This module introduces you to creative digital filmmaking practice, narrative structure, screenplay conventions, and film analysis.

The module is designed to encourage a flexible, informed, imaginative and reflective approach to practical work. Above all, this module (in conjunction with Foundations of Film: Development, Screenwriting, Representation and Production module) aims to introduce you to basic camera, sound, and post-production, so that good working practices are established to aid you progression over the three-year course. Your practical work will be informed by the theoretical study of mise-en-scene, cinematography, sound, editing, narrative structure and other key dramaturgical concepts. This study will primarily take the form of close analysis of selected screenplays, films and film clips.

This module builds on the creative digital filmmaking practice and the study of narrative structure, screenplay conventions, and film analysis in the Foundations of Film: Story Structure, Analysis and Production module. You will develop visually creative thinking practices and technical competencies in the ‘craft skills’ of filmmaking through engagement with exercises and tasks set to clearly specified briefs. In particular, formative and summative short film assignments will enable you to develop foundational knowledge and practical skills in camera operation, cinematography, and editing using film industry-standard software such as Avid Media Composer.

The film industry development process for fiction will be introduced, and throughout the module, you will build a portfolio of industry-standard development documents such as synopses, outlines, treatments, beat sheets, step outlines, premises, and pitches. You will develop your critical and analytical skills through further engagement with film studies as an academic discipline, focusing primarily on issues of representation. Links between criticism, theory, practice and creative work will be stressed throughout, with the overall aim of developing your critical abilities in the close analysis of texts within appropriate historical, cultural and other contexts.

This module reinforces and develops key filmmaking skills learnt in Foundations of Film: Development, Screenwriting, Representation and Production, familiarises you with the fundamentals of recording and editing sound for picture as well as the role of the sound mixer in film production, and introduces Film History as an academic discipline.

By shooting your own short film (a short 2- to 4-min drama), you will learn how to shoot double-system footage and how to log, synchronise and edit that footage. In the process, you will apply what they have learnt in class regarding microphone selection and placement, acoustics, digital recording and on-set practice. The production sound sessions also aim to support your other practical work by calling on you to engage fully in the preproduction, shooting and editing of your own work. Similarly, you are encouraged to develop your skills in the areas of directing, storytelling, blocking, composition, lighting, editing and preproduction as a complement to your ongoing film production studies.

In the audio segment, you will explore the role of the sound recordist in documentary film. By shooting your own short documentary, you will deepen your understanding of acoustics and recording techniques, paying particular attention to the deployment of boom and lavalier when shooting on the fly. An introduction to interview techniques and the shooting of observational or ‘B-roll’ footage will provide a solid underpinning for later modules that include or centre around documentary and corporate film production. Additional training is given in post-production management, notably the creation of subclips and ordering of interview and other footage to create a structured narrative. Building on the pre-production and initial production work undertaken in the Foundations of Film: Production, Sound and History module, you will produce a five- to six-minute short (fiction) film, further developing your production and post-production skills while working in a slightly longer form.

You will be introduced to the Sound Studio, where you will learn how to run and record foley sessions using Pro Tools and an AVID S1 audio interface. By the end of the module, you will have a clear idea of how to work with sound-for-picture using industry-standard software for editing, mixing, and recording. You will also have a clearer understanding of the methodologies and strategies behind sound design, signal processing, and stereo mixing, preparing them for the Filmmaking Theory and Practice: Audio-Post, Documentary and the Short Screenplay module.

Your knowledge and understanding of documentary will also be deepened through practical engagement with the many different forms of documentary storytelling. Analysis of contrasting examples from practice across several continents, combined with short exercises, will culminate in the completion of the pre-production and initial production stages of a documentary short film, to be completed in small groups in the Filmmaking Theory and Practice: Audio-Post, Documentary and the Short Screenplay module.

