BA (Hons) Film Production

AI Creative Practice

This module introduces you to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within contemporary creative practice. It is designed to develop awareness, confidence, and a basic critical understanding of how AI is used across creative disciplines. 

You will be introduced to the ways AI intersects with areas such as writing, media production, performance, audio, and visual design. Early teaching provides an accessible overview of key ideas including authorship, originality, bias, and ethical considerations. 

Following this, you will undertake an individual exploration into the use of AI within a chosen creative context or area of practice. This exploration may involve practical experimentation, comparison of outputs, or a combination of both. 

The emphasis of the module is on exploration rather than technical mastery. You will be encouraged to try out AI tools, observe their effects, and begin to recognise your own judgement in relation to the outputs you produce. 

Introduction to Film Production

This module aims to engage you with the fundamental practices and underpinning principles of camera operation, sound capture, and lighting for screen‑based production.

Through a combination of practical workshops and guided exercises, you will develop an understanding of how technical and creative choices impact visual and audio outcomes.

The module focuses on building core technical confidence, encouraging you to apply industry‑informed techniques in a range of controlled production scenarios. By the end of the module, you will be able to practically demonstrate essential skills in camera, sound, and lighting at a competent and proficient level, forming a foundation for more advanced production work and collaborative practice.

Foundations of Screen Story 

This module introduces you to the fundamental principles of narrative design for the screen. Lectures and screenings deconstruct how stories are built, sustained, and resolved across a wide range of screen narratives and forms.  

You will learn the core underpinnings of screen story – character, structure, conflict, theme, and genre – while appreciating how different disciplines (production, directing, writing, audio, VFX, production design, editing, cinematography, etc.) contribute to and shape narrative meaning. Core focuses concern the nature and importance of creative collaboration, artistic vision and voice, and ‘influencers’ from the past and historical contexts. 

The module is not practice-based in production terms, but analytical and creative, encouraging a critical eye and a passionate engagement. It prepares you to write better scripts, shoot more purposeful coverage, design more expressive sound and visuals, and critique media more intelligently.

Film Practice

This module provides foundational training in video production, introducing key technical and procedural skills across contemporary digital film practice.

Working in groups, you develop core competencies in the five principal areas of production: camera, sound, lighting, editing, and delivery.

Through practical work, the module explores processes spanning pre-production, production, and post-production, while promoting safe working practices. It also fosters transferable skills in teamwork, planning, and time management, supporting the development of foundational professional craft skills. 

Writing the Short Film

This module introduces you to the craft of writing for short film, focusing on how ideas are translated into concise, visually driven screen narratives. 

The short film is explored as a distinct storytelling form with its own conventions, including economy of storytelling, clarity of premise, and effective audience engagement. You will be encouraged to think in terms of action, behaviour, and visual storytelling, rather than description or exposition. 

The module is designed for students from a range of creative disciplines, including screenwriting, film production, performance, and media. It provides accessible entry points for those with little or no prior writing experience, while also enabling more experienced writers to develop and refine their practice. 

You will develop two original short screenplay projects, allowing you to explore different narrative approaches and apply core storytelling principles across multiple ideas.

Post Production 1

This module introduces you to the fundamental principles and practices of post-production, providing a foundation in key technical and creative workflows.

You will explore core post-production specialisms: editing, sound design and mixing (including ADR and Foley), colour grading, visual effects, and delivery workflows, developing an understanding of how these processes contribute to the creation of a completed screen-based artefact.

Through a combination of theoretical study and practical application, the module builds essential knowledge and skills in post-production processes, enabling you to produce a portfolio of post-production work. 

Projects

The module provides a structured framework within which you will undertake a suite of specialist projects appropriate to your degree programme, developing independent working practices.

You will be expected to respond to multiple project briefs (typically 2-4) across two semesters, managing time, resources, and creative or research-based workflows. 

The projects support the development of discipline-specific technical, creative, and analytical skills to a standard appropriate for progression to major projects and career preparation. Most projects will require team/group work and collaboration, sometimes between degree pathways, reflecting industry practice wherever possible. 

You should engage with non-practical forms of inquiry (e.g., essays, reports, case studies, critical analyses) alongside practical production, fostering critical reflection and research literacy. 

The module prepares you to evaluate your own work against professional, academic, or audience-facing criteria, articulating strengths, weaknesses, and lessons for future practice. This will in most cases involve team/group work on the projects themselves, and working to fixed delivery deadlines across both semesters. 

Alongside the project(s) outcomes, be that written or practical, students document and critically reflect upon their research, creative influences, production processes, and final outcomes through a structured individual portfolio. 

All productions/projects should be analysed using the BFI Albert Sustainable Production Framework.

Cinematography

This module aims to build upon your previous practical and theoretical learning by developing a more advanced understanding of the key concepts, aesthetics, and professional practices of digital cinematography.

Through focused exploration of on‑set filming techniques, industry‑informed workflows, and established production protocols, you will extend your technical and creative capabilities in camera and lighting practice.

The module places emphasis on the role of the cinematographer within collaborative production environments, encouraging you to critically engage with responsibilities such as visual storytelling, communication with crew, and technical decision‑making.

By fostering increased autonomy and reflective practice, the module aims to support you in developing a deeper, more independent approach to learning, experimentation, and professional growth within cinematography and related screen production disciplines. 

Sound for Moving Image

The module aims to elucidate the technical and creative processes that help to create great sonic storytelling in film and moving-image production.

Building on experiences that you have had with sound during the course, the module introduces further techniques required for capturing and generating sound.

Recording skills on set and on location are taught and practised, covering the use of portable recording equipment, boom operation, wireless mics and timecode synchronisation techniques. You will also further your understanding of Sound Design and Audio post-production techniques, building on what you have covered during the first year. 

Directing

The module will provide you with the opportunity to explore the craft of directing actors. Focusing on the relationship and communication established between director and actor, you will be expected to engage with analysis and practice throughout.

The module will consider the different styles and approaches used in the forms of cinema and television drama, and you will be encouraged to apply this to your own work. 

Post Production 2

This module develops your creative and technical engagement with post-production processes, advancing your skills across key specialisms including editing, sound design, ADR, Foley and Immersive Mixing, colour grading, visual effects, and delivery workflows.

Through practice-based activities and theoretical study, you will explore how post-production decisions shape meaning, style, and narrative in screen-based work.

The module supports increasing independence in workflow management and technical decision-making, culminating in the production of a portfolio of post-production artefacts that demonstrate applied creative and technical post-production practice within specified constraints. 

Writing the TV Script

This module aims to introduce you to the process of development when creating a long form drama script. Taking an original idea from concept to final draft, sessions will explore structure, style, theme and character, with attention to format. Emphasis on strong dialogue will be a key element to script development, whilst the difference between story and plot will be explored. The importance of a ‘pilot’ episode will be recognised and what elements must be included when establishing a show’s selling point. You will also discover key pitching ideas on how to promote their script.

Motion and Performance Capture

This module introduces you to the principles and practices of contemporary motion capture production.

You will develop knowledge and practical understanding of motion capture workflows, including studio protocols, capture methodologies, performer requirements, and the translation of recorded movement into digital outcomes.

Through workshops and project work, you will engage with the collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of motion capture production, contributing through technical, creative and performance-based roles as appropriate to the brief.

The module enables you to develop professional skills in planning, problem-solving, communication and the realisation of motion capture outcomes within a production context. 

Dissertation

You will undertake a substantial, self-directed project (group or individual) that represents the culmination of your undergraduate study.

It will require you to synthesise, where applicable, technical skills, theoretical knowledge, creative vision, and professional practices to produce a substantial piece of original work (group or individual) accompanied by an individual portfolio exploring research methodologies and underpinned by critical reflection. 

The dissertation is defined not by a single format, but by its significance, ambition, and rigour. You will propose and execute a project that aligns with your discipline while demonstrating an understanding of its context within the broader screen arts landscape. Unlike traditional written dissertations, this module accepts diverse outputs—from films and screenplays to audio dramas, sports documentaries, essays, media campaign analyses, or technical portfolios—as long as they are underpinned by systematic research and critical reflection. 

All productions/projects should be analysed using the BFI Albert Sustainable Production Framework.

Documentary Project

This module develops your ability to research, design and produce short documentary work across a range of contemporary factual forms. It introduces you to both traditional and powerful story‑led documentary approaches and contemporary factual‑entertainment styles commonly seen in online spaces, including YouTube explainers, short‑form digital features and social‑platform factual content. 

You will explore the practical, conceptual and ethical demands of documentary production, learning how to shape factual material into engaging screen content for real audiences.

The module emphasises the increased cultural visibility and influence of online documentary formats and encourages students to consider and appreciate both traditional narrative forms of documentary storytelling and modern emergent documentary practices. 

You will work independently to produce a five‑minute documentary, drawing on prior knowledge and expanding your skills in research, interviewing, shooting, producing and editing.

A research portfolio supports the development of your film and demonstrates your ability to conduct, annotate and apply research from multiple sources. 

Advanced Cinematography

This module aims to support you in seeking a deeper and more advanced understanding of digital cinematography, building upon existing knowledge of camera and lighting practice.

Through the integrated exploration of theory and practice, the module will examine key cinematographic concepts, technical principles, and creative approaches to camera and lighting.

Emphasis is placed on the applied use of techniques within practical production contexts, encouraging you to refine your technical competence, visual decision‑making, and professional working practices.

The module aims to develop confidence, autonomy, and critical awareness, enabling you to extend your cinematography skills toward a more advanced and industry‑informed level of practice.

Facial Performance Capture

This module develops your knowledge and practical understanding of contemporary facial performance capture production.

You will engage with the principles, workflows and creative applications of facial motion capture, including performer preparation, head-mounted camera systems, facial tracking technologies, capture methodologies, retargeting processes, and the translation of recorded facial performance onto digital facial rigs.

Through workshops and project work, you will explore the relationship between performance, technical setup and postproduction practice, including the integration of facial capture with wider body-based motion capture workflows. The module enables you to develop professional skills in planning, problem-solving, communication and the realisation of facial performance capture outcomes within a collaborative production context.

Creative Portfolio

This module supports you in developing a professional creative portfolio that clearly communicates your skills, identity and ambitions within the creative industries. It builds on work produced across earlier modules and focuses on curation, presentation and strategy, rather than volume of output. 

You will be encouraged to create either a simple online portfolio website using an appropriate portfolio‑building platform, or a professionally designed PDF portfolio for those who prefer an offline alternative. You will also be invited to explore show reels as a critical component of some creative portfolios. Overall, the emphasis is on clarity, selection and intent, ensuring that work is framed appropriately for its intended audience. 

Alongside portfolio creation, the module introduces key principles of personal branding, creative entrepreneurship and career sustainability. You will develop a forward‑looking plan that outlines your intended career direction over the next five years, how your portfolio will support this trajectory, how you will maintain engagement with the industry, and how you intend to adapt your practice in a changing creative landscape. 

The module is highly independent and student‑led, encouraging you to take ownership of your creative identity, reflect on prior learning, and articulate purposeful next steps beyond graduation.