This MA will consolidate your skills in narrative moving-image making to the level of Director of Photography. You will develop your visual storytelling ability during workshops and subsequent application in the context of live filmmaking projects.
This Masters, a pathway of the MA Filmmaking, is housed in a new purpose-built media facility equipped with state-of-the art teaching spaces including film and photography studios equipped with Arri lighting and Greenscreen, Avid Media Composer, Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Film Editing, Animation, Digital Special Effects, Pro Tools Audio Postproduction and Foley suites.
We work with a range of digital formats from high-end cinema cameras like the Red Epic to smaller, flexible units like the Black Magic. You will additionally benefit from the discipline of working on Super-16mm film.
You work on at least one film per term in your specialist role, culminating in a major production towards the end of the degree. In addition to your specialist area, you attend classes in related disciplines such as Film Directing and Editing and collaborate with students across specialisations on film projects. This framework is designed to stimulate collaborative practice by providing you with a breadth of filmmaking knowledge combined with a high level of expertise in your chosen filmmaking discipline.
Experienced tutors such as the highly-regarded Witold Stock (Close My Eyes, Murphy’s Law, Best) and industry guests provide expert guidance designed to enhance the flow of your individual research, experimentation and artistic achievement.
At the same time, you advance your collaborative skills by working in teams on a variety of scheduled films across the year. You leave the course with a diverse portfolio of moving-image work that spans fiction, and documentary as well as hybrid and experimental genres.
You will learn sophisticated lighting and gripping techniques, and you perform all camera department roles from Director of Photography to Camera Operator, Focus-puller, Gaffer, Camera Assistant, Spark and Grip.
For two terms you will spend a full day a week in specialised contact with your specific programme convenor, plus a further day in Screen Lab working with colleagues across the programme in a Talent Campus-style project-led learning structure with:
You will also have a variety of research projects to undertake, as well as other module options.
The third term will be taken up with your final substantive project, and in writing up a process paper on your work and research over the year.
Screen Lab
You will also advance your collaborative skills by working in teams with fiction and documentary producers and directors and sound and edit students, on a variety of projects and at least three scheduled films across the year.
You will leave the programme with a diverse portfolio of moving-image work that may span a variety of formats – music video, web series drama, documentary, campaign/commercial, experimental art pieces and feature-scale short fiction films.
Screen School options
As well as your Cinematography specialism, you will undertake three short courses to enhance your other skills and critical approaches.
If you are passionate about fashioning an exciting career for yourself as a cinematographer in an environment that promotes innovative filmmaking, this course is for you.
On completing the programme you will be equipped to enter the global job market, armed with an enhanced understanding of your practical, intellectual and creative capacities as a cinematographer.
Possibly the most important skill we furnish you with is the rigorous discipline of working collaboratively under pressure as part of a creative team on challenging projects.
In addition to your practical filmmaking skills, we enable you to develop a variety of transferable intellectual, organisational and communication skills to equip you for a broad range of employment opportunities across the arts and media landscape (film, television, online, the creative arts, advertising and related hybrid forms).
Our graduates
Recent alumni are active in the film, media and cultural industries around the world as:
Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths.
Cinematography is at the heart of film and television production, orchestrating camera, lens, light and motion to create the visual aesthetic of the film. This course provides high-level industry staff-expertise and image capture technologies, which will enable you to flourish in the continually evolving arena of imaging for film and television.
The course will help you develop key intellectual and practical skills that meet, or challenge and exceed, current industry practice and expectations. It seeks to develop in parallel; your artistic eye, your technical skills, your team-working skills as part of camera crews, and your collaborative skills working with directors.
The course is suited to those who have some previous experience in filmmaking or photography, have a good aesthetic sense and critical eye and wish to develop these further. We would also welcome those who come with professional experience and wish to further develop their creative skills and showreel, while undertaking an immersive learning experience in the theory and practice of cinematography.
You may have an undergraduate qualification in a related subject or may be able to show your suitability for this programme of study through associated work-experience or evidence of and outputs from other related activities.
