BA (Hons) Digital Film Production
Welcome to Digital Film Production
The BA (Hons) in Digital Film Production offers a diverse range of modules designed to enable you to gain the knowledge and experience in a broad range of the production skills needed to pursue a successful career in a wide choice of professions within the film and television industries and beyond.
With an industry led curriculum this course will equip you for a career in film production. Our lecturers have research and industry experience and smaller cohorts mean more support to achieve your ambitions.
Course IntroductionModulesEntry RequirementsGraduate CareersAdditional
Your profile
You are dedicated, innovative and enjoy bringing your ideas to life. You have a passion for visual storytelling and love big pictures and the small screen. Whether your focus is writing comedy, producing action or horror films, creating special effects, crafting eye-catching corporate films or exploring issues in documentaries, you want to learn the specialist skills needed to launch your career in film, television and new media.
Your subject
Film, television and online videos are produced all over the world and consumed in ever greater quantity. The industry is incredibly diverse, with new technologies allowing users to consume and produce films and videos through an ever-growing array of media, including on personal devices and through streaming services. Skilled and qualified graduates are needed to ensure supply continues to meet this growing demand.
Your course
The BA (Hons) Digital Film Production degree programme will advance your practical and technical skills in camera operation and lighting, while evolving your proficiency in the craft of digital film-making. The course has a strong focus on practical and technical skills in camera operation and lighting, editing and sound techniques, and follows a contemporary approach to the study of multi-platform production, distribution and audience interaction. As a student, you will learn to produce exhibition and broadcast quality work. You will undertake multiple short film projects in each year to broaden your creative abilities in scriptwriting and producing as well as marketing and distribution, and be taught by tutors who have research and industry experience. Through the study of Experimental and World Cinema, alongside British and American products, you will learn about film and TV as a global industry while learning professional practices and employment skills to provide you with a solid foundation for entry into this exciting industry.
Your future
The creative talent you will cultivate and technical knowledge you will develop during your degree will equip you with the diverse range of skills needed to excel in the media production industry. You could pursue a career as a director, film or television editor, producer, camera operator or studio floor manager, to name but a few roles. Previous degree and diploma graduates have been employed as production assistants, art directors, junior colour graders and film and TV studio technicians, teachers and content creators for YouTube. Many are working as freelancers in camera, lighting, sound, directing, editing and visual effects, while others now run their own video production companies.
Undergraduate courses operate on a modular basis that provides flexibility and choice. Each module is worth a specified number of credits, with most modules counting for 30/40 or 15/20 academic credits (depending on the programme), with each credit taken equating to a total amount of study time which includes scheduled teaching, independent study and assessment activity.
Most full-time students will take modules worth 60 credits per semester, with part-time students taking proportionately fewer credits per semester. A total of 120 credits per level and 360 credits are needed for an honours degree as a whole. Overall grades for the course and degree classification are based on the marks obtained for modules taken at levels 5 and 6.
Our teaching is informed by research, professional practice and industry engagement and modules change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline.
You can choose to study full or part-time on this course. A part-time programme will allow you to fit other commitments around your study time but will include the same modules as the full-time course. A typical full-time programme will be split over three years. In addition, a stand-alone qualification can be awarded at the end of year one (Certificate of Higher Education in Digital Film Production) and year two (Diploma of Higher Education in Digital Film Production).
Course Overview Year One (Level 4) Year Two (Level 5) Year Three (Level 6) Module Schedule StructureNormally a minimum of 96 UCAS points achieved through A Levels or a Triple Merit Diploma at Level 3 or equivalent. Applicants will be interviewed and should bring a showreel of previous work on DVD.
*UCAS Tariff points where shown, are for entry on to higher education programmes starting from September 2023.
International applicants
If English is not your first language you will need an IELTS score of 6.0, with a minimum score of 5.5 in each component (Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking), or an equivalent English Language qualification.
Additional requirements for International Students:
- You must provide evidence of having been in general education for at least 10 years and of having studied within the last five years
- a face-to-face interview is required before an offer is made.
Although this is a new degree programme, our previous degree and diploma students have been employed in the industry as production assistants, junior video editors, film & TV studio technicians, teachers, content creators for YouTube, working for film festivals and arts facilities, and many are working as freelancers in camera, lighting, sound, directing, editing, visual effects and some run their own video production companies.
Timetables: Timetables are normally available one month before registration. Please note that while we make every effort to ensure that timetables are as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week. Part-time classes are normally scheduled on one or two days per week.
Teaching and Learning: You are taught through a combination of lectures, seminars and practicals. Seminars enable smaller group discussions to develop understanding of topics covered in lectures.
When not attending lectures, seminars and practicals or other timetabled sessions you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-directed study. Typically, this will involve reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, undertaking research in the library, learning zone or technical learning resources, preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for examinations
Assessment: The course provides you with opportunities to test your understanding of the subject informally before you complete the formal assessments that count towards your final mark. Each module normally contains at least one piece of practice or ‘formative’ assessment for which you receive feedback from your tutor. Practice assessments are developmental and any grades you receive for them do not count towards your module mark.
There is a formal or ‘summative’ assessment at the end of each module. Assessment methods include written examinations and a range of coursework assessments such as essays, reports, portfolios, performance, presentations and your final year major project. The grades from formal assessments count towards your module mark.
Feedback: You will receive feedback on all practice assessments and on formal assessments undertaken by coursework. Feedback is intended to help you learn and you are encouraged to discuss it with your module tutor.
Disclaimer
All Fees and prices shown on the website are for courses starting in the 2023-24 academic year and are correct at the time of entering/printing information, however these may be subject to change. The College cannot accept legal or financial liability as a result of any such changes.
The course information describes programmes offered by University Centre Colchester at Colchester Institute. The College takes all reasonable steps to provide courses as described, but cannot guarantee provision. The information is for guidance and does not form any part of a contract.
The College reserves the right to update and amend information as and when necessary. University Centre Colchester at Colchester Institute will do its best to provide the courses shown, but may have to modify or withdraw a course depending on customer demand and other factors.
