Film

Are you passionate about cinema, film and visual storytelling? Do you want to create your own work in industry-standard facilities?

The Film BA at Kent will allow you to explore your passions and realise your ambitions for a future career in TV, film and broadcasting.

The course is designed with employability at its core. You’ll develop skills in directing, screenwriting, cinematography, editing, sound design, film analysis, curation, film programming and marketing. And get hands-on with practical projects designed to mirror industry practices, creating your own films in our industry-standard facilities. We offer a fully equipped Film Studio, Sound Studio, production design workshop, and purpose-built individual edit suites to help you bring your creative projects to life. We also have our own cinema.

The University of Kent was one of the first universities in the UK to introduce Film Studies as an academic programme as early as 1977. It was also at the forefront of introducing the practice elements into its curriculum. We offer a distinctive course that combines hands-on creative practice with rigorous academic study in a truly interdisciplinary environment. You will benefit from teaching by a team of internationally recognised researchers and filmmakers who bring scholarly depth, practical experience and real-world insight to the classroom.

Alongside your practical training, you’ll study the history and theory of film from its silent beginnings to CGI blockbusters, independent cinema to Hollywood, avant-garde to international cinema. You’ll explore the power of film to represent, influence and challenge the way we think about identity, race, gender, sexuality, disability, and class.

With excellent links to film professionals and film bodies, such as the British Film Institute, Arts Council England, the Independent Cinema Office and Kent Film Office you’ll benefit from guest lectures, workshops, and placements, giving you real-world opportunities and a fantastic industry network when you graduate.

You can also add a year in industry to this degree to gain valuable work experience or combine the degree with a year of working or studying abroad.

Year 2

The following modules are what students typically study, but this may change year to year in response to new developments and innovations:

Compulsory modules currently include the following:

• Screenwriting

  Have you got what it takes to write a film? This module offers you an introduction to the concepts, terms, and skills involved in writing screenplays and to the craft of screenwriting. Screenwriting is a unique form of writing with very different concerns from novels, theatre and radio. Although the screenplay is a vital component of a film’s success, it tends to be neglected as an art form in of itself.

  In this module, you’ll explore the conventions of dramatic structure, and examine new narrative forms and short film variations. We’ll encourage you to think critically about screenwriting and you’ll have the opportunity to write your own screenplay.

• Documentary Filmmaking

  Developments in online streaming, film festivals and technical innovation have seen an unprecedented expansion in documentary filmmaking. Through practical exercises and analysis of film texts, this module will introduce you to the essential components of non-fiction filmmaking.

  You’ll take part in practical projects and also learn through lectures and screenings, which draw on a range of film texts and look at examples from the history of non-fiction film such as early cinema, direct cinema, cinema verité, and the film essay. The exercises provide opportunities for you to develop your creative practice, including the development of a treatment/proposal leading to the production of a final film project.

• World Cinema

  While American and European films have dominated film production and exhibition, cinema is a global phenomenon. In this module, you’ll study the historical, cultural, political and economic determinants of ‘world’ or ‘national’ cinemas and consider their influence within domestic and international contexts. You’ll look at case studies from various regions of the world including Latin America, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, and East Asia.

Optional modules may include the following:

• Disability and the Arts

• Psychology of the Arts

• Cinematography

• Hollywood Studios

• Sound, Music and Cinema

• Podcasting

• Social Media and Digital Platforms

• Video Gaming: Play and Players

• Genre Filmmaking

• Film Genre

Please see the course page on our website for full module details.

Year in Industry (optional)

You have the option to add a year in industry to this course. We already know you have the confidence and commitment to thrive in the workplace and kick-start your career. This is your chance to prove it, to yourself and to employers. This year in industry can be added during your studies at Kent.

Any Questions? We have the answers!

When should I start looking? Companies will recruit at different times of the year based on their size. It's good to be application ready by the summer of your first year.

Where can I get help finding a placement? Book an appointment with a placement adviser via the careers service.

Will I get paid? Most of our placements are paid.

Do I have to pay tuition fees? Yes, you’ll pay a substantially reduced fee. Fees for the current year (subject to changes) can be found on our tuition fees website.

Where can I get visa advice if I’m an international student? Kent Students' Union can help with any visa queries.

Does the University keep in touch? You receive four-weekly check-in emails, a visit from the team every three months and you can reach out to us any time by email or phone.

Do I work for a full year? The minimum requirement for an industrial placement is 44 weeks.

Year Abroad (optional)

Go Abroad

Taking a year abroad – whether you study at one of our prestigious partner universities or do an internship – is an amazing opportunity. This can be added during your studies at Kent.

Any questions? We have the answers!

