Filmmaking (with Foundation Year)

BA (Hons) Filmmaking is a hands-on degree for aspiring filmmakers who want to develop creative, technical, and collaborative skills for careers in the screen industries. From concept to final cut, you’ll gain practical experience across all stages of production, working on short films, documentaries, and projects throughout your studies.

You will:

• Study in our Creative Industries Building - a collaborative hub shared with BBC Wales, fostering real-world production culture and interdisciplinary exchange

• Access industry-standard equipment and spaces, including a working studio, green screen, podcasting suites, and editing labs

• Engage with guest speakers, live briefs, and extra-curricular work experience with professional clients, building real-world insight and networks

• Gain free access to certified Avid and Blackmagic Design training, supporting professional development

• Learn by doing - develop short films, documentaries, and experimental pieces

• Showcase your work through curated screenings and external festival opportunities, building visibility and confidence

• Gain access to industry-standard software including DaVinci Resolve, Avid Media Composer, and Adobe Creative Cloud

• Use dedicated spaces for sound design, voiceover, and audio post-production

• Be taught by active filmmakers and media professionals with deep sector knowledge

Course Modules

The foundation year is designed to build confidence, core academic skills, and media production basics. It blends practical studio work with career-focused exploration, offering students a supportive entry into university-level study and creative practice

Modules:

• Study Skills for Success: Build confidence in academic writing, digital literacy, and time management. This module helps you settle into university life and develop essential study habits.

• Collaborative Practice: Work with others across creative disciplines to solve problems and develop ideas. You’ll gain experience in teamwork and communication - key skills for media professionals.

• A Day in the Life: Explore different roles in the media industry and reflect on your own interests. You’ll begin shaping your creative identity and building a portfolio.

• Media Studio Essentials: Get hands-on with cameras, microphones, and editing software. This module introduces you to the tools and techniques used in studio-based media production.

• Media Production – Screen: Learn the basics of visual storytelling, including genre, narrative, and composition. You’ll experiment with short film ideas and develop your creative voice.

• Media Production – Sound and Music: Discover how sound shapes emotion and meaning in media. You’ll explore audio recording, editing, and the role of music and sound design in storytelling.

Year 2 (Level 4)

In year two, you’ll build essential production skills in camera, sound, and editing, while exploring visual storytelling, genre, and creative identity. You’ll also learn to design stock media assets and apply audio techniques in film contexts.

Modules:

• Introduction to Screen Skills: Develop core production skills across camera, sound, and editing through practical workshops.

• Screen Language: Explore how visual storytelling communicates meaning, emotion, and narrative.

• Audio Skills in Context: Learn sound recording and editing techniques for film, with a focus on creative application.

• Film and Genre: Analyse genre conventions and produce short films that play with audience expectations.

• Creative Futures: Begin shaping your creative identity and career goals through reflective practice.

• Stock Media Asset Design: Create reusable media assets and understand your role in contemporary production workflows.

Year 3 (Level 5)

In year three, you will deepen your technical and conceptual understanding through genre-based production, storytelling, and research. Additionally, industry standards and client-focused work are introduced.

Modules:

• Creative Production: Collaborate on short film projects, refining your directing, cinematography, and production skills.

• Advertising & Marketing – Selling Ideas: Learn how to pitch, promote, and position creative work in competitive media landscapes.

• Research Methods: Build research skills to support both academic inquiry and creative development.

• Filming Reality – Documentary Modes: Explore documentary styles and produce non-fiction content with ethical and aesthetic awareness.

• Storytelling Across Media: Adaptation Studies: Investigate how stories shift across formats – from page to screen and beyond.

• Project and Platform

Year 4 (Level 6)

In year four, you will undertake advanced creative projects and independent research, refining your voice and preparing for industry or postgraduate study.

Modules:

• Practical Project

• Storytelling Across Media – Further Journeys in Adaptation

• Advanced Post-Production

• Film Movements Through History – Pivotal Moments and Iconic Directors

You’ll be taught through a mix of practical workshops, studio sessions, lectures, and seminars, with increasing independence and creative ownership as you progress through the course. Teaching is delivered through the university’s Active Learning Framework (ALF), blending face-to-face workshops with digital resources to support flexible, student-centred learning across all levels. At Level 4, you’ll build core skills through guided projects and collaborative learning. By Level 6, you’ll be leading your own productions and developing a final portfolio aligned with your career goals.

Assessment is entirely coursework-based and designed to reflect real-world creative practice. You’ll be assessed through short films, screenplays, production portfolios, critical reflections, and presentations. Feedback is iterative and embedded throughout, helping you refine your work and grow as a filmmaker.

Teaching and Learning

We offer workshops and support sessions in areas such as academic writing, effective note-making and preparing for assignments.

Students can book appointments with academic skills tutors dedicated to helping deal with the practicalities of university work. Our student support section has more information on the help available.

In terms of particular needs, the University’s Inclusion Services can provide appropriate guidance and support should any students require reasonable adjustments to be made because of a recognised prevailing disability, medical condition, or specific learning difference.