Television & Film Production with Integrated Foundation Year

Develop your skills by entering the creative industries on an Integrated Foundation Year degree.

If you’re interested in taking on a new subject that you’ve not had the opportunity to study in depth before, or have been out of education for a while, then our Integrated Foundation Year courses might be for you. These four-year courses include an introductory year to help you build the core skills needed for specialist degree-level study.

This is a chance for you to let your imagination run wild and explore your creativity, expand your professional skills and develop enhanced subject knowledge in the domain you want to study. We’ll help nurture your expertise in problem solving, risk-taking, designing and making as you develop your abilities through five core modules.

After your foundation year, you’ll have a deeper knowledge of your subject, a clear understanding of your strengths, a developed practical and technical skill set and the confidence to excel in your chosen degree subject when you join other students for the rest of your course.

Develop your unique craft in storytelling through television and short film production.

Develop your authentic voice through moving-image storytelling, whether you aspire to create high-end drama with full-scale crews, meaningful documentaries, music videos, commercials or new forms of content – investing in the story and understanding why you’re telling it. You’ll learn by doing, gaining hands-on experience in areas including cinematography (camera and lighting), producing, directing and sound. You’ll build expertise in scriptwriting for short film and TV serial drama, editing, analysis and critical thinking, empowering you to create work that is artistically and technically inventive.

You will:
Develop technical, design thinking and production skills in your chosen specialism.
Learn teamwork, leadership and project management skills through a variety of learning environments.
Develop critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills through the development of unique and innovative projects.
Complete your chosen degree over a four-year period.
Learn from award-winning staff and industry experts. Recent masterclasses and visiting professionals include Distinguished Professor Mark Jenkin (Enys Men), graduate Daisy Allen (Camera Loader, No Time to Die), Tom Morgan (Head of Client Services at ENVY Post), Ben Coren (Development Executive at Film4), and Johnie Burn (sound design for Nope, Zone of Interest)
Collaborate in teams to create original content while gaining hands-on experience in various production roles, including director, sound designer, script supervisor, or cinematographer.
Have the opportunity to work in-house through our production centre, the Sound/Image Cinema Lab. Previous productions include Film4’s Enys Men (Mark Jenkin, 2023), Long Way Back (Simon Harvey, 2022) and Wilderness (Justin Doherty, 2021)
Attend technical workshops, led by experienced professionals, offering training on specialist industry-standard equipment and software; such as technical and creative use of the camera and visual storytelling, sound design in Pro Tools, picture grading in DaVinci Resolve, and lighting techniques such as 3-point lighting
Study in a facility that’s part of the ENVY Academy for post production and CILECT, the global association of the world’s best film, television and animation schools – on a course accredited by ScreenSkills, the industry-led skills body for the screen industries

This Television & Film Production degree is industry recognised by ScreenSkills, the industry-led skills body for the UK's screen-based industries, and carries the ScreenSkills Select quality-mark which indicates courses best suited to prepare students for a career in the screen industries.

Foundation Year:
In your foundation year, you'll study five core modules: three short modules in the first study block and two in the second (one short, one long). These are all designed to help you explore the foundational elements of both creative practice and your chosen specialism. You'll gain relevant technical skills, learn to experiment and take risks, develop an understanding of professional practice, have opportunities to work across disciplines and collaborate with other students on live project briefs.

After your foundation year, you'll have a deeper knowledge of your subject, a clear understanding of your strengths, a developed practical and technical skillset and the confidence to excel in your chosen degree subject when you join other students for the rest of your course.

Modules:
Explore
Technique
Apply
Industry
Launch

Year One
In the first year of your degree, you will explore your place as a creative and critical practitioner and develop your creative voice and artistic expression through the crafts of screenwriting, cinematography (camera and lighting), sound (recording, design and audio-post) and post-production (editing and finishing). You will consider the background context and conventions of the television and film industry and how this will inform your own making. Building on what you’ve learnt, you’ll collaborate in small teams to produce documentary and drama outputs. Through this process, you’ll take on key roles within a production crew, honing your communication and teamwork skills. You will consider your sense of belonging and how to be increasingly aware and inclusive of the perspectives of others when producing moving image work.

Modules:
Discovery
Backdrop
First Positions
Represent

Year Two
Building on the skills learnt in your first year, you’ll further develop your creative voice, specialist skills and your ability to collaborate effectively and sensitively. You will start to focus on particular areas of interest such as, cinematography, screenwriting, sound, producing, production design, and post-production. You’ll further develop your collaboration and teamworking skills by working in groups and filming on location to produce a number of original projects, such as short film, documentary, live-briefs and more.

You will develop an understanding of the marketplace as a working professional and how to seek funding, find an audience, and build greater acclaim. You will also explore a research topic of your choice to develop into your third year.

Modules:
Artistry
Blue Skies
Impact
Inception

Year Three
In your final year, you’ll produce a unique research output and ambitious major project(s) in the roles that you’re most passionate about pursuing, such as screenwriting, producing, directing, cinematography, editing, sound, 1st assistant directing, and production design.

You’ll further develop your unique creative voice and be given the space to take risks and explore new territory in screen media. You will make multiple small projects in the first half of the year, building to one or more major projects in the second half. Throughout the year, you'll receive regular feedback through specialist sessions, guided supervision, and constructive live critiques.

Modules:
Dare
Realisation
Showcase
Futures

As part of our process of continuous improvement, we routinely review course content to ensure that all our students benefit from a high-quality and rewarding academic experience. As such, there may be some changes made to your course which are not immediately reflected in the content displayed on our website. Any students affected will be informed of any changes made directly.

Foundation Year assessments are 100% coursework based.

Assessment will take place at the end of each module, and you'll get feedback and evaluation throughout the year. You'll be assessed through visual, verbal and written assignments, including your portfolio and a reflective journal. In your foundation year all assessments are pass/fail to encourage students to take risks and engage with the feedback provided.

Progressing in your specialism
Students studying on courses with an Integrated Foundation Year must successfully complete and pass all foundation modules before they can progress to the next stage of their course.

Your specialism:
You'll be assessed with practical and written coursework. There are no formal exams on the course.

Assessment methods
Portfolios
Filmed productions
Presentations
Essays
Video essays
Scripts
Preparatory work
Critical evaluation

Work towards assessment takes place throughout the study block with submission deadlines towards the end of each term. You will receive feedback throughout each module via bookable tutorials and campfires, crit sessions and feedback tutorials which provide support and guidance leading up to assessment deadlines. Summative feedback will also be provided after each assessment deadline.