This highly-regarded taught programme offers the opportunity to engage in cross-disciplinary investigation of various aspects of cinema and moving image culture, and has diverse routes available via theoretical, vocational and practice-based perspectives to provide a uniquely flexible course. These routes allow students to combine vocational, theoretical and practice-based modules as preferred.
Theoretical modules involve study of British, American, European, Far Eastern and Middle Eastern Cinemas. Here, students will examine how film and television texts produced in these regions relate to their historical, social, and cultural contexts through a variety of critical and theoretical approaches, which range from aesthetics as cinematic discourse to the implications of terrorism for film and its audiences.
Vocational choices, which are available throughout, include Teaching Film and Media, Becoming an Academic, Film Festivals, Film Festivals Independent Study (that offer opportunities to attend a film festival, and to be involved in film festival organisation) and Film Journalism, supported by expert film critics, that develops skills required for the writing of film reviews and articles in journals such as Sight and Sound.
There are practice-based options to undertake experimental and documentary film production, and scriptwriting.
Full time students normally attend lectures for 9-11 hours per week, and part-time students attend 3-6 hours per week, depending on module choices. Most modules run on Thursdays so that a full time student might expect to attend from 10am – 9pm on Thursdays
Students are assessed via a diverse range of assignments including:
Course Specific Cost:
Course costs are at the usual MA rate with 20% discount for UoW graduates. The module Film Festivals requires an additional flat rate cost of £350 to over hotel, travel and festival entrance fee to a national/international Film Festival. Any additional cost for attendance at a film festival will be met by the university
Most of the modules are delivered at Light House Media centre which houses 2 purpose built cinemas. Otherwise, teaching is at other appropriate venues on City Campus. All teaching on the MA Film and Screen is informed by staff expertise, with their research directly underpinning each module. This expertise is reflected in the significant number of high-quality publications produced by Film and Media Staff who contributed successfully to REF2014.
Who will teach you on this course:
One student commented on module 7FI014 Teaching Film and Media: This course was the best course I have attended - the teaching was comprehensive and I found the content to be some of the most useful I have experienced throughout my time at university. This was a relatively new subject and I found the work challenging - dealing with new concepts and ideas, but the most important parts for me was to understand where students are educationally before they arrive in University and to develop some of the skills to engage students in their learning experience. I can't express how useful, engaging and interesting this was, I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in teaching at higher education as well as further education.
In addition to facilitating competence in a range of intellectual and social skills that will be advantageous to the majority of occupations, an MA in Film and Screen is academically relevant to careers in the arts and media, leading to employment in arts administration, film archiving, film and media research, film journalism, film festival management, lecturing and teaching. A specific and unique advantage of this course is a module enabling new lecturers to deliver Film Studies and Media to AS/A2 level. It also provides suitable grounding for doctoral research in film, television and film history.
The course offers theoretical, vocational and practice-based options throughout and you will gain a broad range of academic, vocational and transferable skills that are vital to academic employability and to the screen industries, such as the ability to organise film festivals, present papers at conferences, and publish both journalistic film reviews and scholarly publications. Core modules include Teaching Film and Media which offers unique training for teachers and lecturers in Film and Media Studies, and Becoming an Academic whereby you will acquire a range of academic skills entailing, for example, the ability to write a journal article, academic book, and funding bids. As part of your MA programme, you will independently conduct a research project to a publishable standard, which will provide good opportunities for research-based writing in various contexts. You will also develop event management skills for academic events, such as film festival programming, film curation and the organisation of post-graduate symposia.
Our MA in International Film Business aims to train the next generation of innovative executives for the international film industry.
We will teach you about film finance and sales, distribution and marketing, creative management and development, digital strategy and festival curation and programming.
You will learn about the impact technology is having on the industry and gain insider access to a range of events including the Berlin Film Festival and European Film Market.
The London Film School is a world leading postgraduate filmmaking school and you will have the opportunity to access their extensive expertise, attend master-classes and industry events organised by the school as well as the opportunity to benefit from working with an industry mentor as part of the dissertation.
As you might expect from a ground breaking programme of study, assessment will be more than just essays. Instead you will give presentations, pitch ideas, and take on negotiation exercises. During your first term at the University of Exeter you will design, promote, and deliver a pop-up cinema event in the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum.
If you’re serious about pursuing a career in the film business this MA will give you the chance to develop the key business skills and networks you will need, and benefit from mentoring by leading UK and European industry professionals.
The MA in International Film Business is co-directed by Angus Finney, of The London Film School and Professor Will Higbee at the University of Exeter.
