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From start to finish producers are the driving force behind the film and television industry. They generate new projects and ideas, secure finance, manage production and strategically market the result. The producer’s role has been transformed by the advent of globalisation, digital technology and the multi-channel environment. Now more than ever, the entertainment industries need creative leadership.
Our Masters offers aspiring producers the opportunity to acquire the creative and entrepreneurial skills required to enter the rapidly changing universe of film and television. You will learn to create script ideas, work with writers and directors, manage a production thoroughly and market across platforms, we'll teach you how to navigate the financial and legal aspects of the industry, too.
The course is taught from our creative hub at Royal Holloway's central London campus, 11 Bedford Square. Our proximity to the media industry means that we can draw upon professionals for outstanding master classes, industry panels and careers events. Students are encouraged to attend The London Film Festival, MIPCOM, Berlin, and Cannes international festivals. You will also try out interning at a production company or work on the crew of a professional production.
You will learn from top talent and practice what you learn by making films, and TV programmes. The ‘Role of Producer’ and ‘Script Development’ courses are taught by Professor Jonathan Powell, one of the UK's most respected and experienced drama producers, having previously worked as Controller of BBC1 and Head of Drama for the BBC. The course leader is award winning producer and executive, Gillian Gordon who brings thirty years’ experience in Hollywood and the UK to teaching ‘Producing Workshop’.
Through master classes, industry internships and alumni partnerships, students are provided with opportunities to network with international talent and expertise, as well as building links with current Royal Holloway students and academic partners.
Core modules
The Role of the Producer
In this module you will develop an understanding of the role of the producer as the driving force in creating, managing and selling film and television products. You will look at how the independent sector works, and consider how to programme and pitch ideas. You will also examine approaches to working with creative talent.
Script Development
In this module you will develop an understanding of how to write an industry standard script report. You will learn how to analyse both film and TV scripts, and produce reports that constructively engage writers with the process of script development. You will consider the analysis of structure, character, dialogue, genre, and how to transfer feedback verbally.
Producing Workshop
In this module you will develop an understanding of how to create and pitch ideas to film, television and new media executives and financiers. You will learn the basics of script development, set procedure, scheduling, camera work, audio equipment and post production. You will consider how to develop and identify viable fiction projects and lead and manage the production of a short video, . You will work with creative talent, writers, directors, casting agents, and key craft team members, and examine how to finance and market your short film. You will put together a viable presentation package and pitch to a panel of industry professionals.
International Media Business
In this module you will develop an understanding of the global film and TV business. You will learn how to plan and conceptualise the creation and management of a sustainable media enterprise. You will examine the critical issues affecting the success or failure of film and television businesses, considering the role of financial planning in the life-cycle of visual media projects. You will also explore the wider context of finance in the development, marketing and distribution of film and television to investors, partners and government bodies, with a focus on the challenges faced by business startups.
Production Management
In this module you will develop an understanding of basic production accounting and the line management skills needed for film, TV and transmedia production. You will learn how to set-up a production company and budget, schedule, manage cash flow, and supervise a quality fiction production. You will consider how to manage 'below-the line' deals on a drama production and identify financial issues and their implications for day-to-day management. You will also examine how to manage a film crew and supervise the daily operations of a production team, and manage production costs, equipment and facility deals.
Marketing and Media Law
In this module you will develop an understanding of media marketing and promotion in film and television distribution and exhibition. You will look at social media and new trends in the global marketing of films and media projects, including cross-platform marketing. You will consider the fundamental principles of media law, including contract and intellectual property law, and examine issues of content and regulation.
Dissertation
You will produce a 10,000 word dissertation or media project on topic of your choice. You will carry out an investigation that has a clearly defined aim of study and arrive at a carefully argued set of conclusions derived from original research covering print, internet and first hand interview sources.
Assessment is carried out by a variety of methods including essays, script reports, treatments, pitching exercises, studio exercises, production papers, practical film-making, business reports and presentations.
Our close links to the film and TV production industry make this a practical course – and one that gives you building blocks for your future.
While you're on the course, we'll encourage and guide you into work placements and internships. Past students have secured placements with industry leading organisations including:
Graduates from the Department of Media Arts have gone on to work in independent television and film production, for broadcasters like the BBC and ITV, for distributors, exhibitors, talent agencies and entertainment lawyers.
