Filmaking BA (Hons)

On this course you’ll explore the medium of film, developing your own filmmaking practice while acquiring skills for working professionally.

You will engage with innovative, ambitious ideas, developing successful films in groups and individually, and gain a practical knowledge of filmmaking production. Your learning will be supported by technical inductions, workshops with industry professionals, guest lectures and field trips.

You’ll produce films with high production value, through our moving image workshop and with specialist filming equipment. You will be able to experiment with digital and analogue formats, and shoot, process, telecine and edit on 8mm and 16mm gauges. You will also have access to our 3D workshops, photography darkrooms, printmaking and animation facilities.

You’ll be taught by academics who are active practitioners in the film industry, working as directors, artists, editors and producers; they offer access to unique work experience opportunities. For example, a number of our students have participated in placements at Institute of Contemporary Arts, Film & Video Umbrella and Fly Film.

From conception, ideas and creative strategies of engagement, through pre-production and planning, to the innovative resolution of bespoke film projects, this course provides you with an assured understanding of filmmaking and the roles of its key professionals.

From Director to Editor, Sound Recordist to Art Director, these specialisms are analysed throughout the course.

You’ll learn how to contextualise, engage in and critique the film industry through your own practice and projects, via taught modules and guest lectures. Upon graduation you’ll be well equipped to enter film production employment with confidence and in a variety of guises.

If preparing moving image work to bring to interview, we recommend a 3 minute edited clip of 1 – 3 films. Or bringing files of 3 films on a hard drive or uploaded onto youtube/vimeo (remember to bring the link). Please do not prepare a showreel of lots of clips with music over the top as we want to see the films with original sound.

If you have additional relevant materials such as story boards, scripts, pre-production work as digital files or paper documents please also bring these to interview.

If you have no filmmaking experience please bring other items such as sketchbooks, creative writing, research that represents your creative abilities or ideas for filmmaking, this could be work produced at school/college or that you have produced independently

You’ll be taught production and conceptual skills in an integrated manner, focusing progressively on aspects of the short film form: directing, editing, studio and location work, contextualisation and combining approaches to all of these.

You’ll also work in groups as production crews and be assigned roles, alongside developing your own individual practice, giving you the opportunity to investigate a variety of methods and their relevance to each creative role