Angus is the author of The International Film Business, Project Manager of the Film London Production Finance Market, and a former Director of Renaissance Films. A well-known authority on the industry, he has executive producer credits for films such as Candy (2006), Dear Frankie (2004), and Disco Pigs (2001).
Professor Higbee has particular expertise in French and African cinema as well as broader issues in national and international film. His research has been widely published and he is a regular participant in film festivals and events around the world.
Together they will guide you through an intensive year that goes beyond the course content and into the reality of working in the international film industry.
As an MA International Film Business student you will have access to the world-renowned expertise of the London Film School and the academic excellence and research resources of the University of Exeter.
Your first term will be taught by leading film and business academics at Exeter where you will undertake a global survey of international film production, distribution and exhibition strategies and trends, and study business strategy, accounting and finance, intellectual property and entertainment economics. You will have the opportunity to examine innovative business models and the rapidly changing digital landscape of independent film.
At the London Film School you will take part in talks, master classes and question and answer sessions with film makers, as a graduate of the MA you will have access to the knowledge and contacts few programmes can offer their alumni. You’ll study the entertainment value chain through seminars delivered by London Film School staff and industry professionals, and a further series of intensive full-day seminars exploring film business innovation.
While there is no requirement to make a film as part of the MA, you can take the initiative in the second and third term to work independently, outside of the programme, with other LFS students who are studying on the MA screenwriting or filmmaking.
In your second term you will take part in our field trip to the Berlin International Film Festival, including access to the European Film Market, which is a business to business event not open to the public.
The Berlinale takes place in February and is one of the world's oldest and most important international film festivals. About 400 films from all around the world are screened each year at the festival, most of which are international or European premieres.
As well as the excitement of premieres and the films in competition, the Berlinale is an important place for film industry executives to do business. The Berlinale hosts both the European Film Market and the International co-production market, where around 400 companies are represented. The festival also organises a variety of workshops, panel discussions and film programmes.
• The opportunity to study Film Studies at an advanced level.
• An emphasis on international and transnational cinemas.
• Both core and specialist modules are assessed by essay.
• Two specialist modules provide you with the opportunity to transfer and apply the theoretical knowledge and research skills acquired in the core module to a more concrete level of intellectual investigation, focusing on the creation of meaning and aesthetic value in the context of global dynamics of cultural production and distribution.
• The specialist modules vary annually and reflect current staff research interests. Emphasis throughout the year is placed on individual research.
* Film Studies was ranked first in Scotland for world leading and internationally excellent research in the UK Research Excellence Framework 2014.
* Senior expertise of high profile scholars, such as Professor Robert Burgoyne, Professor Richard Dyer, Mr Jean Michel Frodon and Professor Dina Iordanova, all internationally known and respected leaders in the field .
* Regular visits from high-profile film critics, film. The most recent have been celebrated Chilean filmmaker Patricio Guzmán, who in April 2015 visited the Department and attended a screening of two of his films, followed by a Q&A session.
* The new programme in Global Cinema: Managing and Cultural Curation, is offered out of the Institute for Global Cinema and Creative Cultures (IGCCC: http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/globalcinema ) which capitalise on achievements, global connections and on our reputational advantages as leaders in the study of global culture, film circulation and film festivals.
In learning and teaching, St Andrews sets the highest of standards and attracts students from all over the world with understandably high expectations. In its first five-yearly review in 2009, the Department’s teaching provision achieved the highest possible commendation. Teaching and research are closely co-related, and postgraduate teaching is informed by the staff’s research activity.
At St Andrews, we investigate cinema as a key form of cultural output and as the dominant type of creative expression. Focusing on the global dimension, our programmes cover key aspects of Film Studies through the lens of transnational cultural studies.
Film Studies at St Andrews is committed to questioning the traditional view of what is ‘normal’ cinema. We attempt to uncover the agendas (be they national, ‘western’, cultural, commercial, industrial, and so on) that define how we think about cinema, both in terms of the kinds of films we watch for pleasure, and those we study at university. There is much to be learned by studying what is produced at the margins of dominant societies, in addition to the canonical films of Hollywood and the European art house. We are interested in exploring the ways in which racial, ethnic, religious, and sexual subcultures conceptualise their identities. Similarly, we are keen to look at films produced at the periphery of established nations, co-productions between smaller players struggling to survive in the global marketplace and popular genre films often deemed unworthy of high-brow critical attention. Similarly, we
look at films that focus on transnational communities or appeal to international markets that deal with lesser-known histories and are made in foreign languages but are nonetheless worthy of critical examination and intellectual engagement.
Studying film at St Andrews will help you master a range of advanced research skills and acquire knowledge related to the construction and analysis of the moving image, the past and present day realities of various national and regional film traditions, the dynamics of the global film industry, and the theoretical approaches related to film.
