Welcome to your Film Production course

You are joining a vibrant, student-centred film community where students support each other to develop and achieve their goals. This is an exciting and demanding course where you will spend most of your time making films. You can expect to be in university for a high proportion of your time during the week either in workshops, training sessions, tutorials or completing your production tasks. You are required to attend all scheduled learning and teaching sessions and complete your assignments in your self-managed time.

The practical nature of the course means that you will be using our film production equipment from the start. We kick things off right from the beginning of Welcome Week with the planning and preparation for your 4-day residential film shoot. You will start your degree with a 40-credit module called Non-Fiction Filmmaking, where you will collaborate with a crew of 4-5 students to create a documentary film and BTS short.

You will also complete a 20-credit module called Film and Media Professional Development, which will introduce you to academic study and start you thinking about potential career pathways. You will be focusing on your future career in the screen industries as soon as you arrive!

In preparation for starting the course in September, there are a few tasks and resources that you can get started with to help you hit the ground running.

You will be undertaking hands-on practical workshops on all the equipment needed to complete your assignments. Every student will be expected to develop a multi-disciplinary skillset and have a baseline knowledge of all the equipment. To get a head start, you can watch work through our online training videos created by the technical instructors that will be supporting you in September.

Canon C100:

https://vimeo.com/showcase/7572432

Zoom H6 Audio Recorder:

https://vimeo.com/showcase/7319947

AVID

You will be using the industry leading editing program AVID Media Composer Ultimate. This is a huge jump up from Adobe Premiere Pro or Final cut. You can download the free version to explore the interface and try some basic editing. https://www.avid.com/media-composer

We would recommend watching as many short films as possible from the course's YouTube channel. This will give you a better understanding of the breadth and depth of work created by our students. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkkh-aP8cryEPI79xwji80w

You can also connect to all our social media channels. This will enable you to find out more about the course and keep up to date about what our graduates are now working on. Connect via the links below:

@staffsfilmmedia | #staffsfilmmedia

LinkTree – linktr.ee/filmproduction

Twitter - @StaffsFilmMedia
Instagram - https://twitter.com/StaffsFilmMedia
Facebook - www.facebook.com/StaffsFilmMedia

Here are some books that you may like to look at or borrow from your local library before starting the course:

Documentary Storytelling, by Sheila Curran Bernard, London: Focal/Routledge, 2022.

The Study Skills Handbook, by Stella Cottrell, Basingstoke: Bloomsbury Academic, 2019.

The Documentary Distribution Toolkit, by Rachel Gordon, London: Focal/Routledge, 2021.

Media Production, by Amanda Willett, London: Routledge, 2021.

If you have any questions or queries about the course please don’t hesitate to contact your Course Leader, Colin Mottram, e-mail:  c.j.mottram@staffs.ac.uk or your Course Director, Stephen Griffiths, e-mail: s.c.griffiths@staffs.ac.uk

We have an extensive production resources centre where we have all the portable equipment, shoot studios and post-production facilities needed to complete your work.

We do recommend that students have their own portable hard drive to back up their production work, in addition to having their projects stored on the shared drives. We highly recommend the USB-C Samsung T7 drives to students; these are fast drives that enable direct editing of multiple streams of uncompressed video footage.

All productions have some expendable items such as gaffer tape and batteries. Students often prefer to invest in a battery charger and re-rechargeable AA batteries rather than buying disposable ones for each shoot.

Download software

Throughout your time on Film Production there will be opportunities for you to attend external events, workshops, and filming opportunities to influence and inspire your own films.

We have the residential film shoot (4 Days – October/November) where you will shoot your first short documentary film. Embedded in your first production module, the inclusive trip enables you to apply your knowledge and skills developed in the first few weeks of the course. The trip also provides lots of opportunities for you to meet and network with the whole cohort and get to know everyone by the time you return to campus.

There are also optional trips available, and we have visited:

New York (7 days – Optional/Additional Cost)

This opportunity enables you to visit film and TV studios, art galleries, museums and of course its iconic landmarks. The aim of the trip is to explore global cultures and gather ideas and influences for your own creative outputs.

Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival, France (6 days – Optional/Additional Cost)

This trip to the world’s largest short film festival and marketplace provides full accreditation, with VIP access to all film screenings, marketplaces, and networking events. It enables you to make global connections with filmmakers and distribution companies and opportunities to get your own work distributed internationally. Watching work from around the world also gives you a global overview of contemporary film production practices, influencing and inspiring your own approaches to creative storytelling. 

Wednesday afternoons are for students’ union clubs and societies and include:

Staffs TV

https://www.staffsunion.com/activities/society/staffstv/

OMG Radio

https://www.staffsunion.com/activities/society/omg/

Digital Arts Society

https://www.staffsunion.com/activities/society/das/

Cosplay & Crafts

https://www.staffsunion.com/activities/society/ccs/

LGBTQ+ Network
https://www.staffsunion.com/organisation/lgbtnetwork/

All clubs and societies

All students will receive a free course hoodie that can be ordered in Welcome Week. These Production Crew hoodies are essential to wear on location to keep warm and look professional.

In preparation for extended durations of working outside in all weather conditions, we recommend that all students invest in functional clothing and footwear to ensure they are protected from the elements and comfortable. We recommend supplies such as Go Outdoors, Millets, where you can pick up a pair of waterproof walking shoes, waterproof and windproof coats and waterproof trousers.