The specialist production units provide an environment in which to develop creative skills, technical proficiency in digital camera and lighting, narrative storytelling and collaborative working. The crossframework units develop critical analysis, research methods and perspectives on the changing media industry and your role within it.
This course is accredited by the International Moving Image Society (IMIS). You will use industry-standard technology, and learn from academic experts whose research and industry expertise will equip you to make the most of the evolving digital marketplace.
Realise your ambitions and take the lead in the creation and development of a film project that will showcase your individuality and talent.
The first three semesters will follow the MA Filmmaking course to give you a thorough grounding in collaborative filmmaking. Mentored over the following two semesters, you will make an extended piece that will develop your own style as you become a confident and experienced filmmaker.
Working on your own project or taking a head of department role alongside a fellow MFA student, your expertise will be tested in a dedicated specialism such as directing, producing, cinematography, animation or editing.
Whether your ambitions lie in fiction, documentary, animation or experimental films, this course will allow you to develop your idea into a professional piece of work. We will give you the independence and freedom to realise your project, complemented by the support of our expert tutors.
We will give you the independence to make the film you want to make. Our expert team will provide tutorial encouragement, supervision and advice, and you will have access to industry-standard equipment and resources at our Northern Film School.
From cinematographers to producers and editors to animators, our teaching team is made up of highly respected film and television professionals, many of whom are still active in their fields. We will aim to match you with a tutor who specialises in your area of interest so that we can provide you with bespoke advice and guidance.
As the first film school in the UK to receive JAMES accreditation in recognition of the expertise of our staff, the professional level of our facilities and the opportunities we provide for our students, the Northern Film School is one of the best schools in the UK to explore and develop your ideas as a filmmaker.
The MFA (Master of Fine Arts) is a highly respected qualification in the US and is growing in significance in the UK. More importantly, you will graduate with a fully realised film project that will extend your portfolio and demonstrate who you are as a filmmaker. Your experiences on the course will prepare you for the collaborative nature of the filmmaking industry.
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.
Visit our website for more information on fees, scholarships, postgraduate loans and other funding options to study Screening / Staging Europe at Swansea University - 'Welsh University of the Year 2017' (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017).
If you have an interest or wish to develop expertise in drama and /or cinema with a European focus, the Screening / Staging Europe programme could be the degree for you. We have expertise in Bertolt Brecht’s Epic Theatre, German Expressionism and French Surrealism, as well as the key auteurs of European cinema. We offer joint supervision with American Studies, Creative Writing, English Literature or Welsh as appropriate and are particularly interested in projects which explore cultural transfer from the European Continent to Wales in particular and the British Isles more broadly. Your project in Screening / Staging Europe may focus on drama or cinema or a combination of the two.
An MA by Research in Screening / Staging Europe gives you the chance to pursue a project based around your own passions and interests, leading to a qualification which can open the door to an academic career or boost employment prospects outside academia (typically in the private sector, the Civil Service, or education).
Features are:
- Dual supervision by experts with matching specialist knowledge of two distinct areas.
- Opportunity to acquire and apply language skills.
- Projects with a focus in the Romance languages (French, Italian, Spanish) and drama / cinema associated with them may qualify for a full-fee Maney Bursary.
All research students in Screening / Staging Europe are required to attend skills and training courses at College and Institutional level. They give presentations to other research students and staff at departmental seminars and the annual departmental postgraduate symposium in June and the College of Arts and Humanities conference in October. Advanced research students may have opportunities to teach undergraduate tutorials and seminars. You have a budget (currently £200 per year) to attend conferences outside Swansea.
MA by Research in Screening / Staging degree typically lasts from one year (full-time study) to two years (part-time study).
The MA by Research in Staging / Screening Europe is ideal for those who want:
- an MA qualification in niche areas where taught programmes are not offered;
- the experience of a research degree without committing to a PhD, while retaining the option to upgrade to MPhil or PhD.
