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.
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 specialist programme will enable students to develop advanced knowledge and skills in film production, developing through the course a career specialism in directing, editing, production, camera or sound production.
The programme is distinctive as students will learn and study within the complex and immersive environment of a conservatoire drama school, with substantial access to highly talented acting students and the industry-standard facilities required of this high level vocational training. The skills and experience gained in their chosen area of specialism will enable them to seek employment in the professional film, television and independent film production industry on successful completion of the course.
The course will run for 38 weeks and recruitment will be limited to five students. Each will develop their own distinct specialism within a production team (director, editor, producer, camera, sound production) and they will work together as a unit across four of the five core modules.
These modules are:
1. Moving Image Production
2. Drama Production for the Small Screen
3. Short Film Production (Client-led Film)
4. Short Film Production (Drama)
5. Preparation for Working in the Film Industry
The fifth module is taken individually through a specialist industry placement related to the student’s designated specialism.
The overall aims of the programme are:
• To enable students to develop specific technical and project management skills in film production, primarily drama;
• To enable students to learn skills in leadership and creative problem-solving;
• To enable students to develop a specialism within the key areas of film production (directing, editing, producing, camera, sound production)
• To develop a high level of personal, social and environmental responsibility in working to professional schedules, disciplines and practice, including risk assessment and carbon emission reduction.
• To provide experience and build confidence to engage with industry professionals and develop their career management skills;
A copy of the rules and regulations governing the course is available consult the BOVTS policies and procedures page.
This module map provides a list of the modules that make up your course.
Each module is worth a specified number of credits, enabling you to cover key subject knowledge while developing your own interests.
Optional Modules: There are no optional modules for this award
Interim Awards: PG Cert Film Production (60 Credits), PG Dip Film Production (120 Credits)
Credit requirements: 180 credits from the above modules for MA Film Production
Award: MA Film Production
Students learn within a conservatoire environment in which they are regarded as professionals in training. At this Masters level in Film Production, there is an expectation that they will develop a high level of problem solving skills, engage at an advanced level of critical evaluation of their practice and acquire the creative thinking required of film makers working in a practical, complex creative and employment-focused environment.
Students are immersed in this challenging environment, which demands great attention to detail, independent thinking, and collaborative working combined with diplomatic negotiating and leadership skills.
The programme is practical and career focused. It is integrated with the school’s other programmes during productions, as well as within the professional environment. The programme features a high level of one-to-one teaching by specialist professionals.
The learning is immersive and singular in its focus on high level specialist professional employability as a main learning outcome.
The learning is intensive with students taught and supervised by teaching staff at least 30 hours per week across the 38 weeks of the programme.
To apply for entry to the MA Film Production programme in October 2018, you will need to use the UCAS Conservatoires.
To apply for this course please click here: click here to apply via the UCAS website in a new tab
Applications open on the 1 September 2017 and close on 28th February 2018.
Please note that UCAS Conservatoires is a different application system to UCAS Undergraduate.
Applying Through UCAS Conservatoires
Although UCAS Conservatoires (previously CUKAS) offers many advantages, it was originally designed to handle applications for music programmes at UK conservatoires and is in the process of being adapted to meet the needs of drama applicants.
We are working with UCAS Conservatoires and other drama schools to ensure this happens as quickly as possible but, in the meantime, you may find the following notes helpful.
Additional Guidance on How to Apply
Registration and Audition Fees
There is a one-off registration fee of £25 to register (for entry 2018) to use the service. The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School also charges an audition administration fee of £35 to cover the cost involved in arranging and delivering auditions/interviews. Both fees are payable through UCAS Conservatoires.
Personal Statements
We recommend that you pay particular attention to the information you provide in your personal statement on your application form in order to give us as full a picture as possible of your relevant experience and reasons for applying.
Application Dates
You can apply through UCAS Conservatoires from the 1 September 2017. The equal consideration deadline for applications to the MA Film Production programme is 15 January 2018. However our applications for this course will close on 28th February 2018.
If you have any further queries please contact the Admissions Department to discuss: [email protected]
Deferred Entry
We are unable to consider applications for deferred entry.
This interdisciplinary programme is taught by staff from a wide range of departments at UCL, all international experts in the fields of film and media studies. Linguistic and cultural expertise informs our teaching on the film-making traditions of Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Asia and South-East Asia.
The programme covers the history of cinema and a wide variety of world cinemas. It is designed to provide students with advanced knowledge of both the history of cinema and its contemporary developments, and with the skills, concepts, methods and theories required for the study of cinema and media at graduate level.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.
The programme consists of two core modules (30 credits and one non-credit bearing), three optional modules (90 credits), and a dissertation (60 credits).
Core modules
Optional modules
Dissertation/report
All MA students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of 12,000 words.
Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, and film and video screenings. The core modules are assessed by essays and examinations, which together count for 20% of the final mark. Optional modules are assessed by essays (40%), and the dissertation makes up the final 40%.
Further information on modules and degree structure is available on the department website: Film Studies MA
Graduates from the MA in Film Studies have pursued various careers, including: academic research and teaching; careers within media arts (writing, directing, editing); print and media journalism; arts and museum management; multimedia authoring and digital design; film preservation and curating.
Recent career destinations for this degree
Employability
Former students of this programme have gone on to careers in education and publishing and a wide variety of careers in the media arts, including film production, festival programming, and film curation with organisations including the BBC, the Barbican Centre, the Athens International Film Festival, and the London Film School.
Careers data is taken from the ‘Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education’ survey undertaken by HESA looking at the destinations of UK and EU students in the 2013–2015 graduating cohorts six months after graduation.
