Film BA Honours

This module provides induction and understanding of creative research practice, assessment processes and group working required for creative practice subjects. You'll be challenged to experiment individually, undertaking contextual and practical research, which will contribute to a significant group project where you'll be allocated creative roles in groups working collaboratively. This will introduce you to the peer assessment framework required for future collaborative projects.

This module provides an introduction to documentary in which you will develop a range of skills required to make, contextualise and evaluate documentary films. Key movements, theories, styles and approaches to storytelling in documentary filmmaking are introduced along with the ethical implications of the form. Throughout the module, your creative, practical and technical work is in dialogue with your developing knowledge of documentary filmmaking more broadly. This culminates in the collaborative production of a documentary film.

This module offers an introduction to film and television practices and theoretical study in which you undertake a range of practical projects, supported by lectures and seminars, encouraging you to consider how ideas can be communicated through these media. Focus will be placed on collaborative group work and developing a critically reflective approach to practical filmmaking.

This module introduces students to screen criticism across film, television, and digital media. It explores how screen content is analysed, evaluated, and discussed in different contexts and for different audiences – from written reviews, critiques and recaps to podcasts, YouTube video essays, and TikTok takes. It considers the centrality of screen criticism to screen industries and cultures, from journalistic reviews to fan critiques to affiliated media (such as official TV series podcasts).  

Through case studies, conceptual prompts and creative and reflective exercises, students will develop an independent critical voice. Students will explore styles and conventions of screen criticism across a range of platforms and develop understandings of how to engage and persuade readers and audiences – learning to express ideas and opinions in informed and engaging ways. The module will encompass a range of critical perspectives and debates informing screen criticism, reflecting contemporary transmedia and transnational screen cultures and spanning themes such as: television and film aesthetics and style; trends; innovations; production contexts; celebrity and performance; representation and storytelling; and ethics. The module will thus also deepen students' understandings of film and television contexts and debates. 

This is a practical module that develops knowledge of production design techniques in terms of practice and concept. The completion of a design handbook will enable a variety of skills from script breakdown to pre-visualisation. There is an emphasis on critical analysis of both your own work and that of professional designers.

This module is designed to meet the growing demand for producing content for moving image in related creative industries. The module focuses on practices, techniques and technologies relating to the areas of moving image, animation and compositing. At the same time, this module looks at the role of visual artists, focusing on developing their understanding and knowledge of the key concepts, principles and tools that promote clear communication of ideas for producing moving image content for digital distribution. Working in small teams or individually, you'll develop single or multiple projects lasting no longer than 3 minutes in total. Projects are then presented for assessment in live presentations.

This module recognises that, from the very opening frames of any screen drama, audience engagement depends on believable performances from actors. Because simply knowing what is wanted from actors on screen does not equip directors to achieve the desired results, students are introduced to the craft of acting along with a range of techniques for effectively working with actors and non-actors in developing characters and scenarios, casting, rehearsals, and directing actors on set.

This module develops skills specific to drama production in a single-camera, studio-basedenvironment. While the module works towards a collaborative, studio-based short film, it also examines the structureof story through a critical and theoretical context. This theoretical component requires you tofocuson formalist filmelements (eg camera, lighting, sound, set design, edit) which contribute to genre conventions and styles.

This module develops skills in film production specific to two parameters: drama (fictional) and location shoot (not in studio). The skills required for this module are practical and creative, with the semester culminating in a collaborative short-film production shot on location.

This module is designed to prepare you for life after graduation and for working and building sustainable careers in the television industry. It helps you develop career skills such as effective self-presentation, and interview techniques, with a view to helping you apply for a work placement. As part of the module you'll source, secure and complete one (or more, depending on the length) work placements in a media production environment and compile a report to reflect on your experience. A supporting suite of promotional materials will include a website and CV presenting your personal and practical skills. You'll also learn how to identify potential employers and the optimum way to promote yourself. 

This is a practical module in which you'll immerse yourself in the art and craft of Cinematography. Week by week you'll look at camera and lighting skills, combining creative expression with technical expertise. You'll work collaboratively to shoot exercises and investigate a range of industry-standard equipment and techniques. The completion of a ‘camera and lighting scrapbook’ will enable a variety of skills and will allow you to research specific areas of interest within lighting and camera departments – shaping their own visual narrative.

This module will focus on specific traditions, geographies and filmmakers and will investigate the shifting theoretical and pragmatic notions that lie behind the concepts of transnational, world, global, art and independent cinema. The module will explore traditions and aesthetic innovations that situate contemporary world cinemas. It seeks to move away from a national cinema framework as well as limited notions of world cinema that take the West as the centre. Adopting a transnational framework, the module will focus on specific geographies and/or countries with the aim of discussing films from a transnational perspective. You will look at political, aesthetic and social contexts of selected films and filmmakers as well as examining industrial contexts such as film festivals and censorship practices. You'll also explore various approaches to film that offer alternative perspectives such as slow cinema and intercultural cinema.

This module takes an intersectional approach to race, ethnicity, gender and class in film and TV. The module will pay attention to the interconnected nature of these identities. You'll look at how you shape lived experiences of people and how moving images participate in this process. You'll explore how film reproduces or subverts existing norms and privileges, and discuss topics such as gender, sexuality, diversity, agency, tokenism, LGBTQI representation, critical race theory and whiteness. These terms will be discussed in relation to each other rather than mutually exclusive debates. You'll also think about the film form during our classes. Examples you'll be looking at will include a variety of approaches to the question of identities but also different genres, including discussion on essay film. Discussions on essay film help you formulate your responses in a video essay format. Our emphasis will be on close textual analysis of films in relation to theoretical debates while paying close attention to social and historical contexts where relevant.

