 for nationals or residents of the USA on a one year taught Masters degree course.
-Application deadline: 3 April 2017

Faculty
Our faculty work in journalism and documentary across a range of platforms and conduct internationally recognised research in these fields.

Faculty projects have been broadcast on the BBC and Channel Four and shown in high profiles venues such as:
-The BFI Southbank
-Jeu de Paume
-Brighton Festival

Elements of our degrees are taught by experienced journalists at Brighton Journalist Works.

Careers
This course equips you with the skills for a career in:
-Broadcast and online journalism
-Documentary production
-Television production and research
-The wider media and communications industry
-Teaching and academic research

The sessions by industry professionals and distinguished alumni such as Gerry Rothwell, Kim Longinotto, Penny Woolcock, Peter Beard and Marc Isaacs enable you to make links with potential employers and give you insights and advice on working in the media professions.

Employers of our graduates include:
-The BBC
-ITN News
-Al Jazeera
-Century Films
-Ricochet
-Back2Back Productions
-Brighton.tv
-EDF Energy
-BP
-Vodafone
-A variety of universities and research centres

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This programme supports students who wish to become professional documentary filmmakers and/or research academics. The MA in Documentary Practice provides the ideal creative production environment within a research-based postgraduate Film Studies department. This combination of production professionalism and academic excellence is key to promoting intellectual, current, and socially engaged documentary makers.

* The Department of Film Studies at Queen Mary is an exciting and vibrant department.
* You will have the chance to take challenging courses in aspects of film history and theory.
* You will have the opportunity to learn practical production skills, and to put these skills into practice making documentary production.
* Our London location adds a large amount of value to the programme as we have links with the London Film Festival, BFI, local film festivals, East London Film Festival.
* Access to specialist film production equipment and the experienced practitioner staff, able to advise and support.

Why study with us?

We were placed 5th in the Times Good University Guide 2012 table for Communication and Media Studies, and are ranked 6th in the UK in the Guardian University guide for 2012. In the National Student Survey in 2009, Film Studies at Queen Mary ranked first in the UK for overall quality.

Documentary is becoming increasingly popular with both film and TV audiences due to recent successes in the genre such as Senna, Bowling for Columbine, and Supersize me. This programme will allow you to develop a career and skills in production, documentary making, or develop an academic career.

* The department is ideally situated in the heart of the East End, in an immensely exciting part of London, to our west, and to the Olympic Park emerging in time for the London Olympics in 2012 to our east.
* The teaching staff have national and international reputations in their fields. You will be taught by experienced filmmakers, as well as by leading academics in areas which cover many different periods of film history and which draw on films and cinema traditions from around the world.
* According to our students, the Film Studies degree programme offers an outstanding educational experience.
* Queen Mary's commitment to the best teaching and research is reflected in its strong performance in the National Student Survey.
* During your study you will be able to produce three individual documentary productions, each of twenty-three minutes in length (programme length for 30 minute TV broadcast).

Facilities

The Department of Film has its own postgraduate production company which produces documentary and fiction work, as well as its own studio facilities and state-of-the-art 41-seat cinema.

You will have access to facilities and equipment, including:

* Film studios
* Edit suites
* Professional production equipment

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This unique MA programme is based in a university but run by leading film practitioners, ensuring that you not only receive the highest-quality practice-based learning, but you do so in a university research environment where you learn to understand the world we live in.

Degree information

Students will learn to devise a visual research project; to apply anthropological and social science approaches to documentary film work; to think critically about the relationship between form and content in ethnographic/documentary practice; to master the technical skills needed to produce different kinds of films of different lengths for varied audiences; and to critically view and review film material.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. The programme consists of 1/2 core module(s) (45/60 credits), 2/3 optional /elective modules (30/45 credits) and a project/diary (90 credits).

Core modules
-Practical Ethnographic and Documentary Filming and Editing
-Students without a social science background at either undergraduate or Master's level also take Social Anthropology or another social science foundational module in Term One as agreed with the tutor.