The Department is housed in its own buildings, in North Street. They are within easy walking distance of the University Library, local cinema and town centre. The Department is well resourced with a dedicated teaching room. Recently the Department has started to use the wonderful facilities at the nearby Byre Theatre for most of our seminars, and for other film-related activities. MLitt classes are usually held at the Byre. A Film Studies Postgraduate Study Centre houses a DVD collection, postgraduate workspaces, viewing stations and off-air recording facilities.
At St Andrews you will be exposed to a rich and diverse film programme. Regular course-related film showings take place in a custom-built theatre. In addition, a range of screenings takes place across the University during term time, featuring films related to anthropology, international relations, and history.
St Andrews has excellent library provision, with book, journal and other information resources in Film Studies at a level consistent with an international centre of excellence. The Main Library hosts one of the best collections of international cinema on DVD and video (over 9,000 titles). The Library also holds over 1,000,000 print monographs, over 32,000 electronic books, and substantial journal title holdings in print and over 33,900 full-text electronic titles. Well over 2,000 monographs are classified under Film Studies and related subjects. There are holdings of approximately 100 film, television and media-related journals, of which about 65 are available electronically; there is also networked access to various databases, including Box of Broadcasts, Film Indexes Online and Film & Television Literature Index Full-Text.
In our media saturated culture, the opportunities for Film Studies graduates are remarkably diverse. Directly related are careers in academia, creative industries, development, distribution, film festival/cinema programming, and arts administration.
A Film Studies degree opens doors to many other spheres, including media management, film and TV research, journalism, publishing, advertising, cultural entrepreneurship, nongovernmental organisations, marketing, public relations and education. Recent destinations include: Junior Assistant Producer, European Tour Productions (IMG Media); Adjunct Instructor, SUNY (State University of New York) at Oswego; Consultant for Propel London Media.
This programme, available in both full-time and part-time study modes, offers you a broad-based understanding of how film, television and other screen media have developed and interacted across their varying histories.
It also gives you the opportunity to specialise in film exhibition and archival practice, in order to personalise your MA studies towards specific intellectual interests and future career hopes. The programme is unique in the way that it combines rigorous academic study with creative and practical opportunities, the latter offered both within certain option modules and via the two-month work placement.
This intermixing of the academic and the practical also enables you to take your interests further, into further postgraduate study, towards a career in teaching or into possible work opportunities in many areas of the media industries.
The programme has two other pathways: MA Film and Screen Media and MA Film and Screen Media (European Pathway).
The programme consists of the compulsory module Screen Media: History, Technology and Culture, a choice of option modules, a research project or placement and a dissertation.
The compulsory module is designed to introduce you to the basic methodologies and issues involved in the area concerned, as well as research skills and methods. The option modules allow you to pursue specific interests and areas of research.
A unique feature of the programme is the placement, which offers you the experience of working in a prominent media company or institution. Alternatively you can complete a research project which gives you the chance to undertake independent research and reflect on research methodologies.
You will complete the programme with a 15,000-word dissertation.
You will also have the option to take an intercollegiate module offered at another college of the University of London through the Screen Studies Group.
This programme takes a project-led, practice-based approach to studying for an MA in Film Directing (Documentary) which integrates practical film making with analysis of contemporary film practice. Students choose to make a creative documentary or a non -fiction film which defies genre definition and pushes the boundaries of narrative. We develop these through workshops and tutorials. Our students work within an integrated framework that helps them question the form of their films and enables them to find the right language for their storytelling.
The programme encourages ways of working as a film community that foster the important exchange of ideas, with inspiration from international visiting film makers through Scottish Documentary Institute and support from our team of documentary practicioners. All tutors are top professionals currently working within the industry as directors, producers, editors, cinematographers or sound designers. A newly built Avid edit teaching space, and a new screening space helps us encourage a fresh approach to emerging technologies.
Graduate films do well internationally regularly winning BAFTAs, RTS Awards and awards at international festivals. Over the last five years students have received an Oscar nomination for an MA film made here and an Oscar shortlist for a film made by a recent graduate. We work closely with the Scottish Documentary Institute, the University’s internationally-acclaimed research centre in documentary film making.
The aim of the Film Directing programmes at ECA is to:
This programme is project-led and delivered through workshops and regular individual tutorials. It integrates practical studio work with theoretical and written studies from the Screen cultures course (see separate description) which is run independently from the Film Department.
The first semester, Design Studio is organised round a series of micro-films which lead to a growing awareness of film language and enhancement of technical skills to creatively support filmic vision. Cinematography and sound workshops are delivered by visiting lecturers. Directorial voice is built up also through tutorials in which an idea for a graduating film is developed and evolved. Awareness of current international documentary practice is built through regular seminars and screenings, collaborations with Film Festivals such as Take One Action and also supported by Scottish Documentary Institute. This is also to inspire students to push boundaries in their approach to narrative structure and visual language and not to get locked in conventional approaches. We want to encourage bold work that takes risks. At the end of the first semester all students pitch their films using a trailer or short excerpt from their research material. They also develop a treatment with feedback from tutorials.
Semester two is spent preparing and shooting the graduate film and is backed up with edit tutorials as well as project support from weekly meetings with a tutor. Students also receive seminars in production process including contracts.
Semester three is when the film is edited and finished with input from group crits, tutorials. Students also attend or often volunteer with Edinburgh Film Festival and the Edinburgh Pitch in order to observe and engage with key players from the international documentary world through hearing feedback from commissioning editors.
Alongside the ECA learning structure, students also have a pool of potential collaborators from Screen Academy Napier including the possibility of working with cinematographers, editors and producers.
Our students go on to a wide range of roles, including producer, director, writer, production or location manager, researcher, editor, assistant director, cinematographer, or journalist. Graduates have found work directing for the BBC and making work internationally for top broadcasters and film funds. Related fields include advertising, community films, academia or film development agencies.
MA/MFA Film Directing has been awarded the Creative Skillset Tick, the industry kitemark of quality, following a rigorous assessment process by experts working in the Creative Industries. The Creative Skillset Tick is awarded to practice-based courses which best prepare students for a career in the industry. Screen Academy Scotland is one of only 3 Screen Academies in the UK along with National Film School and London Film School.
You can specialise in either Film Practice or Film Studies. Our Film Practice PhD provides you with a unique opportunity to develop your film as a practice-led research project. Alternatively you can undertake a Film Studies, MPhil or PhD studying British, Algerian, Chinese, French or Latin American cinema.
As a Film Studies MPhil or PhD student you will form a crucial part of our research culture. Our thriving community of postgraduate students work across schools and disciplines. Research ranges from modern languages to English literature, English language, linguistics and arts and cultures.
We are keen to work with postgraduates in the major research projects listed below, or in the more general areas related to them. We supervise projects that span academic schools and sub-disciplines, ensuring the best fit between your interests and the expertise of our staff.
We organise an annual postgraduate conference for the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences and you can get involved in a number of film-related research seminars on campus, including:
You will benefit from the North Eastern Regional Film Seminar, which brings together film scholars from the Universities of Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland, Teesside, Durham and York for a one day symposium.
There is also the Film Factory, an exciting new film forum for students and staff, initiated by two PhD students from the School of Modern Languages, Gary Jenkins and Mani Sharpe. It consists of a series of film screenings followed by discussion and debate at the Culture Lab.
You will normally be taught on the Newcastle University campus. Attendance is flexible and agreed between you and your supervisors depending on the requirements of your research project.
You will have the opportunity to use Culture Lab, a centre for creative practice which includes a stock of film cameras and editing suites, as well as motioncapture, animation and soundmixing technology.
The Language Resource Centre and Peter Robinson Library hold large collections of international films and film magazines. You will also have access to a dedicated postgraduate suite including computers, workspaces, a kitchen and showers.
There are fantastic local film facilities including the Tyneside Cinema and British Film Institute Mediatheque.
You will also have guided access to Tyne and Wear Archives.
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. You have your own camera equipment throughout and there are two dedicated Mac Editing suites for this degree.
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; using our professional level equipment, 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 one core module (60 credits), two optional /elective modules (30 credits) and a project/diary (90 credits).
Core modules
Optional modules
Students choose two of the following:
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, as opportunities arise students can work on collaborative or other film-making projects, such as the Doc in a Day workshops or UCL film productions.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Ethnographic and Documentary Film (Practical) MA
The programme equips students for careers in:
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, independent production companies, BBC World Service and BBC Education.
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 UCL Anthropology. The programme is unique in using professional film-makers to teach within a truly pan-disciplinary university research environment. It provides outstanding access to camera and editing facilities.
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 provides three strands: non-fiction cinema and reportage based documentary; a 'Mixed Realities' strand (including VR, Augemented; and interactive documentary production).
The Research Excellence Framework, or REF, is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. The 2014 REF was carried out by the UK's higher education funding bodies, and the results used to allocate research funding from 2015/16.
The following REF score was awarded to the department: Anthropology
68% rated 4* (‘world-leading’) or 3* (‘internationally excellent’)
Learn more about the scope of UCL's research, and browse case studies, on our Research Impact website.
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