University degrees: Postgraduate
Course length: 1 year full-time
This MA will enhance your narrative skills as an editor of fiction for film and television.
This Masters is a pathway of MA Filmmaking, so that in addition to your specialised training you will collaborate with students across all specialisms on a variety of film projects.
Experienced tutors and guests provide expert guidance designed to enhance the flow of your individual research, experimentation and artistic achievement.
You will complete your degree by working in your specialist role on a major production in the final term.
The programme is housed in a new purpose-built media facility equipped with state-of-the art teaching spaces including a film studio equipped with Arri lighting and Green Screen facilities. Edit suites are equipped with Avid Media Composer and tuition is offered, giving the opportunity to gain Avid Certified User accreditation (Media Composer 101 and 110). Edit suites, screening rooms and sound studios are linked via Avid’s industry standard ISIS storage area network.
You will work to professional standards using high-end digital formats. You will also learn sophisticated postproduction workflow techniques, gaining a wealth of experience in off-line editing and an understanding of how this fits in with on-line editing, visual effects and picture grading.
In addition to your specialist area, you can attend classes in related disciplines. This framework is designed to stimulate collaborative practice by providing you with a breadth of filmmaking knowledge combined with a high level of expertise in your chosen filmmaking discipline.
“The degree was the first time that I studied and socialised with very like-minded students. The facilities were fantastic, and the teachers were highly skilled and had in-depth knowledge about the industry.”
“It’s not just about planning sophisticated camera moves or complex editing; its about linking creative techniques to telling a powerful story in ways that people can experience for themselves and literally ‘feel’.”
Tutors on the MA Filmaking course have a wealth of experience in the film and television industry. We maintain close links with the industry – the editing department has, for the last few years, had a strong relationship with the Guild of British Film and Television Editors who have provided mentors for our students.
If you have specific questions about the degree, contact the Department of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies.
In your first two terms, you will spend a full day a week in specialised contact with your specific programme convenor. These sessions include:
You will also take three option modules, taught through practical workshops and hands-on experiences, as well as critical discussion and essay writing.
The third term will be taken up with your final substantive project and you will take part in a series of progress and feedback meetings.
You will also advance your collaborative skills by working in teams with fiction and documentary producers and directors, cinematography and sound students, on a variety of projects and at least three scheduled films across the year.
You will leave the programme with a diverse portfolio of moving-image work that may span a variety of formats – music video, web series drama, documentary, campaign/commercial, experimental art pieces and short fiction films.
You will take the following modules:
| Module title | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| Editing: Specialist Skills | 30 credits | |
| Contemporary Screen Narratives in Practice and Theory | 15 credits |
You will also complete a Final Project (90 credits), assessed by a portfolio of work and a viva that reflects your practice.
As well as your Editing specialism, you will choose three 15-credit option modules to enhance your other skills and critical approaches. Options include:
| Module title | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| Social Activist Film | 15 credits | |
| Adaptation and Script Editing | 30 credits | |
| Archaeology of the Moving Image | 15 credits | |
| Camera Fundamentals | 15 credits | |
| Experimental Media | 30 credits or 15 credits | |
| Filmmakers Make Theory | 15 credits | |
| Film Producing Fundamentals | 15 credits | |
| Representing Reality | 15 credits | |
| Sound Design Fundamentals | 15 credits | |
| The Ascent of the Image | 15 credits | |
| Visual Storytelling | 30 credits | |
| Doctor Holby: Writing for Existing Continuing TV Drama Series | 15 credits | |
| Media Law and Ethics | 15 credits | |
| Practical Law for Film-makers | 15 credits |
Download the programme specification. If you would like an earlier version of the programme specification, please contact the Quality Office.
Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.