Optional modules - students choose two of the following:
-Anthropology and Photography
-Documentary Film and the Ethnographic Eye
-The Story and I - Finding the Form and/or Time and the Staged Index
-One of the practical film-related options offered as part of Film Studies MA according to provision.
-One of the film history modules taught in the School of Slavonic & East European Studies (SSEES), or Departments of History or English, (for example, Russian Cinema in SSEES), details to be confirmed.
-An Anthropology or other social science module from the Faculties of Social & Historical Sciences, or Arts & Humanities.
-An Anthropology or other social science module from the Faculties of Social & Historical Sciences, or Arts & Humanities.

Dissertation/report
A major practical film project and diary allowing the students to demonstrate their mastery of the skills of documentary film-making in a film of 20–35 minutes.

Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of practical tutorials, seminars and masterclasses and assessed by camera and editing exercises and a written piece.

Placement
We facilitate two types of placements. Firstly, we will enable short-term internships at the film companies with whom we already have relationships through Open City Docs. Secondly, we will offer all our students the opportunity to work on the collaborative film-making projects linked to MyStreet Films, such as the Doc in a Day workshops that have proved so successful.

Careers

The programme equips students for careers in:
-Mass media including broadcast, cinematic and web-based moving image.
-Film and TV industry as camera operators, producers, directors, editors, researchers.
-Academia – ethnographic research, visual media and culture.
-Marketing and research.
-Communication and other media.
-Archives, as well as cultural heritage organisations.

Employability
The increasing demand for social and scientifically trained moving image specialists in the years ahead will continue, if not accelerate. Many of the graduates of our existing programmes now work in organisations such as Ipsos Mori film unit, BBC World Service and BBC Education.

Why study this degree at UCL?

This MA will allow you to benefit from UCL’s unique position in the heart of London, and from the many activities in film within the Department of Anthropology. The programme is unique in using professional film-makers to teach within a truly pan-disciplinary university research environment.

UCL now houses London’s Global Documentary Film Festival, Open City Docs Fest, created by Professor Michael Stewart. You can participate in the curation and delivery of this festival; gain experience in the delivery of a major public arts event; and benefit from established partnerships with world-famous institutions such as the the Science Museum and the British Film Institute.

This degree will from 2017 provide three strands: the existing non-fiction cinema and reportage based documentary will be joined by a 'Future Docs' strand (including VR and interactive documentary production).

Other admission requirements

Applicants with prior technical knowledge of film making are asked to send a video portfolio of up to 20’ duration (Vimeo link recommended). Applicants without a video portfolio are asked to complete a photo essay. Please see our guidelines on how to make a visual essay. You can submit either by post - a maximum of twenty 20cm x 25cm (8'x10”) stills – or by link to an external site.

All shortlisted applicants will be asked to submit a proposal for a film or video project - to consist of no more than four sides of A4, typed and double-spaced. This should include: an outline of what the film is about; the characters and other elements crucial to the narrative and the film structure/narrative. (You are not committed to the proposal for the final project.)

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A dynamic and practical documentary programme to develop your creative storytelling and multi-media production skills. The programme will include lectures, workshops and opportunities to learn from professional media experts. You will also be encouraged to forge contacts with media companies and undertake a professional placement to enhance your employability in this creative sector

-Explore practical documentary making on a variety of media platforms
-Work with award-winning documentary makers and experienced journalists
-Study in the £38 million Redmonds Building and enjoy full access to Liverpool Screen School's state-of-the-art facilities
-Undertake a placement with a professional media company

This new practice-led masters degree focuses on documentary making on a variety of platforms, enabling you to develop the core skills required to become a successful documentary maker.
​Through the exploration of practical camerawork skills, including sound recording, editing and interviewing, you will become confident in your craft, while the journalism modules will develop your skills in storytelling, interviewing and the various journalistic principles.

You will also study and understand the laws which impact responsible journalism, including the latest media law and ethics.

​The degree is taught by two departments in Liverpool Screen School; Media Production runs a popular and highly successful undergraduate degree which develops students to become confident and independent media developers. The Journalism department has offered undergraduate and postgraduate degrees for many years and continues to produce well-skilled graduates ready for the workplace. The collaborative nature of this degree means you will receive the best learning support, access to the latest techniques, academic research and opportunities to engage with key external partners.