Is there any additional funding for the year abroad? You may be able to apply for funding; check with our Go abroad team.

Do I have to pay tuition fees for the year abroad? Yes, you’ll pay a substantially reduced fee. Fees for the current year (subject to changes) can be found on our tuition fees website. You don’t pay anything to the host uni.

Will I still get my maintenance loan? Yes.

When does the year abroad take place? Between your second and final year.

Do I have to learn a foreign language? You’re taught in English in many destinations, but you’ll get more out of your year if you learn the local language.

Does the University keep in touch? You have full access to all Kent’s support services as well as our dedicated Go abroad team.

Year 3

The following modules are what students typically study, but this may change year to year in response to new developments and innovations:

Compulsory modules currently include the following:

• Film, Politics & Identity

  Throughout its history, film has functioned as a powerful sociopolitical force. Individuals and groups have used this medium to express their identities (whether gender, sexual, ethnic, class, political, national etc.) to various audiences, to portray their histories and current realities, to interrogate social norms, to agitate for civil rights, and to imagine more equal futures.

  Film's unique capacity to reflect, refract and represent has also meant that individuals and groups have also used it to exert power or subjugate, create and reinforce stereotypes about 'the Other' or justify their own dominance in the social order.

  This module focuses on this vital aspect of cinema. You’ll focus on different case studies to enable you to critically reflect on how film feeds into and explores identities, and the political implications of this. Recognition of the ways film can be used for suppression or liberation helps you become a better, more ethical and impactful filmmaker.

Optional modules may include the following:

• Directing Theatre, Staging Ideas

• Arts Internship

• Film & TV Adaptation

• Film Criticism

• Film Marketing and Distribution

• Microbudget Filmmaking

• Screen Space and Location Scouting

• Specialist Areas in Film Studies

• Factual Entertainment

• Fans and Fandom

• Media, Gender and Sexuality

• Stars and Celebrity Culture

Please see the course page on our website for full module details.

Year 1

The following modules are what students typically study, but this may change year to year in response to new developments and innovations.

Compulsory modules currently include the following:

• Film Theory

  What is film? What sort of questions do academics discuss in relation to this medium? You’ll engage in the systematic exploration of film offered by film theory, including competing definitions of film and discussions around what characterises the medium, how spectators engage with film, and the social, cultural, and political conditions and ideologies that film reproduces.

• Film Histories

  Filmmakers across the world continue to be inspired by old films. To create new film, knowing your history is vital. You’ll have the opportunity to explore these film connections between past and present. In carrying out this investigation, you’ll have access to primary and secondary sources held in the library. You’ll also be encouraged to evaluate the films you uncover for their aesthetic, technological, economic, social and political value.

• Film Style

  How do films tell stories? Why do they move or excite us? Why are some films visually or aurally more striking than others? And why do some films have a big impact and stand the test of time, while others do not?

  This module is how you will understand and learn to speak the language of film. You'll gain specific concepts and terminology, giving you a deeper understanding of how films work. You’ll learn how films tell stories by studying the principles of narrative construction (such as cause-and-effect, point-of-view, and time) and explore the various aspects of film style (such as mise-en-scène, cinematography and sound). You will discover the kinds of artistic choices filmmakers make, why they make them, and the effects these have.

• Film & Media Practice #1

  Have you ever wanted to better understand film as a media form and learn how to make your own? Film and Media Practice #1 draws upon concepts in Film and Media Studies to introduce you to moving image production and the principles of audiovisual language.

  You will develop technical skills in pre-production, production and post-production along with craft skills applicable to both narrative and experimental screen production. Through a combination of lectures, screenings, creative and technical workshops, and peer reviews of work in progress, this module encourages experimentation, critical reflection, independent thought, and dialogue between theory and practice.

• Film & Media Practice #2

  Building on the specific skills of image production you gained in Film & Media Practice 1, this module will introduce you to other kinds of digital content creation. Media content producers work with different mediums and in various communication formats. This module will expand your practice-based and technical skills so you can produce various forms of narrative-based and non-fiction creative outputs.

• Film Editing

  Why is editing a core element of the filmmaking process? Through hands-on work combining creative exercises and close analysis of films, you’ll explore how combining images can fulfil various functions including shaping stories, guiding points of view, creating emotions and aesthetic effects, and generating meaning.

  As well as focussing specifically on the work carried out by film/video editors, you’ll also engage with ‘editing’ as an approach to shaping raw material that extends across all aspects of film production, from screenwriting to directing and post-production. The module will situate this focus within the broader context of ‘montage’ and ‘collage’ as principles that extend across diverse art forms, including painting, sculpture, photography, literature, music, and digital media.

  Please see the course page on our website for full module details.