Facilities and expertise in Media, Performance and Communication

Undergraduate

Our Media, Performance and Communication degrees are practically led, so you’ll connect with professional standard equipment and get hands-on from day one of your studies.

We continually invest in the latest equipment and specialist technology to enable you to gain the technical skills you need to create the next showstopper, bestseller, blockbuster and storytelling masterpiece. This includes our £11.5m Cadman Studios, which features live studios and control rooms, motion capture studios, Mac labs and HDTV centre. There’s also our broadcast newsroom and fully-equipped radio studio, as well as our drama studios and performance centre, housing a professional lighting rig, green room, props workshop and costume store.

 

NEW Facility for 2023 - Virtual Production Suite

Our new Virtual Production Suite combines the latest digital innovations in VFX, CGI and gaming technology with traditional film and video production techniques. Large LED panels 'project' realistic, accurately tracked, digitally animated landscapes into a live production environment where they interact with the live-action and camera movements in real-time to blend physical and digital worlds seamlessly together.

The facilities are what originally drew me to the course. I've completed the majority of my coursework in the Mac Labs, I've used the TV studio to film various projects, including music videos for external clients and I’ve also been able to book out a wide variety of camera equipment, such as different lenses and the Sony FS5.

Amelia Jones

Film and Media

Facilities

TV Studio

Our three-camera TV Studio is equipped with broadcast standard technology, green room, lighting rig, AV gallery and a comprehensive racks room for both live and pre-recorded productions. Read more

Our TV Studio is used by students across our Film and Media and Journalism and Content Creation courses. The studio floor also includes tiered audience seating.

Find out more about our Cadman TV Studios. 
Watch video View virtual tour

Virtual Production Studio

The Virtual Production Studio allows the combination of real-time games graphics with traditional film and video production techniques. Read more

Students are able to utilise the Virtual Production studio which comes complete with a 10m x 2.75m curved LED volume made of DigiLED DigiThin XS 2600 panels, Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12k camera with 35mm, 50mm and 85mm lenses, Vanishing Point Vector and Viper camera tracking systems, full RGB lighting system including LED Cloud, 1x Celeb 850, 1x Diva-Lite 41, 5x Diva-Lite 31 and 5x Q5 Color all controllable through a ChamSys MagicQ lighting desk, VR Scouting system using a HTC Vive Pro and audio system with speakers around the screen. HP workstations allow the process to be facilitated end-to-end by Unreal Engine to use photorealistic environments.
Watch video

Music Studios

The recording studio complex features six control rooms containing a variety of analogue, digital and hybrid mixing consoles as well as a Foley pit, and four live rooms hosting a selection of industry-standard amplifiers, microphones and instruments. Read more

Find out more about our Cadman Music Studios.
Watch video View virtual tour

Radio Studios

The Flaxman Radio Studios, located within The Broadcast Newsroom, consist of three individual studios and a studio monitoring area, housing a range of specialist news production and music scheduling software and professional hardware. Read more

All studios are equipped with studio quality microphones and headphones, broadcast news production software (Burli), music play-out and scheduling software (Myriad Play-out and Myriad AutoTrack), as well as phone lines, ISDN units and web audio (for external contributors). Our Radio Studios can be used for anything from voiceovers and news broadcasts to podcasts and radio shows. Find out more about our Flaxman Radio Studios. 
Watch video

Henrion Post Production Labs

These facilities consist of three open-plan multi-seat Mac labs housing 51 professional edit suites, each with a primary and secondary monitor and specialist production software. 37 suites incorporate Apple Mac Pros and 14 include 27" 5K iMacs. Read more

Find out more about our Henrion Post Production Labs. 
Watch video

Motion Capture Studio

Realistically capture multiple human movements simultaneously for the creation of high-quality games, animation and VFX sequences. Our industry standard facility features a 24-camera rig, Vicon hardware and Cara facial performance capture headset. Read more

The Motion Capture Stage is located in the Cadman Building, working alongside The Smart Zone. This facility hosts sessions that show students how to set up and prepare shoots at a high industry level. The sessions provided give in-depth information that covers each stage, from preparation to exporting data for use within a project.