What you will study on this degree

Please see guidance below on core modules for further information on what you will study.

-Practical craft skills in camerawork, sound recording and editing
-Core journalism skills including storytelling, interview technique, media law and ethics
-Core documentary production skills
-Interactive story-telling
-Tools for interactive documentary-making
​
Further guidance on modules

The information listed in the section entitled 'What you will study' is an overview of the academic content of the programme that will take the form of either core or option modules. Modules are designated as core or option in accordance with professional body requirements and internal Academic Framework review, so may be subject to change. Students will be required to undertake modules that the University designates as core and will have a choice of designated option modules. Additionally, option modules may be offered subject to meeting minimum student numbers.

Academic Framework reviews are conducted by LJMU from time to time to ensure that academic standards continue to be maintained.

Please email [email protected] if you require further guidance or clarification.

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The course explores documentary practices and photojournalism as exciting and developing mediums, through a combination of practice based teaching and discussion of critical contexts.

We take each applicant on their own merit. This can include students of documentary photography or photographers in general who are interested in specialising in this area. Also welcome are artists who wish to focus their activities on a more social practice, and individuals from other disciplines, who wish to explore the subject area at post grad level.

The course builds on the international stature of the photographic and journalism departments of the University and is designed to equip you with an awareness of contemporary documentary and photojournalism, drawing on a variety of related media.

Course content

The Documentary and Photojournalism MA allows students to explore ideas of society through photographically related practice and within critically informed ways that maintain connections with the issue, yet also consider fresh visual approaches to the subject matter.

We approach photography as a social practice, situated within its own history, but also drawing on various discourses. We explore the idea that documentary practice and photojournalism may take many forms in the 21st Century.

Importantly, from your arrival, we emphasize the development of your own practice, through experimentation, critique and theory, and encourage analysis of practice through contemporary perspectives.

The course leads towards the Final Major Project, which is a consolidation of student learning into a high profile event in a central London exhibition space.

You will be taught by practising professional photographers, artists and writers, within a supportive course atmosphere. Technically, the course resources are equipped to the highest professional standards for both analogue and digital production of still and moving image.

Associated careers

We would imagine our graduate to be well rounded and confident individual with adaptability facilitating new ways of seeing

In addition to the skills acquired of photographers enabling the production of works this will also involve proficient use of a variety of hardware, software, social media, presentation and production skills. The course will offer the development of various hardskills such as:
-Curation and Management of large and small scale projects
-Direction (either within film or theatrical modes)
-Advocacy, (such as in educational or community roles)
-Experience of group and collaborative working

We intend that the student will be highly employable as a still photographer, documentary film-maker, educator, activist, artist and writer, and much more, as well as having preparation for further doctoral study.

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Taught by committed and active filmmakers, you’ll learn to produce a portfolio of short non-fiction films in a creative and stimulating environment.

You have the opportunity to pursue your own interests through your film practice and engage in a range of approaches from story-telling to more experimental forms. You will learn:
-To communicate imaginatively through the moving image about the topics that interest you most
-How to research and write original non-fiction film
-How to develop visual storytelling
-How to shoot and edit
-How to project manage, schedule, budget, distribute and fundraise

Uniquely, you also have the opportunity to develop your abilities not only in single-screen video but in other digital media forms.

How will I study?
Each term you work on practical documentary projects alongside conceptual and theoretical study. In the summer term, you undertake either a documentary project or a dissertation.

There are frequent discussions of your work-in-progress. Regular master classes and screenings are presented by industry professionals and successful alumni from the course.

Assessment is by:
-Practical video/media work
-Essay or video essay and
-Production documentation and critique

The final assessment is a major documentary project plus report or a dissertation.

Facilities
You’ll have 24-hour access to the School of Media, Film and Music’s broadcast-standard equipment including HD cameras and a range of post-production facilities.

Scholarships
Our aim is to ensure that every student who wants to study with us is able to despite financial barriers, so that we continue to attract talented and unique individuals.

