Film Studies BA(Hons)

No matter what area of media you want to work in, you can be sure your audience won’t just be sitting back and letting your content wash over them. They can access it on devices large and small, and won’t be shy about participating in the debate. This module introduces you to the study of media audiences, and helps you understand the context of media convergence.

The content we share and find is shaped through the specific organisational structures of the film and media industries. This module provides you with an introduction to the key theories, concepts and methods needed to understand those structures, their impact on the professionals and organisations working within them, and the ways in which they shape media landscapes. The module places particular emphasis on political economic approaches and production studies, but attention will also be given to theories of creativity, branding, and industrial conceptions of their audiences.

Your phone screen may be the first thing you see in the morning and the last thing you check at night, and in this module we look at the role of technology in shaping our world. We combine critical analysis of key platforms and technologies, from Google and YouTube to Facebook and Twitter, with teaching you the skills to use those tools to create professional media content.

The module introduces you to a range of video formats and technologies: mobile, online, television and video. You will be provided with the essential recording and editing skills necessary to produce a video output, and to understand the language and concepts required to critically evaluate video content.

You’ll often hear us say that media is changing quickly: and we mean it. This module helps you make sense of what that means for your future career, and why the jobs of tomorrow aren’t always the same as the ones of the past. You’ll work on a career plan, so you can be ready for a placement year and other media work opportunities.

This module focuses on the study of fandoms and participatory media with an emphasis on areas including film, television, music, sport, politics and consumer culture. It introduces you to key concepts such as textual poaching, collective intelligence and spreadable media, as well as setting out key debates which have framed participatory media including the role of cultural industries, the commercial exploitation of participants and hierarchies of participation. The module allows you to consider the history of participatory media as well as its textuality and economic basis. The module furthermore examines motivations and practices behind forms of participation including enthusiasm and fandom, introducing you to tools and concepts through which you will analyse your own fan motivations and experiences.

Popular formats from Strictly Come Dancing to I’m A Celebrity are central to the success of our biggest broadcasters. This module takes you inside the creation and development of the next big thing in TV. You’ll develop your creative and technical skills, as you plan how to turn your idea into a potential hit of the future.

This module focuses on developing your understanding of different kinds of promotional culture – public relations (PR), influencers, marketing and advertising – and your critical, analytical and evaluative skills. You will learn how to critically analyse different kinds of promotional culture and evaluate its role in society, developing skills you will need to help you develop successful, effective and ethical promotional campaigns and content. As the module continues, you will apply what you have learnt to the practice of PR, and further develop the creative, analytical and technical skills you need to succeed as a public relations practitioner.

This module develops your existing technical production skills in key areas of film and television production: lighting, cinematography, sound recording, script supervision directing and editing. All strands reflect professional roles and seek to advance your existing technical skills to help you achieve creative and aesthetic objectives and high production values. It also allows you to build a specialism in a technical or production role. In doing so the module builds key skills in collaborative cultural production in the context of film and television.

There’s a magazine for almost any topic you can think of, and this module helps take you closer to a job working for a publication you’ll love. Industry experts help teach you how to use software packages to design a stunning product. Then, you’re tasked with coming up with your own idea for a new magazine, to fill a gap in the market that you’ve spotted.

The module is designed for students who have the minimum level of English language skills for them to have been accepted onto a university course and who may lack the initiative to ask for help when needed. In this module students are provided with the opportunity to develop higher levels of confidence in their production of spoken and written academic English. In addition, students will consolidate and refine their understanding of syntax and grammatical structures. As the module runs alongside their university studies, there is an emphasis on and an incentive to use skills that complement work done in the main area of study and which will be of use in and beyond an academic context. The use of regular AM/AI-proof tasks will ensure students develop an understanding of their own learning and the role they themselves play in developing their knowledge and skills. The module contributes to the attainment of skills and knowledge relevant to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) normally level B2- to B2.