Concurrently, a diverse range of short films will be screened and studied to ensure you have a sound grasp of the short fiction film form, its possibilities, and its limitations. You will engage in a critical analysis of the structure and narrative beats of short films, character development, theme, genre, style, and dialogue to inform the development of your own short film outlines and beat sheets. This development work will form the basis of the ten-minute short scripts you will write in the Filmmaking Theory and Practice: Audio-Post, Documentary and the Short Screenplay module

The module will provide you with the opportunity to develop more advanced skills in fiction filmmaking by producing a short film based on work undertaken in the previous two Level Five modules. You will develop your understanding and knowledge of narrative-based drama and the possibilities and limitations of the short film form. You will be encouraged to be innovative in your use of the form and produce both conceptually and visually creative content. Combining thinking, making and reflecting directly, it is hoped that the module will be open-ended, playful and experimental, stimulating your imagination and creativity and suggesting possible ideas for Level 6 digital film projects.

You will write, shoot and edit a short, ‘sound-driven’ film; synchronise direct sound recordings from the shoot; export from Avid Media Composer to Pro Tools in order to clean up, sweeten and augment your recordings; and finally mix down to stereo before re-exporting the soundtrack back into Avid. You will also learn how to run an ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement) session and are encouraged to strengthen your command of the Sound Studio as a tool for recording and mixing sound to picture. Upon completing the audio post-production assignment, you will have a clear understanding of the processes involved in putting a film through post-production and will be suitably equipped to record, edit, and engineer soundtracks for your own and each other’s films during the remainder of your studies and beyond.

This module is designed to develop your knowledge and understanding of theoretical and critical approaches to the study of film texts, including exploring alternatives to mainstream cinema that have attracted the labels avant-garde, experimental, underground, or alternative, and to consolidate and build upon your fiction filmmaking skills. The module prepares you for more rigorous independent research for your level-six dissertation and for developing experimental and ten-minute fiction film ideas for your final projects.

Focusing on a range of film theories, approaches and methods that have been influential in the development of Film as an academic field, this module will enable you to examine various ideas, assumptions and procedures and try them out on a diverse range of films. Links between criticism, theory, practice, and creative work will be stressed throughout, with the overall aim of developing your critical abilities through close analysis of texts, drawing on appropriate theoretical and critical perspectives. Examining and trying out different approaches will further develop your capacities as independent learners and prepare them to make your own critical approach explicit when formulating your research proposal for the Level 6 Dissertation.

Undertaking a Film dissertation will initially work as a group with the Module Leader to formulate preliminary research proposals, consider the feasibility of the chosen research area, and propose an appropriate methodological approach. As well as meeting as a group to consider common research issues, you will then work independently, guided by specialist subject supervisors who will be assigned once proposals have been formulated. You will be encouraged to keep a reflective journal of your research activities, viewing and thought processes during the year, in order to discuss them within group and individual tutorials.

This module prepares you for the level six block three and four Final Project and Professional Practice module. You will be provided with the knowledge and skills to undertake a professional practice project or live brief for a client. The module will support you in transitioning from higher education into the screen and creative industries and will also provide an opportunity for you to evaluate the transferable skills you have acquired across the degree course and how these can be applied across a variety of roles, sectors and industries.

You will have the choice to develop ideas for a short drama, documentary or experimental film. Intensive weekly workshops and feedback sessions will then be provided, during which you will produce, submit, and critique development documents for your own and your peers’ film projects. Depending on the genre of your film, you will produce some or all of the following industry-standard documents: premises, outlines, proposals, treatments, step-outlines, screenplays, synopses, artist statements, and mood- and storyboards.

For the last third of the module, you will continue to assess and fine-tune your primary development documents, i.e., screenplays, treatments, and proposals, but will move on to the pre-production stage, during which you will plan your final-year film projects, creating breakdowns, schedules, call sheets, shot lists, and budgets. 

This module also provides an opportunity for you to undertake a work placement and develop the knowledge and skills that underpin your own creative, professional and personal self-development. Building on previous production modules and the level six Professional Practice Skills module, this module prepares you for professional life after graduation and establishes the skills and resources needed to develop a sustainable practice and work in either a self-employed or employed capacity. The module will support you in transitioning from higher education into the screen and creative industries, and will also provide an opportunity for you to evaluate the transferable skills you have acquired across the degree course and how these can be applied across a variety of roles, sectors and industries. Across this module, you will be expected to stretch your creative boundaries to produce conceptually and visually compelling content and prepare yourselves for professional life after graduation.