Chancellor's International Scholarship (2017)
-25 scholarships of a 50% tuition fee waiver
-Application deadline: 1 May 2017

HESPAL Scholarship (Higher Education Scholarships Scheme for the Palestinian Territories) (2017)
-Two full fee waivers in conjuction with maintenance support from the British Council
-Application deadline: 1 January 2017

USA Friends Scholarships (2017)
-A scholarship of an amount equivalent to $10,000 for nationals or residents of the USA on a one year taught Masters degree course.
-Application deadline: 3 April 2017

Faculty
Our researchers produce internationally recognised creative and critical practice through a range of media, including film, radio, photography and new and interactive forms.

Faculty projects have been broadcast on the BBC and Channel 4 and shown at many festivals, galleries and events including:
-Jeu de Paume (Paris)
-LLGFF London Southbank
-Brighton Festival
-Impressions Gallery
-Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art

They specialise within three interlocking themes:
-Cultural histories/cultural politics
-Resistant images
-Hybrid forms, media and genres

Careers
The MA prepares you for professional work in the media and related industries, as well as enabling you to make an informed contribution to non-fiction film.

The sessions by industry professionals and distinguished alumni including Gerry Rothwell, Kim Longinotto, Penny Woolcock, Peter Beard and Marc Isaacs allow you to make links with potential employers and give you insights and advice on working in the media professions.

The course also provides an in-depth study of contemporary documentary for those wishing to pursue a PhD in this area.

Our students have been successful in gaining highly competitive scholarships offered for doctoral study, both at Sussex and other UK universities.

Graduates have pursued careers in:
-Independent filmmaking
-Television production and research
-Marketing
-Communications
-Teaching and academic research

Employers include the BBC, ITN News, Al Jazeera, Century Films, Ricochet, Back2Back Productions, Brighton.tv, EDF Energy, BP, Vodafone and a variety of universities and research centres.

Students’ documentary work from the School has been shown at several film festivals including:
-London Short Film Festival
-Cinecity
-Sheffield International Documentary Festival
-East London Film Festival

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The NFTS has a tradition of enabling documentary filmmakers to find a distinctive voice that both prepares them for the Industry and makes their work a force for changing it.

-Develop a personal voice.
-Put storytelling at the centre of your process.
-Study in a multi-disciplinary filmmaking environment.
-Shoot on digital formats.
-Unlike other schools, all production costs are met by the School.

We welcome EU/EEA Students. Those accepted onto courses starting in 2018 will have their fees guaranteed at the UK rate for both years of the course. Postgraduate students can apply for a loan to help with their studies via the Student Loans Company Loans. A £ 10,000 loan is available to contribute to course and living costs. The Post Graduate Loan is only open to EU/EEA and UK Students who normally live in England. It is not currently available to Scottish, Welsh or Northern Ireland Students. Find out more here: https://nfts.co.uk/fees-funding/funding-guide

COURSE OVERVIEW

This course commences in January each year. The goal of the course is to give our graduates the tools and the confidence to become successful members of the international documentary community. Our students have won the Grierson and Sheffield Student Awards two years running, IDFA and the Royal Television Society last year, and win prizes at the most prestigious festivals round the world: Sundance, IDFA, Hot Docs, Berlin, Sheffield and many others. The most important thing, however, is to prepare them for life as committed documentary storytellers, wherever that may lead.

In the UK, getting a first commission can be a daunting task but last year, for example, Marc Williamson, made a First Cut for Channel 4 from his Sheffield student award winning graduation film which this year won him the Grierson Prize for Best Newcomer. Some use the contacts they make in the last phase of the course, to put together deals with TV production companies and non-TV source as Sam Blair did with Adidas for his brilliant feature debut about sprinters, Personal Best. Since students direct and shoot five films in different genres during the course, many progress swiftly by using their unique skills to contribute to productions throughout the industry, like James Newton who won a Grierson last year as one of the directors of The Year the Town Hall Shrank.

CURRICULUM

YEAR ONE
Built around a series of four practical exercises, increasing in length and complexity, informed and inspired by relevant traditions. Each exercise isolates and focuses on the techniques and content of a specific documentary genre: observation, character–led narrative, image/sound poetry and investigation. Students collaborate in various combinations with editors, cinematographers, sound designers and composers and also work alone using digital video equipment.