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 course provides the opportunity for you to develop as a thinking practitioner of film-making or television programme-making, someone who is able to innovate while questioning and interrogating existing values and traditions. The emphasis is firmly on practical film-making and television production work, underpinned with contextual theory throughout, engaging with contemporary issues and emerging trends in film and television production, as well as established film/television theories and practices.
The first two semesters of study provide a range of modules which will allow you to develop your film/television “craft skills” – this may include work with camera, lighting, sound, editing, directing and producing – while working on short film/TV projects of your own devising. There will be opportunities to collaborate with other students, and you will be encouraged to make contact with, and work with, contributors (e.g. interviewees, actors) from outside of the university. You will also develop your skills as an academic researcher by carrying out research which feeds directly into your film projects.
The course culminates in the Masters Project, where you will be the key creative leader of a film or television production, taking on the role of producer or director.
In a typical week, a full-time student on this course will have up to ten hours of class time which will be a mixture of lectures, seminars, tutorials and practical workshop sessions. Most course modules will blend these different teaching methods within a given timetabled session, so there will be plenty of variety.
In lectures, you will typically be given ‘food for thought’ in relation to your own project ideas. In workshop sessions you will get to practice film-making techniques related to your own project work needs. In seminars you will share ideas and discuss with tutors and fellow students. In tutorials you will have one-to-one or small group discussion about your works in progress.
The general flow of the course for a full time student is to start with production skills, research skills and scriptwriting in the first semester. In the second semester you move on to a small personal project which will combine all that you have learned from these three areas. In the final semester, you bring it all together in a personal film/TV production project which is seen as the culmination of your studies.
Part-time students experience exactly the same course modules and course content, but necessarily broken down into smaller groups of modules.
Opportunities:
The course is built upon negotiated production work, which means you get to propose and develop your own ideas for film and television. The teaching staff are experienced with production across documentary, drama and social action production, and will guide you according to your ambitions, skills and needs.
There is always the opportunity to work on ‘live’ project briefs, which can be used as the basis of a module project, or alternatively as an extra-curricular experience which informs your development on the course and allows you to network with students on related courses.
The course is taught in the School of Media, which houses a three-camera live television studio, fifteen editing suites with Premiere Pro, After Effects, Final Cut Pro X and other professional software packages, and a sound-recording/foley production suite. It also has an equipment store from which you can borrow all the camera, sound, lighting and other equipment you need to produce your work.
Who will teach you on this course?
The course teaching team includes four active doctoral or postdoctoral researchers – Adam Kossoff, Tracy McCoy, Phil Nichols and Gavin Wilson – whose interests include documentary film, social action video, screenwriting and adaptation, and cinematography. They are all qualified higher education teachers, and have many years of experience of teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level. They are also experienced film and programme makers.
Our students and graduates have a track-record of success in competitions and festivals, such as the prestigious Royal Television Society Student Awards, the Midland Movies awards, and the Business Disability Forum's Technology Taskforce Film Festival.
Film-maker and editor Andrew Webber has had his films screened at international festivals in the UK, Jamaica and West Africa. He says, “The University has been extremely supportive, through my studies and after graduation.”
Niki Gandy has pursued a teaching career, and now teaches photography and art in a High School. Calling herself a “proud graduate” of our related undergraduate course, she says, “I chose it for its practical content and which helped furnish me with numerous transferable skills necessary to forge my career in teaching. Almost a decade on, my lecturers continue to provide me with support and guidance - I feel certain that my relationship with the university will continue for many years to come.”
Actor and director Brian Duffy, creator of TV series Small World – a comedy series about a group of deaf flatmates which has been shown on TV and online – says, “Studying at the University of Wolverhampton helped me with networking and organisation – especially as filmmakers came to Wolverhampton for Deaffest, the UK’s leading deaf film and arts festival. My lecturer could also sign which was a great help and a huge weight off my shoulders – I could talk to her one-to-one. That’s something I never had the pleasure of pre-university.”