This module introduces you to creative digital filmmaking practice, narrative structure, screenplay conventions, and film analysis.

The module is designed to encourage a flexible, informed, imaginative and reflective approach to practical work. Above all, this module (in conjunction with Foundations of Film: Development, Screenwriting, Representation and Production module) aims to introduce you to basic camera, sound, and post-production, so that good working practices are established to aid you progression over the three-year course. Your practical work will be informed by the theoretical study of mise-en-scene, cinematography, sound, editing, narrative structure and other key dramaturgical concepts. This study will primarily take the form of close analysis of selected screenplays, films and film clips.

This module builds on the creative digital filmmaking practice and the study of narrative structure, screenplay conventions, and film analysis in the Foundations of Film: Story Structure, Analysis and Production module. You will develop visually creative thinking practices and technical competencies in the ‘craft skills’ of filmmaking through engagement with exercises and tasks set to clearly specified briefs. In particular, formative and summative short film assignments will enable you to develop foundational knowledge and practical skills in camera operation, cinematography, and editing using film industry-standard software such as Avid Media Composer.

The film industry development process for fiction will be introduced, and throughout the module, you will build a portfolio of industry-standard development documents such as synopses, outlines, treatments, beat sheets, step outlines, premises, and pitches. You will develop your critical and analytical skills through further engagement with film studies as an academic discipline, focusing primarily on issues of representation. Links between criticism, theory, practice and creative work will be stressed throughout, with the overall aim of developing your critical abilities in the close analysis of texts within appropriate historical, cultural and other contexts.

This module reinforces and develops key filmmaking skills learnt in Foundations of Film: Development, Screenwriting, Representation and Production, familiarises you with the fundamentals of recording and editing sound for picture as well as the role of the sound mixer in film production, and introduces Film History as an academic discipline.

By shooting your own short film (a short 2- to 4-min drama), you will learn how to shoot double-system footage and how to log, synchronise and edit that footage. In the process, you will apply what they have learnt in class regarding microphone selection and placement, acoustics, digital recording and on-set practice. The production sound sessions also aim to support your other practical work by calling on you to engage fully in the preproduction, shooting and editing of your own work. Similarly, you are encouraged to develop your skills in the areas of directing, storytelling, blocking, composition, lighting, editing and preproduction as a complement to your ongoing film production studies.

In the audio segment, you will explore the role of the sound recordist in documentary film. By shooting your own short documentary, you will deepen your understanding of acoustics and recording techniques, paying particular attention to the deployment of boom and lavalier when shooting on the fly. An introduction to interview techniques and the shooting of observational or ‘B-roll’ footage will provide a solid underpinning for later modules that include or centre around documentary and corporate film production. Additional training is given in post-production management, notably the creation of subclips and ordering of interview and other footage to create a structured narrative. Building on the pre-production and initial production work undertaken in the Foundations of Film: Production, Sound and History module, you will produce a five- to six-minute short (fiction) film, further developing your production and post-production skills while working in a slightly longer form.

You will be introduced to the Sound Studio, where you will learn how to run and record foley sessions using Pro Tools and an AVID S1 audio interface. By the end of the module, you will have a clear idea of how to work with sound-for-picture using industry-standard software for editing, mixing, and recording. You will also have a clearer understanding of the methodologies and strategies behind sound design, signal processing, and stereo mixing, preparing them for the Filmmaking Theory and Practice: Audio-Post, Documentary and the Short Screenplay module.

Your knowledge and understanding of documentary will also be deepened through practical engagement with the many different forms of documentary storytelling. Analysis of contrasting examples from practice across several continents, combined with short exercises, will culminate in the completion of the pre-production and initial production stages of a documentary short film, to be completed in small groups in the Filmmaking Theory and Practice: Audio-Post, Documentary and the Short Screenplay module.