YEAR TWO
Includes three projects: a graduation film in which students synthesise what they have discovered in the first year, and use it to confidently challenge conventional approaches to documentary: an MA dissertation in which they reflect on a practical question that has intrigued them during the course so far and a proposal/taster tape for a project to take into the professional arena.

The final stage consists of visits to film festivals, broadcasters, independent producers and other relevant institutions, together with seminars dealing with the commissioning process, legal requirements, finance and festival potential.

Unlike other schools, all production costs are met by the School including an above-the-line cash production budget. NFTS students are engaged in more productions as part of the curriculum than any of our competitors.

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The MA Radio Documentary is designed to fulfil the need for radio and audio producers who can create high-quality programmes across different platforms in today's fast-paced digital age. Offered in partnership with the BBC, you will have the opportunity to work alongside experienced producers in different fields. As well as giving you the chance to put your skills into practice, you'll also gain real-world understanding of the cultural industry and its supply chain.

The course is appropriate for graduates with a passion for radio and an interest in journalism. It offers a unique industry-aligned path of study for those who want to develop a sustainable career in radio or production in the cultural industries sectors. It is also suitable for those already working in the cultural or creative sectors who wish to develop a specialist knowledge and understanding of radio documentary production, and enhance their employability.

Course detail

Based at the arts-focused Bower Ashton Studios, this full-time course will immerse students into radio for the digital age. Through a mix of practical and critical analytical learning, you will develop the skills required to work across many areas of radio, including journalism, content production, podcasting and documentary making.

There is a strong emphasis on developing your technical skills alongside those needed to compete in the business of radio, such as commissioning, pitching and getting documentaries to air. You will also gain experience through placements in some of Bristol's most innovative cultural organisations, and work on your own projects with mentoring from industry.

Structure

The course benefits from Bristol's rich activity in the cultural and media industries. In addition to teaching from faculty staff, guest speakers from the BBC and independent media production companies will play a key role in delivering the course.

You will be assigned live briefs to prepare for professional commissions in the public and private sectors. BBC staff will help design the live briefs to prepare you for professional commissions, whether for the BBC or commercial clients. You will be expected to work to real deadlines under real-world conditions, giving you the understanding needed to step into entry level posts in all aspects of radio and audio content production.

Format

This course provides a distinct and bespoke learning experience. Both practical and theoretical teaching is delivered by highly esteemed current and former BBC radio production professionals.

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminars and expert-led technical workshops in audio collection techniques, sound, recording, radio studio work and digital editing using industry-standard software.

There will be field visits to documentary producers and regular guest speakers from the BBC to enhance learning and bring valuable industry insight.

Placements

Students will take part in a work shadowing scheme. This will allow you to see the day-to-day workflow of producing radio documentaries.

You will be encouraged to take up placements on multi-platform outlets to gain insights across all relevant digital media.

Indicative partners include Watershed, Arnolfini, Ujima Radio and BBC News.

Assessment

You will be assessed through a combination of practical work, research portfolios, exams, essays and presentations.

Careers / Further study

We aim to equip you with the skills and understanding suitable for entry level posts in the radio factual broadcast sector including documentary, formats and presenter-led features.

The course partnership with the BBC brings opportunities for engagement, collaboration and ultimately employment. The BBC highly values the talent, fresh ideas and enthusiasm of our students.

Successful graduates go on to secure work in production companies and post-production facilities as broadcast assistants, junior researchers, production assistants and studio managers.

There are also options to teach and to progress to PhD study.

How to apply

Information on applications can be found at the following link: http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/study/applyingtouwebristol/postgraduateapplications.aspx

Funding

- New Postgraduate Master's loans for 2016/17 academic year –

The government are introducing a master’s loan scheme, whereby master’s students under 60 can access a loan of up to £10,000 as a contribution towards the cost of their study. This is part of the government’s long-term commitment to enhance support for postgraduate study.

Scholarships and other sources of funding are also available.

More information can be found here: http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/students/feesandfunding/fundingandscholarships/postgraduatefunding.aspx

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