The module provides students who have a level of English language skills sufficiently advanced for them to have been accepted onto a University course with the opportunity to improve further their skills in that language, with particular reference to improvements in the accuracy, clarity and fluency of their oral and written work. In addition to this, students will refine and develop their knowledge of academic study skills. As the module runs alongside their university studies, there is an emphasis on and an incentive to use skills that complement work done in the main area of study and which will be of use in and beyond an academic context. The use of regular AM/AI-proof tasks will ensure students develop an understanding of their own learning and the role they themselves play in developing their knowledge and skills. The module contributes to the attainment of skills and knowledge relevant to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) normally level B2 to B2+.

The module is designed for students who already have a good level of competence in spoken and written English and will support them to further enhance their language and academic skills. Students will refine and develop higher level thinking skills such as critical analysis, problem-solving, synthesis, inference and metacognition. Advanced oral role-plays, group discussions and debates will serve to improve spontaneity and sophistication of expression, whilst written activities will build greater fluency in the use of linguistic structures. They will work with extended academic texts and understand such academic skills as synthesising sources, literature reviews, methodologies, paraphrasing and a range of accurate citation skills. As the module runs alongside their university studies, there is an emphasis on and an incentive to use skills that complement work done in the main area of study and which will be of use in and beyond an academic context. The use of regular AM/AI-proof tasks will ensure students develop an understanding of their own learning and the role they themselves play in developing their knowledge and skills. The module contributes to the attainment of skills appropriate to the B2+ to C1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages.

This module provides the opportunity for you, working individually or as part of a small group, to devise, plan and create some form of media output or outputs, working in partnership with an external organisation or other suitable client. This could take the form of an individual work placement, or individual or group project work.

Gaming is one of the most dominant forms of entertainment, more valuable than the movie and music industries put together. In this module, you’ll examine key debates in video gaming analysis, putting games into their historical, social and economic contexts. You’ll create a video essay to help demonstrate what you’ve learned.

Brands and branding are all around us, and you’ll get inside the promotional techniques used to sell us things. You’ll use knowledge of media industries, consumer research and communications theory to examine how products and services are promoted. You’ll also create materials for a new brand of your own, developing skills useful for careers in advertising and marketing.

You will be provided with the opportunity to develop higher levels of confidence in your production of spoken and written academic English. In addition, you will consolidate and refine your understanding of syntax and grammatical structures. As the module runs alongside your university studies, there is an emphasis on and an incentive to use skills that complement work done in the main area of study and which will be of use in and beyond an academic context. The use of regular AM/AI-proof tasks will ensure you develop an understanding of your own learning and the role you can play in developing your knowledge and skills. The module contributes to the attainment of skills and knowledge relevant to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) normally level B2- to B2.

The module provides students who have a level of English language skills sufficiently advanced for them to have been accepted onto a University course with the opportunity to improve further their skills in that language, with particular reference to improvements in the accuracy, clarity and fluency of their oral and written work. In addition to this, students will refine and develop their knowledge of academic study skills. As the module runs alongside their university studies, there is an emphasis on and an incentive to use skills that complement work done in the main area of study and which will be of use in and beyond an academic context. The use of regular AM/AI-proof tasks will ensure students develop an understanding of their own learning and the role they themselves play in developing their knowledge and skills. The module contributes to the attainment of skills and knowledge relevant to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) normally level B2 to B2+.

The module is designed for students who already have a good level of competence in spoken and written English and will support them to further enhance their language and academic skills. Students will refine and develop higher level thinking skills such as critical analysis, problem-solving, synthesis, inference and metacognition. Advanced oral role-plays, group discussions and debates will serve to improve spontaneity and sophistication of expression, whilst written activities will build greater fluency in the use of linguistic structures. They will work with extended academic texts and understand such academic skills as synthesising sources, literature reviews, methodologies, paraphrasing and a range of accurate citation skills. As the module runs alongside their university studies, there is an emphasis on and an incentive to use skills that complement work done in the main area of study and which will be of use in and beyond an academic context. The use of regular AM/AI-proof tasks will ensure students develop an understanding of their own learning and the role they themselves play in developing their knowledge and skills. The module contributes to the attainment of skills appropriate to the B2+ to C1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages.