Film and Television Studies BA

Compulsory

• The Craft of Filmmaking

  With the central aim of developing your creative and technical skills, this module will introduce you to the vocabulary, concepts and equipment needed in film production. You will work collaboratively with your peers to train with our technical and academic staff as well as engage in all aspects of storytelling. This is where you begin your journey learning the conventions and practices of filmmaking with our industry standard equipment.

• The Professional Self

  This module engages students in their own professional development. Throughout the module, you will take part in scheduled professional development sessions, for instance camera training, edit training, and CV workshops. Throughout the module there will be an emphasis on developing professional behaviours such as timekeeping, attendance, participation, organisation and communication. You will also have the opportunity to engage with students in other levels of study and learn to effectively work in a team.

• Technology, Industry and Form

  Sometimes we might become preoccupied with film and television as an artform, which is important. But we also need to consider developments in the industry in terms of economic models, and changes in technology and context. This module examines how film developed in terms of sound, colour, the development of the classical Hollywood system, and where we are today in terms of industry models. We will also look at television from the broadcast era through to contemporary streaming services today.

• Representation and Identity

  It’s important in the film and television industry to consider whose stories are being told, who is in creative roles behind the camera and how people are being represented. This module will explore identity politics and consider theory such as feminism, queer theory, postcolonialism and disability studies, among others. We will consider how certain identities are portrayed onscreen both historically and now.

• Creative Project Development
• Film and TV Analysis

  Uncover some of the core skills in analysing and reading film and television texts. This module focuses particularly on how we might understand film and television in terms of the context of its production and reception. We will carefully consider the importance of social, cultural and political contextual relationships with film and television products.

Compulsory

• Critical Perspectives

  Theoretical perspectives are at the core of this module, giving you the frameworks you will need to read and make meaning from film and television. We will consider feminism, structuralism and post-structuralism, Marxism among many other approaches we might take to understanding film and television.

• Professional Practice

  This module aims to build on the content of the level 4 module The Professional Self, further engaging students in their own professional development. There will be an emphasis on the professional world, looking at freelancing, setting up a business, insurance, ethics, and tax.

  Throughout the module there will be an emphasis on further developing their own professional behaviours such as leadership, risk assessment, timekeeping, attendance, participation, organisation and communication, as well as mentoring students from level 4 through the development of their professional behaviours.

Optional

• Film and Television Genres
• World Cinemas

  Interested in exploring the dynamic relationships that exist between different cinemas from different places? Then this option is for you. We will consider a range of world cinemas from the Global South, Asia and beyond. We will consider global art and alternative cinemas as well as more mainstream practices, considering films in terms of globalisation and the transnational, as well as the regional and the national.

• Understanding the Film and TV Industries
• Animation

  Firstly, this module will allow you to explore the medium specificity of animation, the range of techniques available, as well as different industries and their development. We will then go on to teach you a range of animation production skills which will allow you to create your own short form animation in a style and medium of your choosing.

• Filmmaking as Activism

  Students will explore the role that film plays in advocacy, activism and social justice. The purpose of this module is to provide opportunities for students to create a portfolio of moving image work that has been developed to address social injustice. Students will explore the role of corporate, NGO, commercial and independent filmmaking, as well as looking at campaigns and distribution strategies. Students will work in a team and contribute to decision making processes.

• Film and TV Adaptation

  A production-based module, you will be able to explore the process of adaptation from a variety of sources to the screen. Developing your creative skills you will consider many forms of storytelling and character construction as well as developing your production filmmaking skills.

Compulsory

• Analysis of Film and Television Work Experience

  As part of our employability strand this module will give you a large range of guest talks from people that work across many different parts of the creative industries. Many of the guest speakers are Film@Brunel alumni. You will also have the opportunity to undertake your own work placement as part of this module allowing you to develop both your employability and networking skills.

• Video Essay Dissertation in Film and Television Studies

Optional

• Gender and Sexuality

  This module is largely led by feminist theory and queer theory where we examine a range of identities onscreen in relation to gender and sexuality. A number of case studies are examined across the module from historical examples to more contemporary work.

• The Horror Film

  This module provides students with an in-depth examination of the horror genre across both film and television. Critical frameworks and theories relevant to the study of horror will be explored in depth across a range of case studies from historical and more contemporary contexts, as well as from a range of global contexts.

• Documentary: Image and Violence

  This module will give you the skills to analyse cinematic representations of violence and develop a critical awareness of different types of violence in relation to warfare and military technology. You will gain skills in developing insights into visual themes, narrative structures and techniques used in moving images’ engagements with violence. You will also have the opportunity to develop techniques for the use of found footage to research and communicate different types of violence.

• Alternative Film and Video Practice

  If you are interested in alternative or more experimental approaches to filmmaking, then this module is for you. Exploring a range of examples from distinct periods of filmmaking history, this module will also allow you to creative your own experimental film. You will also examine connections between the economic, formal-aesthetic and social-political aspects of these alternative practices.