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LOCATION
Docklands Campus
Location Fees and Funding
Here's the fees and funding information for each year of this course
Overview
Our innovative and strikingly diverse course will equip you to integrate the theory and practice of film, video and new screen media at an advanced level.
Learning about documentary, fiction, artists' film and multi-channel installation alongside students from all around the world, you will explore the many ways in which moving images can be authored.
Our students traditionally produce outstanding films on a course that has proved ideal for graduates of film studies, cultural and media studies, humanities and social sciences, as well as art and design.
You will learn in a creative, collaborative environment which draws upon the research of leading film practitioners, theorists and historians and takes advantage of our great links to the film industry and art world.
What makes this course different
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
A major strength of this course is its diversity. Unlike other MA film courses, this course enables you to look at the different ways of making film and learn a mix of crafts.
Our course encourages you to experiment with how ideas are formed, how concepts are developed and how images are created. You will also interrogate how meanings are constructed in film.
You will complete five or more projects, gain skills in project management, learn to self-author and distribute and, as the culmination of your studies, produce a substantial thesis film.
The Narrative Cinema module gives you a grounding in scripting, crew dynamics, production planning and practical filmmaking skills in the production of a short fiction film.
The Moving Image module looks at a wide range of experimental approaches to moving image work and explores a range of film technologies, including 16mm film, green-screen and multiscreen installation.
Documentary Cinema looks at both historical and contemporary approaches to documentary film practice and prepares you with the practical skills required in producing a documentary.
The Audio Vision module seeks to develop a wide understanding of the role of sound in moving image work and to develop your skills in sound design.
Documentary Cinema looks at both historical and contemporary approaches to documentary film practice and prepares you with the practical skills required in producing a documentary.
Your thesis project will be your chance to realise an ambitious, high production value, festival-ready film.
DOWNLOAD COURSE SPECIFICATIONS
COURSE SPECIFICATION - MA Filmmaking
Click to download the course specification for the MA Filmmaking course.
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MODULES
- Core Modules
Narrative Cinema CloseNarrative Cinema
- To explore a variety of approaches to narrative filmmaking in different historical moments and cultural contexts.
- To develop knowledge and skills to producing scripts for narrative film production.
- To develop production skills relevant to developing and producing short narrative films.
- To develop directorial skills in working with actors in the production of narrative films.
- To interrogate theories of the production of meanings in moving image, and establish a working knowledge of dominant discourses.
- To establish a working knowledge of the main genres, tendencies, and conventions of narrative cinema, and to develop a critical understanding of the role of independent filmmakers.
- To develop film & video production skills in HD camera, lighting, sound, production management, crew dynamics and post-production software.
The Moving Image CloseThe Moving Image
This module aims to provides you with a range of research methods and skills necessary for undertaking media production-based work as part of your MA degree and be able to function in the media industries environment of the 21st century, with transferable skills and adaptability.
The module aims to assist and encourage conceptual and technical experimentation and research work which maps the subject matter and the formal strategies to be employed, in the production of innovative source materials.
The central concept of this module is the relationship between realistic limitations and imaginative innovation: limitation is seen not negatively, but as the dynamic contour of the release of creative energy, enabling artistic and aesthetic invention.
Documentary Cinema CloseDocumentary Cinema
- To provide students at postgraduate level with the opportunity to creatively, innovatively and critically research, devise and complete a documentary project.
- To explore and extend practical skills in the area of documentary production.
- To consolidate the central role of theory/practice through the development of research and materials displaying an evolving and coherent theoretical link between documentary practice and academic enquiry.
- To reflect in a critical and informed way upon the work of documentary practitioners and theorists and to locate their individual practice within prevailing theoretical debates.
Audiovision CloseAudiovision
- To engage with a range of critical approaches to the analysis of sound in relation to moving image forms and technologies.
- To investigate the specific problematics in the practice of sound design for moving image.
- To examine emergent theoretical perspectives in the philosophy of audio-vision and the perception of sound.
- To develop practical skills and techniques of sound design practice, including notation, planning, reverse scoring and digital sound design.