Each year, we welcome students from all over the world to our Film Studies MA. Under the aegis of UCL's Centre for Multidisciplinary & Intercultural Inquiry (CMII), students spend a year amongst a thriving, cross-disciplinary community of cinema scholars and research students.
We have particular research strengths in film history, film theory, and in an exceptionally broad range of national and regional cinemas.
UCL has made a major commitment to refurbishing its multimedia infrastructure for the study of film and related media. This includes building a significant collection of print and visual materials and new facilities for teaching and for film and media screenings.
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.
Learn more about the scope of UCL's research, and browse case studies, on our Research Impact website.
Looking to further your career within the creative industries? Southampton Solent’s innovative and transmedia MA Critical Creative Practice programme focuses on individual student-centred learning and encourages critical creative practice across the creative spectrum, including art, design, fashion, photography, media arts and technology, helping to enhance employability and leaving you well-prepared to progress within your chosen creative field.
Taught by both creative industry professionals and academic practitioners, the course enables students to develop ideas and engage with the emerging material and digital cultures of the future, as well as the fast-changing demands of the creative industries and the associated changes to cultural production, consumption and interpretation.
The course structure is theory and practice based. The theoretical element consists of critical core units which reference visual culture, cultural theory, critical theory, art and design history, media culture, and material and digital culture. The interdisciplinary practice element relates to creative practice in the fields of art, design, fashion, photography, media arts and technology.
The integration of theory and practice is central to the course and learning is carefully structured through these interdependent units to develop a broad base of interrelated experiences, whilst also providing the opportunity to specialise through the professional practice unit and the choice of final dissertation or final project.
Students will also have the opportunity to take optional technician-supported introductory workshops which could include contemporary arts practice, photography, new media practice, 3D printing and laser cutting, material manipulation, performance, beauty and the body, film editing, and sound and image production. To complement their studies, students may be able to take part in international and European study exchange opportunities through the University's study abroad programmes.
The unique approach of this course can enhance employability, enabling students to progress into the workplace equipped with valuable critical thinking and practice-based skills required for working in the creative industries and forming innovative hybrid engagements.
Graduates from this course will be well-placed for careers in a broad range of the creative industries, such as art, design, media, film, fashion, photography, education, culture and heritage, and curation.
This course is well-suited to graduates who wish to further their career within the creative industries by gaining a solid understanding of creative practice and critical thinking across a broad range of disciplines.
Units include:
Optional technician supported introductory workshops to be run in both semester one and two: Contemporary Arts Practice, Photography, New Media Practice, 3D Printing and Laser Cutting, Material Manipulation, Performance, Beauty and the Body, Film Editing, and Sound and Image Production.
Solent University provides a well-resourced environment to help students develop and harness enterprising and entrepreneurial practice. Students on this course have access to dedicated studio space to develop their individual creative practice. Other creative spaces and equipment available to students include photographic studios, fashion studios, Mac rooms, recording equipment, editing suites, and performance and exhibition space.
Solent is also home to a 24-hour library, modern IT facilities and a range of expert learning and employability support services.
The course team has strong industry links and students may have the opportunity to benefit from relevant industry contacts and academic links including John Hansard Gallery, V&A Museum, ICA Education and Events Programme, Solent Showcase exhibition space, Solent Research and Innovation Office, Solent Learning and Teaching Institute, Solent Material and Digital Archive.
Students may also benefit from internship and partnership collaboration opportunities with Hampshire Cultural Trust (Arts Council England-funded South East Museum Development Programme.
Students studying on courses within the School of Art, Design and Fashion may also have the opportunity to gain additional industry insights through an excellent guest speaker programme which has included internationally acclaimed artists, designers, photographers, curators, stylists, writers, musicians, performers, filmmakers and Oscar and Bafta award-winning film editors.
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.
The MA Filmmaking (Producing) will provide you with a thorough training in all aspects of producing – from the conception of an initial idea through to development, financing, production and release.
This Masters, a pathway of the MA Filmmaking, provides excellent training for a successful career as a producer. As part of the programme you'll have the opportunity to specialise in either development, where you will work with writers and directors to develop new ideas, or line producing, where you will focus more on how to run a production and a crew, and how to also take a production manager or assistant director role.
The programme 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.
Our studio spaces, and extensive production facilities and informal rehearsal and meeting spaces create an environment where you can discuss and collaborate with scriptwriters, actors, directors, other producers and your shoot team. We also have established relations with casting directors, agents, production designers and other professionals who will both advise you and provide their skills to enhance your productions.
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.
You will have specialist teaching on the larger role of the producer:
Your studies will be guided by experienced tutors and guests from major industry players including Channel Four, British Film Institute, FilmFour, BBC Films, Film London, Shooting People, Future Shorts and a host of production and distribution companies.
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, cinematography and sound 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 short fiction films.
Screen School options
As well as your Editing 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.
On completing the programme, you will have the confidence, skills and hands-on experience to work in the film, television and online industries in the production field, navigating your way through production management and assistant directing roles.
In addition, you will find yourself in a media world that relies heavily on self-starting projects, you will be able to drive innovative new ideas into both established and new formats, strategise funding and marketing, and bring new and exciting opportunities to your creative team.
Possibly the most important skill we will provide you with is the rigorous discipline of working collaboratively under pressure as part of a creative team.
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
Our producing alumni have gone on to win awards at major international film festivals (including a nomination for Best Short Film Oscar) and are active in the film, media and cultural industries around the world as fiction and documentary producers and production managers.
Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths.
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