As a student of the Screening / Staging research programme you attend a series of training courses and have regular supervisions while you are reading around your topic and / or collecting your data and materials. You will write a 5000-word introductory essay in the first term and have designed an outline and sketched a synopsis by this stage. You will agree a series of milestones and deadlines with your experienced supervisory team who will accompany you each step of the way on your research journey.
Research proposals are invited on any topic in Screening / Staging for which staff can provide supervision. It is advisable to email a member of academic staff in the appropriate area before applying.
For informal enquiries regarding the Screening / Staging programme please contact Professor Julian Preece ([email protected]).
Are you passionate about films and all things visual or on screen? Do you want to work in the arts or do you want to find a way to do this? This programme gives you cultural contexts across a range of different genres and history of film to understand why films depicted what they did and how this contributed to the world around us and the way we live. It is well known that film has shaped other disciplines like fashion, the way we think, cultural identity, how we are able to express ourselves or understand something better we previously didn't know about. It is an opportunity to put the record straight on history and get to the root cause and effect of different periods in history through characters. Film is also about getting to the truth in documentary films. Film also follows many other arts disciplines in interpreting them and bringing them to our attention in a way that theatre and performance cannot in terms of scale and reality. Much of what has been successful on the West End Stage, Opera, ballet, the life of a famous painter or other creative is often successfully depicted in film due to its ability to portray several art forms together successfully.
Film isn't the only art form to transform our lives but it probably reaches more people than any other art form around the world. It probably has more of a profound influence in people's lives around the world to change the course of their life in work, interests, style, imitation and more. Different ages of photography have been monumental in transforming our perceptions and getting us closer to reality such as old film and photography of the 19th century, war in the world and celebrities being the first fashion icons of the 50s, without the need for script.
You study and analyse film across the recent past and you look at animation and digital from the days of the Walt Disney team making up each frame to its evolution into digital animation and speed production. You also look at how changing tastes and cultural styles have changed the way in which we view film and by what method, plus you look at living overseas in the context of your own cultural identity. From this you gain useful skills and knowledge to critique contemporary film, curate exhibitions work in museums, become and expert in a specific theme or age of film.
Semester 1
Semester 2
Semester 3
Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/degree-programmes/332/film-and-visual-culture/
Find out about fees
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/international/tuition-fees-and-living-costs-287.php
*Please be advised that some programmes have different tuition fees from those listed above and that some programmes also have additional costs.
View all funding options on our funding database via the programme page
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/funding/
Find out more about:
Find out more about living in Aberdeen and living costs
If you enjoy creating sound and experiment with the type of sounds you can make within a musical framework Sonic Arts provides a discipline in which you can explore and develop your knowledge of sonic arts and sound technology. Digital music started to make an impression on society in the pop world but it is now increasingly used across all genres of music to augment the experience for audiences worldwide. Creative practitioners can find niche areas of work which they become known for producing or they can work across the genres and become known for their creative ability in producing recordings, re-recording music, finding a novel creative sound and so on.
You can progress your musical knowledge and range directly from studying at undergraduate level or you may have a combination of training and a portfolio of work which you can continue to progress. You get a wide range of opportunities to advance your skills, experimentation and musicology at Aberdeen to then present a wide ranging portfolio of sonic arts creativity. This area of music is a growth area of the industry due to the wide ranging effects which can enhance any type of musical performance across the recording and performance industry, into theatre, outdoor events, and more. Aberdeen provides the type of environment where you can build your portfolio of work and progress your skills whilst refining your creativity.
The programme prepares you for a career in creative industries in artistic, commercial and academic areas where creative approaches to sound are in demand, offering you a comprehensive overview of sonic arts.
Semester 1
Optional
Semester 2
Optional
Semester 3
Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page
Find out about fees
*Please be advised that some programmes have different tuition fees from those listed above and that some programmes also have additional costs.
View all funding options on our funding database via the programme page
Find out more about:
Find out more about living in Aberdeen and living costs