- To contextualise the evolution of sound design practice and technologies in relation to history of the moving and interactive image.
Investigating Media and Communication Industries CloseInvestigating Media and Communication Industries
This module examines the media and creative industries and explores their organisation and institutional arrangements, their media forms, products and services, work practices and cultures, as well as their convergence, hybridisation and transformation. This is a module about the political and economic organisation ('political economy') of the media with particular reference to western industrial democracies but including study of global media industries and comparative media systems.
This module provides you with a broad understanding of the ways in which different media industries have developed, the way they have been structured, organised and controlled, and the ways they have developed relationships with audiences, users and co-creators. The module focuses on the transformation of media and communication industries and investigates themes of convergence, globalisation and digitalisation of public media.
Methods of theorising the relationship between technology, the media and society are also explored by examining technical innovation in the production, distribution and consumption of various media forms and formats. The management and organisation of media industries is examined, drawing on theories of political economy, cultural economy, and theories and approaches in media studies, business studies, sociology and cultural studies.
The module also examines work practices in the cultural and creative industries and the competencies and behaviours required to work successfully within these. The module provides support for you in work placement/study activities and in presenting and preparing yourselves for your careers. You will complete a Career Development Project, producing a portfolio which may include reporting on an external work placement, a work project based on their own professional practice, or an alternative research project.
Professional Practice and Research Methods (Mental Wealth) CloseProfessional Practice and Research Methods (Mental Wealth)
This Mental Wealth module provides you with the academic and professional competencies necessary for successful study at postgraduate level, and particularly for producing a self-initiated final project at Masters level. The module introduces the research project process, the key underlying principles of research design and major methodological approaches that guide research in the fields of media and communication and filmmaking. All this will help you to develop a coherent research design and / or pre-production documentation for your own final project. The research and development process will equip you with a wide range of conceptual, creative and practical skills that will help you in any professional or academic career path you pursue in film, media and communication related fields as well as for those seeking to progress to research at a higher level, for example for a doctorate.
You will be guided in the steps to plan, develop and realise an appropriate, independent research and / or practice-based project under relevant subject-specialist supervision and through a process of drafting and revision, grounded in thorough ongoing preparation in methods of study and conceptual formulation, as dictated by the scope and character of the research undertaken. This Mental Wealth module supports and develops core competencies as outlined in the learning outcomes below.
Final Project CloseFinal Project
This module is designed to support you in the production of an independent, Masters level written research project or film and media production project. The purpose is to support you in the completion of your final project based on the preparatory work undertaken in MS7*** Professional Practice and Research Methods. The module will consolidate knowledge acquired and skills developed in earlier modules through the execution of a piece of independent and original work The main form of support will be individual supervision, with some group sessions, and with additional technical support, as required.
HOW YOU'LL LEARN
You'll be taught by a range of staff, all of whom are practitioners in the area they teach. The assessments are based on practice-led teaching relevant to various aspects of the film industry. Our staff are well placed to take advantage of a range of professional networks and industry contacts. Each module is designed with both a practical component and a written reflective component, with the intention that students develop an ability to comment on and justify their creative process.
Guided independent study
When not attending timetabled lectures or workshops, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. This will typically involve skills development through online study, reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects and preparing coursework assignments and presentations. Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities including online resources, specialist facilities, such as edit suites, the library, the full Microsoft Office software, including MS Teams, and Moodle: our Virtual Learning Environment.
Workload
For full-time time study, you will spend around 330 hours of timetabled learning and teaching activities to complete the MA. These may be lectures, workshops, seminars and individual and group tutorials. Contact hours may vary depending on each module.
The approximate workload hours for this course are:
- Full-time scheduled teaching - 332 hours
- Guided independent study - 1768 hours
Academic support
Our academic support team provides help in a range of areas – including learning and disability support
Dedicated personal tutor
Easch student will have an Academic Advisor. This is the member of the academic course team who will provide academic guidance, be a support throughout your time at UEL and who will show you how to make the best use of all the help and resources that we offer.