Concurrently, a diverse range of short films will be screened and studied to ensure you have a sound grasp of the short fiction film form, its possibilities, and its limitations. You will engage in a critical analysis of the structure and narrative beats of short films, character development, theme, genre, style, and dialogue to inform the development of your own short film outlines and beat sheets. This development work will form the basis of the ten-minute short scripts you will write in the Filmmaking Theory and Practice: Audio-Post, Documentary and the Short Screenplay module

The module will provide you with the opportunity to develop more advanced skills in fiction filmmaking by producing a short film based on work undertaken in the previous two Level Five modules. You will develop your understanding and knowledge of narrative-based drama and the possibilities and limitations of the short film form. You will be encouraged to be innovative in your use of the form and produce both conceptually and visually creative content. Combining thinking, making and reflecting directly, it is hoped that the module will be open-ended, playful and experimental, stimulating your imagination and creativity and suggesting possible ideas for Level 6 digital film projects.

You will write, shoot and edit a short, ‘sound-driven’ film; synchronise direct sound recordings from the shoot; export from Avid Media Composer to Pro Tools in order to clean up, sweeten and augment your recordings; and finally mix down to stereo before re-exporting the soundtrack back into Avid. You will also learn how to run an ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement) session and are encouraged to strengthen your command of the Sound Studio as a tool for recording and mixing sound to picture. Upon completing the audio post-production assignment, you will have a clear understanding of the processes involved in putting a film through post-production and will be suitably equipped to record, edit, and engineer soundtracks for your own and each other’s films during the remainder of your studies and beyond.

This module is designed to develop your knowledge and understanding of theoretical and critical approaches to the study of film texts, including exploring alternatives to mainstream cinema that have attracted the labels avant-garde, experimental, underground, or alternative, and to consolidate and build upon your fiction filmmaking skills. The module prepares you for more rigorous independent research for your level-six dissertation and for developing experimental and ten-minute fiction film ideas for your final projects.

Focusing on a range of film theories, approaches and methods that have been influential in the development of Film as an academic field, this module will enable you to examine various ideas, assumptions and procedures and try them out on a diverse range of films. Links between criticism, theory, practice, and creative work will be stressed throughout, with the overall aim of developing your critical abilities through close analysis of texts, drawing on appropriate theoretical and critical perspectives. Examining and trying out different approaches will further develop your capacities as independent learners and prepare them to make your own critical approach explicit when formulating your research proposal for the Level 6 Dissertation.

Undertaking a Film dissertation will initially work as a group with the Module Leader to formulate preliminary research proposals, consider the feasibility of the chosen research area, and propose an appropriate methodological approach. As well as meeting as a group to consider common research issues, you will then work independently, guided by specialist subject supervisors who will be assigned once proposals have been formulated. You will be encouraged to keep a reflective journal of your research activities, viewing and thought processes during the year, in order to discuss them within group and individual tutorials.

This module prepares you for the level six block three and four Final Project and Professional Practice module. You will be provided with the knowledge and skills to undertake a professional practice project or live brief for a client. The module will support you in transitioning from higher education into the screen and creative industries and will also provide an opportunity for you to evaluate the transferable skills you have acquired across the degree course and how these can be applied across a variety of roles, sectors and industries.

You will have the choice to develop ideas for a short drama, documentary or experimental film. Intensive weekly workshops and feedback sessions will then be provided, during which you will produce, submit, and critique development documents for your own and your peers’ film projects. Depending on the genre of your film, you will produce some or all of the following industry-standard documents: premises, outlines, proposals, treatments, step-outlines, screenplays, synopses, artist statements, and mood- and storyboards.

For the last third of the module, you will continue to assess and fine-tune your primary development documents, i.e., screenplays, treatments, and proposals, but will move on to the pre-production stage, during which you will plan your final-year film projects, creating breakdowns, schedules, call sheets, shot lists, and budgets. 

This module also provides an opportunity for you to undertake a work placement and develop the knowledge and skills that underpin your own creative, professional and personal self-development. Building on previous production modules and the level six Professional Practice Skills module, this module prepares you for professional life after graduation and establishes the skills and resources needed to develop a sustainable practice and work in either a self-employed or employed capacity. The module will support you in transitioning from higher education into the screen and creative industries, and will also provide an opportunity for you to evaluate the transferable skills you have acquired across the degree course and how these can be applied across a variety of roles, sectors and industries. Across this module, you will be expected to stretch your creative boundaries to produce conceptually and visually compelling content and prepare yourselves for professional life after graduation.