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Filmmaking BA (Hons)
Why choose this course?
On this course you'll explore the medium of film, developing your own filmmaking practice while acquiring skills for professional work in the creative industries.
You will engage with innovative, ambitious ideas, developing successful films in groups and individually, and gain a practical knowledge of a range of filmmaking approaches. Your learning will be supported by technical inductions, workshops with industry professionals, guest lectures and field trips.
You'll produce films with high production value, through our moving image workshop and with specialist filming equipment. You will be able to experiment with digital and analogue formats, including shooting, processing and scanning 8mm and 16mm film. You will also have access to our 3D workshops, photography darkrooms, printmaking and animation facilities.
You'll be taught by academics who are active practitioners in the film industry, working as artists, directors, cinematographers, editors and producers; they offer access to unique work experience opportunities. For example, our students have participated in placements at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, Film & Video Umbrella and Film London, among other organisations.
| Attendance | UCAS code | Year of entry |
|---|---|---|
| 3 years full time | W620 | 2023 (Clearing) 2024 |
Please note: We do not accept applications for Year 2 (Level 5) or Year 3 (Level 6) entry onto this course.
| Location | Kingston School of Art, Knights Park |
Reasons to choose Kingston
- We're ranked No.2 in London for Film Production and Photography (The Guardian University Guide League Tables 2023).
- You'll use our inspiring facilities to produce films in analogue and digital formats, with access to high-end and high-speed digital cameras, Super 8 and 16mm film cameras, as well as professional studios and edit suites.
- You'll participate in an annual curated screening of student film work at a London venue. Your final graduation film will also be screened on campus and at a central London cinema with industry guests.
- This creative filmmaking course values diversity and a practical approach. It incorporates multiple approaches to filmmaking, critical thinking, research skills and technical experimentation.
Accreditation
ARRI
Kingston University is an ARRI-accredited Film School. As an ARRI-accredited Film School, final-year students can do an additional ARRI Certified Training for Camera Systems module to enhance their camera skills and CV.
The Art School Experience
As part of Kingston School of Art, students on this course benefit from joining a creative community where collaborative working and critical practice are encouraged.
Our workshops and studios are open to all disciplines, enabling students and staff to work together, share ideas and explore multi-disciplinary making.
Filmmaking at Kingston
What you will study
From conception, ideas and creative strategies of engagement, through pre-production and planning, to the innovative creation of bespoke film projects, this course provides you with a comprehensive understanding of filmmaking and key professional roles in the industry.
Throughout the course you will analyse and explore film specialisms, including directing, cinematography, editing, sound recording and production design to find your own unique career path.
You'll learn how to contextualise, engage with and critique the film industry through your own practice and projects, via taught modules and guest lectures. Upon graduation you'll be well equipped to enter film production employment with confidence and in a variety of guises.
Modules
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
In Year 1 students are given technical inductions and introduced through creative projects to film production. Projects briefs will give you the opportunity to develop ideas for films and undertake a range of production roles. You will learn about research enquiry, directing actors, studio and location work, running a set, interview technique, production and post-production, lighting and cinematography, sound recording and design.
Core modules
Filmmaking Practices 1
30 credits
The emphasis in this module is on developing a number of short film works in both production units and individually as an integral part of an introduction to the programme and its expectations. You will be introduced to a range of approaches to filmmaking, supported by inductions to the key areas of film resources. The module also provides support for the development of research enquiry.
Filmmaking Practices 2
30 credits
This module will provide you with an intensive technically driven introduction period. It will cover various techniques, film grammar and good working practice, involving a series of filmmaking tasks assessed in terms of their successful technical resolution and enhanced understand of production skills and methods. Inductions and tuition in studio production, working as a film unit and in post-production, are integrated into the module. The emphasis is subsequently towards the development and realisation of original short films, through which students learn about filmmaking practices. There is an integrated approach where skills are primarily taught as part of project work. The aim is to undertake and produce a short film.
Filmmaking Practices 3
30 credits
The emphasis is towards the development and realisation of original short films involving performers/actors/live presence, through which you will learn about directing actors, scripting, running a set and organising larger scale productions. There is an integrated approach where skills are primarily taught as part of project work. The aim is to undertake and produce a number of short films across the year group; with an opportunity for collaboration on more ambitious projects.