Workload
You will spend around 300 hours of timetabled learning and teaching activities for each module. These may be lectures, workshops, seminars and individual and group tutorials. Contact hours may vary depending on each module.
Your timetable
Your individualised timetable is normally available within 48 hours of enrolment. Whilst we make every effort to ensure timetables are as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week between 9.00am and 6.00pm. Timetables for part-time students will depend on the modules selected.
Class sizes
The class size will vary depending on modules selected.
HOW YOU'LL BE ASSESSED
Coursework will include individual or group-based films (75%) , and individual written assignment( 25%)
You'll receive written feedback, outlining your strengths and how you can improve. We aim to provide feedback on assessments within 15 working days.
CAMPUS and FACILITIES

Docklands Campus, Docklands Campus, London, E16 2RD
WHO TEACHES THIS COURSE
The teaching team includes qualified academics, practitioners and industry experts as guest speakers. Full details of the academics will be provided in the student handbook and module guides.
Related Courses
What we're researching
Our research in the field of Communication, Cultural and Media Studies received outstanding marks in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, the six-yearly national evaluation of higher education research.
An impressive 33 per cent of our work was officially classified as 'world-leading', while a further 47 per cent was rated as 'internationally excellent'.
Our flagship Moving Image Studio is a platform for developing, presenting and discussing the work of UK-based artists, filmmakers, scholars and organisations working with the moving image.
Dr David Chapman's current practice involves producing audio-visual installations exploring place in relation to the natural and built environment and social / historical presence. He also makes documentaries on cultural practice and has a wider research interest in the operation of sound in relation to the moving image.
The focus of Dr Johannes Maier's work is a critical engagement with televisual forms and his films are often collaborations with individuals working within large institutions such as interpreters at the European Commission or picture editors at the BBC. His work has been shown regularly at international film festivals.
Jo Shoop has a variety of writer/director credits include BAFTA nominated and BBC 2 screened short films as well as mainstream work on popular TV drama series. Writing credits including a feature film commission currently in development and a stage play taken up by The Theatre Royal Stratford East as part of their 'Central Lines' season.
Dr Lindsay Hallam's main research area is horror cinema, having recently written about the occult in Italian horror, ecological concerns in Australian exploitation films, and the convergence of horror cinema with new digital and online media.
Dr Valentina Vitali, Professor of Film Studies, is a film historian and theorist. Her research examines the relationship between history, economics and film aesthetics and she has published extensively on Hindi and other Asian cinemas, exploitation films and image-based work by women. Prof. Vitali is also director of the Moving Image Research Centre.

The MA Filmmaking course has taught me how to fully deliver my creative vision in documentary and fiction by experimenting with cinematic and sound design techniques when approaching both. The course has provided a highly supportive environment in which I can make mistakes and learn from them, which is a testament to the dedicated teaching team."
Elena Carmen Cojocaru
MA Filmmaking student
YOUR FUTURE CAREER
Our graduates emerge well prepared to thrive in the cultural and creative industries in areas such as film and TV production, contemporary art, new media platforms, teaching and doctoral research.
Some of our recent MA students have taken on key roles in the film industry, film journalism and film festivals. Others have progressed to practice-led PhD research or have found employment in London's vibrant production and post-production film and TV culture.
Among the success stories are Ahmer Naqvi, who has gone to Bollywood where he now works as an assistant director, and Elena Cojocaru, who has become a freelance video editor.
Elena believes the course's wide range of partner organisations and its productive collaborations with Film and Video Umbrella, Shooting People and the BFI benefited her career.
"I've found that being part of an academic community of independent filmmakers and moving image artists, as well as having London as a cultural backdrop, has been creatively and professionally rewarding," she says.
Other graduates have gone on to further academic success. Matthew Hawkins became co-founder of London's Edge of the City Film Festival and is now a lecturer in film at Coventry University, while Sam Talefaird is pursuing a practice-led PhD with the London Film School and Exeter University.
Explore the different career options you can pursue with this degree and see the median salaries of the sector on our Career Coach portal.