BA (Hons) Film Production

Why study this subject?

The film and television sector is continually expanding. Increased industry demand means employers need graduates with practical skills and hands-on experience. From audio-visual production for film or tv or creating films for the web, to location manager, editor or sound technician, you could turn your passion for film into a rewarding and successful career with the right teaching and hands on learning experiences.

‘Tax reliefs for film, high-end television and animation have made production in the UK more attractive than ever. As of August 2020, there were 300 British films completed in 2019-20 which claimed Film tax relief (FTR), with UK expenditure of £2.5 billion. These figures are likely to increase as more claims are received by HMRC. Since the relief was introduced in 2007, 3,470 films have made claims, accounting for £18.4 billion of UK expenditure.’ (source)

Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?

At Buckinghamshire New University we treat you like professional filmmakers. Films are analysed and deconstructed so you can apply those techniques to your work. You won’t just stop at learning about film and television, you will cover webcasting as well. We will help you to develop a wide range of technical and creative skills for a career in the film and media industries. You will be taught on cutting edge and industry standard equipment in our studios and edit suites at High Wycombe, and in our base at Pinewood Studios, by tutors who are experienced industry professionals and media practitioners. Many of our lecturers have written and produce award-winning films and TV shows and can share their valuable industry insights.

Buckinghamshire New University is a great place to start a creative career. When you’re surrounded by so many creative students and lecturers, you can’t help but be inspired to dream big. You will get the chance to collaborate with other BNU courses that make up the team that sit behind creating a film, such as Performing Arts, Dance, Hair and Makeup and Costume Design.

During your time with us you’ll have the opportunity to learn hands-on practical skills to help you stand out to potential employers. You’ll get to grips with industry-standard equipment including cameras, lighting, sound and editing software, to help prepare you for professional roles after graduation. You can also benefit from live project briefs, master classes and plenty of networking opportunities.

Expect plenty of guest speakers, visiting lecturers and workshops. Our fantastic industry connections will contextualise your learning by presenting their first-hand appreciation of current industry problems, practices and priorities, and offering professional insights from different technical and creative perspectives.

And with London only 30 minutes away, you’re also close to some of the world’s top creative organisations and access to a huge range of networking opportunities.

This course is developed with both academics and industry professionals. And, by constantly focusing on your future, we’ll ensure you leave us as one of the most employable graduates around.

We’ll start the course by exploring the key theories and skills you need to analyse and deconstruct films. You’ll look at Hollywood cinema, documentaries, independent and art cinema, and more, as well as the impact of streaming.

During your time with us you’ll explore the ins and out of industry. We’ll cover different areas from directing, to visual effects and sound design. At the same time, you’ll hone your practical script writing skills. We’ll run workshops and you’ll pitch your script to a highly experienced panel. They’ll analyse it for creativity and production viability.

As well as this you will explore production design, art directing and more. We’ll help you understand the complexities of visual storytelling with specialist modules on film forma and storyboarding. You’ll cover camera, lighting, sound, editing and all elements of planning and pre-production, bringing them together to produce a range of fiction and non-fiction films. You'll also benefit from filming weeks and filming live events, all of these have different demands and require flexible and organised thinking.

In your second year, you will build on the skills acquired at Level 4 gaining advanced technical and creative skills, including on cameras, lighting and industry-standard editing and post-production software. You may study virtual production technology. There are opportunities to create films to briefs for external clients, or a music video for a band or musician, as well as experimental films. You may learn the employable skills of live events production, including multi-camera operator and floor manager, whether for live music, or studio-based discussion programmes, or advanced script writing for fiction production. 

For the third year dissertation, you’ll choose between a creative production, a project in screenwriting or a written industry study. Additionally the third year is the time to advance your virtual production skills, or create original short films, or investigative documentaries. You will also gain key skills in employability, and in social media content, to help you to build a professional career. You will also be invited to show your work to industry VIPs at our end of year show in the John Barry Theatre at Pinewood Studios giving you a chance to impress industry professionals with the quality of your work.

Opportunity modules are a key part of the BNU curriculum. You’ll choose modules in both your first and second year from a broad selection in areas such as sustainability, entrepreneurship, creativity, digital skills, personal growth, civic engagement, health and wellbeing and employment. Opportunity modules are designed to enable you to develop outside the traditional boundaries of your discipline and help you to further stand out from the crowd to future employers.

What facilities can I use?

At both our High Wycombe Campus and teaching base at Pinewood Studios, we have all the state-of-the-art facilities and equipment you need to kick-start your career.

Our Green Screen studio, video studios and editing suites are all kitted out with the professional-standard equipment you need. Our audio-visual editing suites include Adobe Creative Cloud suite, Final Cut Pro X, Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve and Avid Media Composer. The suites are acoustically treated and sympathetically lit.

Whilst studying with us you will also use our BucksAnywhere web service, which provides access to many of the software applications you use for learning and studying. BucksAnywhere can be used from your own device or from a University owned PC or laptop, from any location.

Our extensive range of HD cameras include:

• Blackmagic Design URSA Mini Pro 4.6K
• P2 series and AVCHD Panasonic cameras (AG-HPX301E, AG-HPX371E, AG-HPX171E and AG- HMC41E)
• Canon XF305
• Canon DSLRs, including the 90D, 5D Mark III and Canon 60D
• Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 4K DSLR
• Sony A7R Mark III DSLR
• Sony PXW-FS7
• Sony PXW-FS5
• ZCAM E2 6K
• GoPro Hero 7 and GoPro Fusion 360
• We also have a four-camera live broadcast set up with Grass Valley LDK6000 cameras.

In our individual video edit booths equipped with powerful iMac Pros and our communal editing suites and teaching rooms equipped with i9 Macs, you’ll get the chance to become skilled with post-production software solutions including:

• Blackmagic Davinci Resolve
• Final Cut Pro X
• Avid Media Composer
• Adobe Creative Cloud suite

We also have an extensive lighting kit, sound studios, and sound equipment including:

• Sennheiser EW 100 radio mics
• Sound Devices 302 sound field mixers
• Sennheiser ME66 condenser microphone
• XLR microphone beach box adaptors for DSLR sound recording
• Sennheiser ME64/K6 condenser
• LED panels with variable colour temperature settings
• Dedo lights
• Arri 1K Fresnel lights
• 2000W blonde lights
• Red head lights
• Kino Flo Diva fluorescent lights

How will I be taught and assessed?

A hand-picked team of experienced professionals are eager to pass on their expertise to the next generation of budding filmmakers and will share insider knowledge throughout the course. The course team have a range of experience in the film and television industry. We teach in professional standard recording and filmmaking facilities. As well as lectures, we have professional masterclasses, guest speakers, and work experience opportunities designed to prepare you for a career in film and television.

Throughout your time studying you will be assessed in a range of different ways, including:

• essays where you will be required to present research material in specific subjects and edit it to fit desired outcomes as well as write in depth about particular topics
• reports where you will be encouraged to document your entire learning progress throughout the degree
• portfolio which is an essential part of the course in order to present yourself visually to prospective employers. You will be taught on the different processes involved in producing industry-standard portfolio and assessed on the outcomes
• practical skills which is one of the most important elements of the degree and you will be assessed on the quality of your finished pieces throughout the course.