BA (Hons) Sports Media

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.

Introduction to Sports Media

This module aims to support you in your transition into higher education.

It examines sport in various mediated forms to consider the complex relationships between sport, media and society.

Sports journalism, televised sport, sport and radio, sport in film, advertising, marketing, branding and sport, sport magazines, sport in other literature and sport and the digital landscape will be explored to develop your understanding of the concepts, issues, critical perspectives and methodologies that constitute our approach to learning, studying and teaching sports media in the programme. 

Introduction to Journalism

This module considers developments in journalism. It examines the significance of newspapers; addresses news values; explores news production and consumption; and reflects on reporting in new mediascapes.

The module tackles the way narratives are organised, structured and shared, and aims to enable you to both analyse and construct stories. 

Media Production Toolkit

This module provides you with a technical and collaborative “toolkit” for the modern creator economy, centred on the production of a high-quality “Pocket Podcast” series. Working in production crews (group work), you will mirror industry workflows to navigate the full lifecycle of a digital series. 

The curriculum is structured to provide equal weighting between planning, studio production, postproduction (editing), and content delivery. You will move from initial concept development to planning the studio setups (3-point lighting, depth of field control) and capturing high-fidelity audio. 

In the postproduction phase, teams will focus on high-retention editing techniques, sonic branding, and the creation of “Hot Link” social media assets.

The module culminates in the group delivery of a Production Portfolio pack, detailing a 10-episode seasonal arc, alongside the execution of the first three episodes of the series.

Sport and Television

This module explores various relationships between sport and television. It draws on a range of critical approaches within television studies, and beyond, to examine sports broadcasting, television culture, social media, streaming and digital ecosystems.  

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.

The Art of the Interview

This module aims to explore a range of interview techniques and styles as employed by researchers, documentarians and journalists.

As such, the focus of the module is on ‘factual’ stories and those who can reveal them.

You will also examine the role ethics play in the development and presentation of interviews. 

Sport and Film

This module examines films and documentaries that focus on a sport, an athlete or a particular sporting event. It locates specific films in relevant contexts and tackles a range of approaches in film studies, cultural studies and narrative studies.

MediaSport 2.0 and Beyond

This module examines the significance of the internet and new media technologies in sports media. You will explore key issues concerning production, consumption, identity, political economy, co-optation, participatory culture, user-generated content, convergence, commerce, social media and gaming. You will examine these issues in relation to relevant networks, practices and relationships that shape the 21st century sports media landscape. The assessment features a critical evaluation and the option to choose to either write an essay on sports media and the digital landscape, make a short film on mediated sport in the digital landscape, or pitch for a game or app located in the world of sport.

Live Event Filming

This module aims to introduce you to the creative, technical, and organisational demands of multi‑camera production for an as‑live event context.

You will explore the planning, execution, and delivery of live-style recordings using industry‑standard workflows, gaining hands‑on experience in camera operation, vision mixing, sound capture, and live coordination.  

The module aims to develop your technical competence across both sound and vision while fostering an understanding of collaborative production roles and professional communication.

Through working to a client brief, you will also develop transferable skills such as teamwork, problem‑solving, time management, and adaptability, preparing you for professional practice within live and recorded production environments.

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.

Commissioned Project

This module provides you with opportunities to gain experience of working in client-led sports media production.

It also equips you with a range of necessary skills regarding self-promotion, networking and ways to showcase talent appropriately. 

Sports Broadcasting

This is a practice-based module that builds on your Level 4 and 5 production experiences to develop advanced industry-standard skills associated with television studio production and project management.

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.