This module offers an in-depth exploration of the intersection between psychology and the moving image. Tracing key ideas from Freud and Lacan, to contemporary thinkers Metz, Mulvey, Kristeva and Caruth, this module investigates how psychoanalytic concepts such as the unconscious, human developmental phases, language, trauma, affect and memory inform our understanding of screen-based narratives.

Students will critically examine the ways psychoanalysis can inform the interpretation of film and television material, as well as how screen narratives reflect and challenge contemporary cultural conditions in which discussion about well-being and mental health are at the forefront of popular discourse. Emphasis is placed on applying psychoanalytic models to close readings of key films and television texts, inviting students to develop advanced interpretive skills relevant to arts and humanities critical theory, while learning how to decode screen-specific storytelling techniques such as mise-en-scene, editing, sound design and moving image.

Screen 2: Short Form Film and Video is designed to meet the substantial demand for short form media content which is consumed across multiple personal devices (including desk-top computers, laptops, tablets and smart phones) and distributed across multiple platforms (including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok). The module seeks to arm you with the skillset and confidence to work as an ‘all-rounder creative’ - an individual who generates shortform content without the multi-person crew and high-end equipment used on other BA Film production modules. The ability to work as an independent producer of short form media content increases your employability upon graduation by enabling you to individually create professional-level content using emerging technologies and mainstream equipment.

Through a combination of academic study and creative experimentation, this module examines screen performance in its many forms. It considers the ways in which screen performance can be defined, interpreted and critiqued. More practically, it develops student skills in understanding the work of screen performers of various kinds, and getting the best from them across a range of screen genres and production contexts.

The module explores such areas as: the actor’s craft and the performer’s process, the particular demands of different screen performance contexts, the role of the casting director, creating a casting brief, audition techniques, the ethics of casting (and connected concerns of equality, diversity and inclusion), rehearsal methods, and working with non-actors.

This module is of particular value to those students wishing to direct screen performers, to write for screen performance, to cast performers for the screen, or to produce reviews of screen performances.

Documentaries are non-fiction films which seek to communicate some aspect of reality for a variety of reasons – education, information, social action, entertainment and preservation to name a few. What singles individual documentaries out is the passion and singularity of vision that comes from the filmmaker. Documentaries are often made by passionate people about real-world stories, people and ideas that they feel strongly about. This module provides the opportunity for you to develop meaningful projects working in small groups, harnessing your skills as  a storyteller and documentary filmmaker.

Using the technical, creative and theoretical skills learned at Level 4, you will further develop skills to create a short documentary style film. You will perform as ‘self-shooters’, working in small groups to take responsibility to deliver a project from concept through to final production. Initial research will lead to programme proposal and pitch which can then be taken into production.

You will be encouraged to consider a diverse range of topics, documentary forms and creative approaches. 

Working together collaboratively in groups, you'll select and perform specific craft roles. During semester 1 you'll produce a microform production or equivalent and in Semester 2 a drama or documentary film. Workshops and Practical Classes in creative and craft areas supplement production teaching. The taught sessions offer you the opportunity to expand your knowledge and challenge you to justify your plans and choices, helping them to fulfil their potential.

This module requires you to carry out a substantial piece of self-directed research, informed by a critical understanding of current theories and debates in the field. Through self-initiated research, you'll identify an appropriate topic relating to film or television, and embark on a process of supervised but independent inquiry.

This module is designed to provide you with an understanding of the wider context of the Film and Television industry as a creative market. You'll explore the film and television industry as a business, developing an understanding of how it operates and how the dynamic juxtaposition between creativity and commerce exists. Film-making as a business involves understanding of the dictates which shape content creation: strategy, financial, legal, marketing and sales and distribution. Through exploration of different business models for feature films, television and short film production (Hollywood, Independent, Public Service Broadcasting, new forms of financing and distribution etc), examining a productions' journey from idea through to exhibition and identifying the different factors that lead to success when working in content production. This module is also intended to ensure you have a strong understanding of the industry and enables you to fomulate creative and entrepreneurial proposals, as well as encouraging a critical view of the industry, fostering self-confidence and helping them make a valuable contribution to the future of the film and television world.

In this module, you'll take part in seminar discussions and practical writing exercises focused on narrative structure, adaptation, character development, and opening scenes. You'll develop material collaboratively in pairs, analyse existing scripts, and deliver presentations on your creative and analytical work.

You'll write a 10–15 minute screenplay, supported by in-depth analysis of plot, structure, form, character, and motivation. Through multiple drafts, reflection, and self-assessment, you'll refine your screenplay and develop your critical and creative screenwriting skills.

In this module, you'll explore documentary technique and form, while taking part in filming exercises, screenings and discussions. This culminates in a short Documentary Film production. You'll develop specialised practical skills in documentary research, story development, sound, camera and editing as well as Producing and Directing. Working in groups, you'll experience the practical and ethical challenges of filming real people and actual events as you develop their ability to tell engaging stories drawn from the real world.