Contextualising Contemporary Practice: Film
30 credits
This module introduces the various contexts in which the contemporary practices of filmmaking, are defined, debated and displayed. The module is designed to support your first steps as practitioners within the wider field of the visual arts in the 21st century. Through lectures, discussions, screenings and exhibition visits you will be introduced to the historical framework of modernity and post-modernity in order to understand the development and contemporary situation of their discipline. The module is organised as discrete but related teaching blocks that progress from broader questions of cultural practice to the more specific debates that have framed the historical development film and its associated fields - for example artist's video and photography. In the first block, the emphasis is broad and focused on developing in students, an understanding of the notion of practice in filmmaking and the wider visual arts, by addressing the historical, theoretical, social and political factors that have affected our understanding of its function. In the second block, you will be encouraged to consider the key debates, theoretical questions and changing contexts that inform your discipline. Throughout there is an emphasis on the introduction of key analytical, critical and research skills, and through close engagement with visual sources, historical texts and contemporary critical writing, you will begin to develop the tools necessary to discuss, conceptualise and reflect on their own emerging practice.
In Year 2 you will undertake projects with the opportunity to shoot and process 8mm film, use archive, green screen, high-speed video and explore the intersection between live-action and animation. You will work in groups developing pitches for ambitious productions collaborating with professional actors, developing character and script, and shooting on location. Through the production of these films, you will be encouraged to identify your strengths and have the opportunity to explore specialist areas of interest.
Core modules
Filmmaking Practices 4
30 credits
The emphasis here is on thinking of the studio as a tool with which to create challenging, experimental content. However content is not restricted to studio-based production, but encompasses substantial work on location as well. You will be encouraged to experiment with styles and techniques, and to embrace both location and studio production as part of the creative toolkit available to you as innovative filmmakers and designers of the future.
Filmmaking Practices 5
30 credits
This module will provide you with an enhanced understanding of filmmaking practices, together with introducing a thorough grounding in related research and development methods and production skills. Each student will initiate and produce a film work, working in small production units to achieve this, or work in a role-oriented capacity on a group production.
Filmmaking Practices 6
30 credits
This module offers you specialised practical development along with supporting professional development studies. You will work on short films involving performers, scripts and dialogue.
Critical Issues in Filmmaking: Research and Practice
30 credits
Building on the thematic and historical context introduced at Level 4, this module enables you to create a theoretical framework within which to investigate and understand some of the critical issues affecting the practice and interpretation of contemporary filmmaking. With a close focus on analysis of key case studies, a series of lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials, and group and individual screenings inform and support your own emerging research interests and the development of independent visual and academic research skills common to both the historical and theoretical study of film and practice of filmmaking. With reference to important concepts and primary texts that have informed the development of film theory, you will acquire the knowledge and analytical skills to build a framework within which to engage with the critical contexts in which filmmaking operates today. You will also develop research methods appropriate to the study and practice of your discipline, propose an area of research for development at Level 6, and begin to contextualise and make sense of the concerns emerging in your own practice.
In Year 3 you will undertake two large scale projects, culminating in the Graduation Film. You will work to your strengths and develop material for your graduation portfolio. The final Graduation Films are screened at shows on campus and at a central London cinema.
Core modules
Independent Film
30 credits
This module is informed by the Advanced Research and Development module and involves the realisation of Independent Films. The module enables you to develop films either individually or as production units. It encourages the development of films that are both ambitious and build on the learning, successes and strengths gained during your Level 5 work.
The Graduation Film
60 credits
This 60 credit capstone module is the culmination of study in filmmaking, incorporating research, process/development, film production and final degree show presentational elements. Working in various specialised production roles, you can distil your accumulated knowledge into an ambitious film for presentation at both on-site and external graduation screenings. Students are also expected to undertake various co-ordination duties around the realisation of the final degree show presentations.
Dissertation: Research and Reflection
30 credits
Building on the links between research and practice embedded at Level 5, the Critical and Historical Studies (CHS) Dissertation: Research and Reflection module focuses on in-depth research, critical enquiry and reflection on questions and critical issues emerging in students' own practice, and pertinent to the practice of their own discipline.
Over the module, students will initiate and develop an individual research topic; identify and evaluate appropriate archives, bodies of critical literature, visual/material sources and research methods; manage their study time; engage with and respond to tutorial dialogue and peer feedback, and apply critical and analytical skills to produce a 7-8000 word written Dissertation, supported by a series of lectures, seminars and tutorials.
