BA (Hons) Film and Television Studies (Full Time)

This comprehensive degree is one of the few in the UK to combine critical awareness of film and television with practical skills – so you can get a head start in the creative industries.

Key elements include:

• History and theory units on early, classical and contemporary film and TV
• Specialist units including guerrilla film-making, short film and cult TV drama
• Newly-refurbished, industry-standard studios, with pro digital video, HD and 16mm equipment
• Expert speakers and masterclasses (previous speakers include Ken Russell, Mark Kermode, Mike Hodges and Alan Parker)
• Trips to film festivals including Rotterdam, New York and Berlin
• Regular tutorials and a focus on class contact to prepare you for group assessments, film projects and essay writing – and to help you develop your individual style
• Ongoing range of workshops to help you build professional skills
• Live projects to help you gain industry understanding and put your learning into practice
• Expert staff team including screenwriters, producers, directors and academics.

Staff all are active researchers, and their support and passion is frequently highlighted by students and examiners – with examiners commenting that feedback on students’ work is exemplary.

Students have been very satisfied with the academic support and guidance offered by the teaching team.

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Industrial focus

Employability is at the heart of this course and the degree is designed to enable graduates to succeed in careers both within the creative industries and beyond.

Students are able to join the editorial board of the student-led film and TV review magazine Diegisis, and have the chance to screen work at Southampton Film Week.

Many graduates set up their own film, video or distribution companies, while others work within the media industry or continue their studies.

Course content

Year 1

Six core units:

• Studying the Moving Image
• Issues in TV History
• Issues in Film History
• Filming Fiction: Drama Production
• Real Stories: Documentary Production
• Introduction to Screenwriting.

Year 2

Five core units and one option unit:

• Critical Approaches to Film and Television
• Screen Audiences
• Hollywood Cinema Before and After TV
• Television Studio Production 1
• Television Studio Production 2.

Options:

• Directing and Editing
• Short Story Cinema
• Cinematography and Sound Recording
• Cult Film and TV
• Gender and Sexuality on Screen
• Crime and Noir
• British Television Genre
• World Cinema
• The Western
• Television Drama
• Screenwriting
• 16mm Film Production
• Guerrilla Film-making
• Screen Adaptations
• Solent Live Level 2
• The Body
• Curriculum Plus.

Year 3

Three core units and one option unit:

• British Film and Television
• Film and Television in the Global Age
• Major Dissertation/Major Screenwriting/Major Production.

Options:

• Cinefantastic
• Stars and Performance
• Sex on Screen
• Tortured Cinema
• Visualising War
• The Director
• Hollywood Musical
• Feminism and Film
• Film and the Holocaust
• The Time Machine
• Queer Cinema
• The Researcher
• Solent Live Level 3
• Curriculum Plus.

Why choose Solent?

The Film and Television degree prepares students for the developments and challenges of these two convergent, yet still independent, media. Close attention to film and television as distinct forms with their own histories and critical approaches is combined with a consideration of how film and television interact and engage with each other.

Using cutting-edge research and resources, the degree provides a creative and critical crossover to the study of film and television via an exciting blend of theory and practice that is essential to work in the contemporary screen industries.

• The staff team are experts in their fields, including academics, screenwriters, producers and directors.
• Excellent production and post-production facilities including state-of-the-art HD studios with green screen; digital, high-definition and editing facilities; the opportunity to work with 16mm film; and a new 35mm theatre with 3D and surround sound.
• The opportunity to study 16mm film-making.
• Gain a wide range of career skills such as creative-thinking, organisation, research and presentation skills that are highly valued by employers.
• Fantastic extracurricular opportunities: gain invaluable work experience by joining the course-led film and television magazine and having your work published; get involved with Southampton Film Week and Ejector Film Festival; join Sonar Film Club; film festival trips; present your work at the British Conference for Undergraduate Research.
• Multiple opportunities to collaborate with musicians, actors, designers, animators and technicians from across the University.

Assessment

Generally by coursework in the form of essays, presentations, student-led seminars, scripts, portfolio and completed film/television production. There is one exam in Year 1.

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Projects/work experience

Students have the unique opportunity to work on the editorial board for Diegesis, a critical film and television review magazine run by students and staff. You can also participate in outside broadcasting and filming opportunities at events such as Glastonbury, Cowes Week and Southampton Football Club matches. The degree has links with Southampton Film Week, an annual event partnered by CityEye and Screen South. There is also the opportunity to work with external clients via Solent Creatives and Solent Productions.

Key career skills

Writing, creative thinking, problem solving, presentation, research, self-evaluation, teamwork, project management, working to deadlines.

Student quote

Daryl Ball

“The best thing about the course for me has been the countless opportunities to gain valuable industry experience. The course is closely connected to Solent Productions, an in-house production company, which has provided me with paid work experience. There is also a professional film and television magazine, Diegesis, which gives students the chance to get their written work published and the unique opportunity to work on the editorial board. As a result of making the most of these kinds of opportunities, I have a very healthy CV to hand over to any potential employers.

“Ultimately, the BA (Hons) Film and Television Studies degree has provided me with a significant professional portfolio of work. I feel like I am in a great position to make the most of the skills I have gained on this course in order to find work within the industry. It has been a major part of the best three years of my life.”

View our student-run film and television review magazine Diegesis|

Key info from UNISTATS