Program Overview

Our leading film scholars and award-winning filmmakers will help you build a strong foundation for a career in film. You’ll delve into film history, theory and production, and learn about the latest trends in digital and 3D cinema.

Our Film degree promotes a balance between the practical and theoretical. You’ll explore everything from fiction to documentary, experimental film to world cinema, and television to the internet, as well as screenwriting, animation and cinematography.  

Looking beyond the story, you’ll consider how meaning is created through film language and visual aesthetics. You'll broaden and deepen your critical awareness of the diverse formal and experiential possibilities of cinema, both as they have developed in the past, and as they are transforming in the contemporary moment.

From your first semester, you'll be introduced to the use of video equipment, group work and key roles of the production team and facilities, and produce a short drama on digital video.

As you move through the course, you can choose to focus on the theoretical study of film or the practical side of filmmaking. If you can't decide and enjoy both, you can continue to give both equal weighting. Students who choose the film production route have the opportunity to screen their film at the British Film Institute, Southbank (BFI), at the end of year three.  

We currently offer a module on career preparation, so you can understand your career choices, refine your interests, evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, and present a creditable application.  

There's also an opportunity to earn course credits by undertaking a work placement in any area of the creative industries: TV, film, online and print media, arts and campaign organisations, museums, art galleries, theatres or community projects.

As London’s only campus university, our picturesque yet easily accessible location means you'll be studying film while immersing yourself in the creative culture of the capital at film festivals, studios, galleries and pop-up cinemas. Meanwhile, you'll have access to state-of-the-art film, editing and studio facilities, including sound and dubbing equipment, and a cinema on our campus, whose beautiful parkland setting provides the ideal location for your short films. There will also be opportunities throughout your course to attend international film festivals, which have previously included Berlin and Tribeca (New York). Students have also had their films screened at local festivals.

Photography:

• Develop advanced photography skills, and gain a wide-ranging understanding of contemporary photographic culture, on our inspiring BA Photography degree course.  
• You’ll be on the doorstep of London’s vibrant creative scene, with some of the world’s leading magazines, agencies, studios and galleries within easy reach.
• While developing your photography and technical skills, you’ll become adept at using 35mm film cameras, film processing equipment, DSLR cameras, medium and large format cameras, and studio and location lighting.  
• You'll learn to use all the relevant software packages, including Photoshop and Capture One, as well as developing digital darkroom skills and practical skills, such as project management, presentation and problem solving.
• On campus, you'll have access to all the state-of-the-art media facilities housed in the brand-new Sir David Bell media building, including studios, processing equipment and Mac suites.
• On the theoretical side, we’ll explore contemporary and historical photographic practices and their diverse uses in cultural fields such as journalism, fine art, fashion, editorial, advertising and web design.  
• You'll learn about the relationship between photography and disciplines such as cultural studies, anthropology and philosophy; and become familiar with the work of key theorists and practitioners involved in the ongoing development of the field, such as Roland Barthes, and Broomberg and Chanarin.  
• Central to the course is the development of your own portfolio of work. For the past seven years, final-year students have exhibited their work at Free Range in Brick Lane, which provides an ideal platform for exposure, as well as opportunities to meet vital industry contacts.
• We offer opportunities to explore career options, so you can assess your choices, evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, and learn how to present an excellent application. There are also opportunities to undertake a work placement