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.
The BA (Hons) in Digital Film Production programme aims to advance both practical and technical skills in camera and lighting that enhance and evolve your proficiency in the craft of digital film-making. Work will be produced of exhibition and broadcast quality for use as means to progress into employment, self-employment or post-graduate study.
Editing and sound techniques are developed through collaborative and individually produced short films with productions in each year providing a continuous development of creative abilities from script-writing to production and from marketing to distribution.
The course programme takes a contemporary approach through the study of multi-platform production, distribution and audience interaction. An appreciation of film and TV as global industries is encouraged through the inclusion of World Cinema texts alongside British and American products.
Professional practices and employment skills are covered throughout the course to provide a solid foundation for entry into the industry.
The various contexts in which film and television product is produced and consumed are an integral part of study in the first two years. The final year expands study into areas of factual and experimental film and television through the development of research based study.
Course lecturers are working practitioners in a variety of areas of the professional media production and education industries.
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).
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 2021.
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:
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.
All Fees and prices shown on the website are for courses starting in the 2018-19 or 2019-20 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.