Lauren Shinner has been working in media production ever since graduating. She says, “My time at the University was invaluable, I wouldn't be where I am today without it. The tutors were always helpful and push students to do their best with plenty of support and understanding and the course prepares you well for your prospective career. I've gone on to work as a video editor in education, ran my own media business and have done videos for high end charities and new bands, and am now working in media in another area. Without my degree, none of this would have been possible.”
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.
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.
Create, challenge, move, and inform through art and expression in our MFA in Film and Media Art program. Here, you’ll work with image and sound, and traditional and emergent media forms. You'll develop an understanding of film, video, audio, and interactive media production—and you will channel this understanding into the creation of multimedia works. To ensure that creative, talented students at every stage of development find a place in our program, we give you the opportunity to apply into the three-phase curriculum at whichever level best matches your experience.
In this program, you will:
Whether you want to explore film, documentary, fiction narrative, experimental media, animation, installation, interactive art, or sound design, we will give you the tools, skills, and experience you need. Cultivate your creative voice. Apply to our graduate program in Film and Media Art today.
The MFA in Film & Media Art program seeks talented and ambitious students at all levels offering three entry points.
Our unique program provides students of all levels with the opportunity to develop as engaged and versatile creative professionals and media artists. Students will work with image and sound to entertain, inform, persuade, and challenge, using both traditional and emergent media forms. They will develop an understanding of the disciplines of film, video, audio, and interactive media production, bringing this understanding to bear on traditional and convergent media works.
The MFA in Film and Media Art is a terminal degree for students who wish to pursue careers as media production professionals and artists, or who want to teach at the college or university level. Students are able to explore a variety of media production genres—computer animation, documentary, experimental media, fiction narrative, installation, interactive art, and sound design—with a degree program that provides foundational knowledge in the use of media technologies, theory, critical and historical context, and media business while offering a set of courses of advanced training and mentorship in their specific area of interest.
Our program has three distinct entry points and varies in length from 2-3 years depending on which phase of the program you begin in. This approach allows us to welcome creative students at any stage of development. Once you are admitted to the program, the Graduate Program Director will work with you to create a custom curriculum based on your unique needs.
We have a place for all creative film and media artists - whether you are new to the field and need to build a strong foundation before beginning your thesis project, or you are ready to dive right into thesis production. Take the next step and apply today!
There are 3 distinct phases to the program to help students acquire the specialized skills and creative resources required for the collaborative nature of production work. Students in the Film and Media Art program study the history and critical theories that provide the foundation for their work, so as to understand the context of their creative output and to be able to evaluate its effectiveness.
Students will have the opportunity to apply for advanced standing during the admissions process. Advanced standing will allow a student to begin the program in either Phase II or Phase III.
Phase I – Foundational (6 semesters; 64 credits)
Most students will begin the program in this phase. It builds a solid foundation in the first semester in theory and history and an intensive introduction to writing and production skills in a variety of media platforms.
Phase II – Intermediate Practitioner (5 semesters; 52 credits)
After meeting with the Graduate Program Director, students will develop a customized plan of study that allows for artistic exploration while developing the technical proficiency to undertake their thesis project.
Students will begin to focus in one or more areas of media production, computer animation, documentary, experimental media, fiction narrative, installation, interactive art, and sound design or an individualized hybrid form.
For example, a student pursuing professional and artistic development as a documentary filmmaker could take the History of Documentary seminar and the Documentary Workshop and Advanced Documentary courses. Electives and directed study in advanced production (e.g. cinematography, producing, editing and interactive media) are also available, so the aspiring documentarian could also opt to take courses in interactive media and computer animation.
Phase III - Advanced practitioner (4 semesters; 40 credits)
Students in Phase III come ready to begin working on their thesis project. Students meet with their program advisor to select courses that support their thesis work as well as their specific learning needs. In addition, students concentrate on developing their artistic vision through the thesis proposal process while building new skills and learning advanced production techniques. The MFA Production Workshop is a key component to the program and provides students with support in producing an ongoing body of work within a collaborative, creative community. In the MFA Production Workshop, students present works-in-progress to their peers and faculty for critiques.
Once you have completed your thesis project, all students take part in a public screening of MFA works for the year. This is the last MFA requirement and a celebration of student achievements.