Our MoCap Studio is used by students from a wide range of subjects, including Film and Media, Games Design, Animation, Drama, Sports Therapy and CGI and Visual Effects. 

Find out more about our Motion Capture Stage.
Watch video View virtual tour

Henrion Shoot Studio

A multi-purpose configurable production space for learning about film and cinematography production equipment. Read more

 It features a range of rig-mounted creative LED studio lights, controlled via a mixing desk. The studio is also available for to students to book for their own practical project requirements. It can also accommodate medium sets, either pre-constructed or built on-site. Find out more about our Henrion Shoot Studio. 
Watch video

Cadman Post Production Labs

Two open-plan multi-seat labs (one Mac-based, one PC-based), featuring 45 professional editing suites with a range of specialist AV production software to perfect the edit, colour and sound mixes on media productions. Read more

Each suite supports the following specialist production software: Avid Media Composer, Pro Tools, Adobe Premiere Pro, Audition, After Effects, Prelude, Photoshop and Media Encoder. Find out more about our Post Production Labs. 

TV News Set

Compact three-camera studio broadcasting facility, located within the Broadcast Newsroom, suitable for a variety of news, sports and current affairs requirements. It also includes a green screen and an open plan audio visual production gallery. Read more

Our TV News Set is primarily used for news, sports and current affairs broadcasts and can accommodate a variety of set-ups, requiring single or multiple presenters and/ or guests. The facility was officially opened by then BBC Director-General, Greg Dyke, in 2004. This facility is used by students on our Sports Journalism and Film and TV degrees. 

Find out more about our TV News Set. 
Watch video View virtual tour

MoJo Kits

Our MoJo kits work with smartphones to allow our students to report 'on the go'. This encourages students to consider how they can compile and tell a story in a fast paced, continually moving environment.  

Green Screen

You'll have access to a large dedicated green screen compositing studio, a 3D motion-capture studio and a large post-production edit facility. Read more

Find out more about our Henrion Post Production Labs.

VR, AR and Mixed Reality Lab

The VR, AR and Mixed Reality Lab is equipped with a number of HTC Vive Virtual Reality headsets and a dedicated development area to create, develop and test VR solutions.  Read more

VR and AR solutions can also be used in conjunction with the Motion Capture Studio to create mixed or hyper-reality experiences for a variety of industries and applications. Our VR, AR and Mixed Reality Labs can be used to create a range of experiences, including training, gaming, palliative care support and shopping experiences. Find out more about our Immersive Technology facilities. 
Watch video

Expertise

As well as access to the latest facilities, you’ll learn from highly qualified staff with active and prominent roles in both industry and research. Alongside industry guest speakers, they’ll bring your learning to life with the latest knowledge, research, skills and technologies, as well as network connections - valuable insights that you need to get an edge over the competition when you graduate.

Our staff

Stephen Griffiths

Course Director

Stephen's teaching centres on broadcast programme histories and media performance, especially acting on television. His research interests include broadcast light entertainment and comedy, television drama, and children's programming.

Stephen's profile

Dr Mark Brown

Course Director

As well as being Course Leader for English and Creative Writing, Mark teaches on First Year core modules and American literature modules on Crime Fiction, the Contemporary, Modernism and Beat Writing. He also supervises MA and PhD students.

Mark's profile

Dr Dave Payling

Associate Professor

Dave is an audio-visual artist who holds a PhD in composition. His primary research focus is Electronic Visual Music and he teaches composition, audio-visuals and mastering at undergraduate and post-graduate levels

Dave's profile
The amount of editing suites is amazing!

The amount of equipment and facilities that were here were what attracted me to my course. A really impressive industry camera that I never thought I'd ever get the chance to use, was one of the first cameras we were trained on. The amount of editing suites is amazing! The camera and filming equipment is really impressive.

Chloe Bray

Film and Media

Got a question about Media, Performance and Communication?

Our friendly enquiries team are on hand to answer any questions you may have about your course, life at University of Staffordshire and much more.

for Career Prospects

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023

for Facilities

Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023

for Social Inclusion

The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023

of Research Impact is ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Very Considerable’

Research Excellence Framework 2021

of Research is “Internationally Excellent” or “World Leading”

Research Excellence Framework 2021

Four Star Rating

QS Star Ratings 2021