Future Skills
Knowledge to give you the edge
Embedded within every course curriculum and throughout the whole Kingston experience, Future Skills will play a role in shaping you to become a future-proof graduate, providing you with the skills most valued by employers such as problem-solving, digital competency, and adaptability.
As you progress through your degree, you'll learn to navigate, explore and apply these graduate skills, learning to demonstrate and articulate to employers how future skills give you the edge.
At Kingston University, we're not just keeping up with change, we're creating it.
Entry requirements
If you would like to join us through Clearing 2023, please call our Clearing hotline on 0800 0483 334 (or +44 020 8328 1149 if you are calling from outside the UK) and speak to our friendly and knowledgeable hotliners who will be able to provide information on available courses and will guide you through your options.
Please note the entry requirements listed below are for 2024 entry only.
Teaching and assessment
You'll be taught production and conceptual skills in an integrated manner, focusing progressively on aspects of the short film form: directing, editing, studio and location work, contextualisation and combining approaches to all of these.
You'll also work in groups as production crews and be assigned roles, alongside developing your own individual practice, giving you the opportunity to investigate a variety of methods and their relevance to each creative role
Who teaches this course?
All Filmmaking staff are professionally active and academically qualified, bringing a high level of expertise and experience to their teaching.
Their research active current practices, professional contacts, networks and enthusiasm ensure the course is at the forefront of new developments in the filmmaking sector.
Staff specialisations range from documentary filmmaking production to directing experimental films and working on assigned roles within the industry.
Fees and funding
Additional costs
Depending on the programme of study, there may be extra costs that are not covered by tuition fees which students will need to consider when planning their studies. Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessment and operating University facilities such as the library, access to shared IT equipment and other support services. Accommodation and living costs are not included in our fees.
Where a course has additional expenses, we make every effort to highlight them. These may include optional field trips, materials (e.g. art, design, engineering), security checks such as DBS, uniforms, specialist clothing or professional memberships.
Facilities
You'll have access to the Moving Image workshop at Knights Park campus, in addition to many other studio spaces and workshops. You'll be encouraged to take advantage of our excellent analogue facilities, shooting on Super 8, 16mm and Super 16mm. We have related processing, editing, telecine and projection facilities, specific to Filmmaking students.
What our students say
After you graduate
This degree prepares you for a range of careers such as director, independent filmmaker, cinematographer, editor, artist-filmmaker, producer, sound recordist, designer and film programmer. The course is also a platform for further study or vocational positions in commercial film.
How we work with industry partners
The BA (Hons) Filmmaking programme has strong links within the moving image sector, through:
- active staff - all of whom are working within the industry in various capacities; and
- work experience programmes - offering students a way into key organisations in moving image.
Film festival and award successes
Our Filmmaking students have an excellent history of screening their work at external festivals and events.
These include London Short Film Festival, Aesthetica Film Festival, Birds Eye Film Festival, the South London Gallery, Chicago Art House Film Festival, Lisbon Film Festival and the British Student Film Festival.
- Current second year student Dylan Friese-Greene has been shortlisted for the prestigious Grierson Awards for his short documentary Sian: Portrait of a Photographer.
- Chiemi Shimada's film Chiyo, screening at Open City Documentary Festival in September 2019, has been nominated for Best UK Short.
- Naomi Wong's graduation film 'Naturally Lazy' screened at the BAFTA-qualifying London Short Film Festival 2018.
- Chiemi Shimada's graduation film 'Fragments' screened at the BAFTA-qualifying Aesthetica Film Festival in York 2017.
- Zhao Siyu won Best Film at the London Independent Film Festival in 2017.
- Will Hooper's graduation film won Best Underground Film at Lisbon International Film Festival in 2016.
- Jacob Hesmondhalgh and Marie Hobson won Best Documentary Short at Weyauwega International Film Festival in 2015.
- Ed Chappell won the Young Greenhorn Film Award at Greenhorn Short Film Festival in 2014.
Key information set
The scrolling banner(s) below display some key factual data about this course (including different course combinations or delivery modes of this course where relevant).
Course changes and regulations
The information on this page reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. To improve your student experience and the quality of your degree, we may review and change the material information of this course. Course changes explained.
Programme Specifications for the course are published ahead of each academic year.
Regulations governing this course can be found on our website.
