Film Making

Study mode:On campus Study type:Part-time Languages: English
Local:$ 7.39 k / Year(s) Foreign:$ 16.2 k / Year(s)  
801–1000 place StudyQA ranking:10200 Duration:12 months

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The Film Making MA at Kingston University has been carefully developed during a 10-year period based on the direct experiences and practices of the staff and students within the growing and inclusive Kingston film making community. Our first principle is that film is a uniquely collective art form.

The ethos of the course is to bring together three key elements:

  • The history of film making practice
  • Techniques in practical film making
  • Thought and reflection on the film making process and products

And develop three key areas in all of our film makers:

  • Personal creative vision
  • Rigorous critical thought
  • Fluid technical skills

And for us the first of these is by far the most important.
Practice and theory come together in all of our thinking, talking, writing and making. A focus is placed on the role of editing in every aspect of our work.
The course began in response to the vast possibilities offered by digital film making and distribution technologies to bring the practice, business and art form within the reach of marginalised people for the first time in history. Our point of departure is in the classical principles of neo-realist film making, in other words a simple, humble approach to recording everyday lives that celebrates its poverty in terms of material resources. However our approach is equally informed by the films that marginalised people go to see. We make no distinction between films and movies and draw upon the possibilities for personal communication in films and the discipline and structure and mass appeal offered by the genre conventions of the movies.
Our approach is international and multicultural. Students come from all over the world to work together on films and movies. One of our Chinese graduates has recently released his debut movie and an Indian graduate from last year's course has had his first short accepted by the Cannes Film Festival.
The most unique feature of film making at Kingston is our firm belief that it is for everyone.
We feel that in the climate of international visual culture in which our students live and breathe that most people are already making films in their heads. Our course is designed to bring those films into being, into sound and vision. To make this transition possible the start of the course is front loaded with workshops in the practical skills of camera and sound design, recording and post-production necessary to bring ideas to life. The rest of the course is spent in applying and refining our skills and ideas and our projects.

Film Making MAModeDurationStart dateFull time1 year
  • September 2015
Part time2 years
  • September 2015
Choose Kingston's Film Making MA

The Film Making MA at Kingston University has been carefully developed during a 10-year period based on the direct experiences and practices of the staff and students within the growing and inclusive Kingston film making community. Our first principle is that film is a uniquely collective art form.

The ethos of the course is to bring together three key elements:

  • The history of film making practice
  • Techniques in practical film making
  • Thought and reflection on the film making process and products

And develop three key areas in all of our film makers:

  • Personal creative vision
  • Rigorous critical thought
  • Fluid technical skills

And for us the first of these is by far the most important.
Practice and theory come together in all of our thinking, talking, writing and making. A focus is placed on the role of editing in every aspect of our work.
The course began in response to the vast possibilities offered by digital film making and distribution technologies to bring the practice, business and art form within the reach of marginalised people for the first time in history. Our point of departure is in the classical principles of neo-realist film making, in other words a simple, humble approach to recording everyday lives that celebrates its poverty in terms of material resources. However our approach is equally informed by the films that marginalised people go to see. We make no distinction between films and movies and draw upon the possibilities for personal communication in films and the discipline and structure and mass appeal offered by the genre conventions of the movies.
Our approach is international and multicultural. Students come from all over the world to work together on films and movies. One of our Chinese graduates has recently released his debut movie and an Indian graduate from last year's course has had his first short accepted by the Cannes Film Festival.
The most unique feature of film making at Kingston is our firm belief that it is for everyone.
We feel that in the climate of international visual culture in which our students live and breathe that most people are already making films in their heads. Our course is designed to bring those films into being, into sound and vision. To make this transition possible the start of the course is front loaded with workshops in the practical skills of camera and sound design, recording and post-production necessary to bring ideas to life. The rest of the course is spent in applying and refining our skills and ideas and our projects.

We draw on influences from all cultural spheres, high and low and far and wide. Some of those that have influenced the development of the programme are: Agnes Varda, Ousmane Sembene, Takeshi Kitano, The Sun-Ra Arkestra, Alternative TV, Sniffing Glue, Ida Lupino, Alice Coltrane, Lee Chang-Dong, Jacques Cousteau, Clare Denis, Abbas Kiarostami, Li Yang, Ritwik Ghatak, Hal Ashby, Alan Pakula, David Simon, Moufida Tlatli, Debra Granik, Courtney Hunt, Kelly Reichardt. The Orchids, The Slits, The Supremes and The Bodysnatchers. Robert Mitchum, Robert de Niro, Rita Hayworth and Sandra Bullock.

Film Making MAModeDurationStart dateFull time1 year
  • September 2015
Part time2 years
  • September 2015
Choose Kingston's Film Making MA

The Film Making MA at Kingston University has been carefully developed during a 10-year period based on the direct experiences and practices of the staff and students within the growing and inclusive Kingston film making community. Our first principle is that film is a uniquely collective art form.

The ethos of the course is to bring together three key elements:

  • The history of film making practice
  • Techniques in practical film making
  • Thought and reflection on the film making process and products

And develop three key areas in all of our film makers:

  • Personal creative vision
  • Rigorous critical thought
  • Fluid technical skills

And for us the first of these is by far the most important.
Practice and theory come together in all of our thinking, talking, writing and making. A focus is placed on the role of editing in every aspect of our work.
The course began in response to the vast possibilities offered by digital film making and distribution technologies to bring the practice, business and art form within the reach of marginalised people for the first time in history. Our point of departure is in the classical principles of neo-realist film making, in other words a simple, humble approach to recording everyday lives that celebrates its poverty in terms of material resources. However our approach is equally informed by the films that marginalised people go to see. We make no distinction between films and movies and draw upon the possibilities for personal communication in films and the discipline and structure and mass appeal offered by the genre conventions of the movies.
Our approach is international and multicultural. Students come from all over the world to work together on films and movies. One of our Chinese graduates has recently released his debut movie and an Indian graduate from last year's course has had his first short accepted by the Cannes Film Festival.
The most unique feature of film making at Kingston is our firm belief that it is for everyone.
We feel that in the climate of international visual culture in which our students live and breathe that most people are already making films in their heads. Our course is designed to bring those films into being, into sound and vision. To make this transition possible the start of the course is front loaded with workshops in the practical skills of camera and sound design, recording and post-production necessary to bring ideas to life. The rest of the course is spent in applying and refining our skills and ideas and our projects.

We draw on influences from all cultural spheres, high and low and far and wide. Some of those that have influenced the development of the programme are: Agnes Varda, Ousmane Sembene, Takeshi Kitano, The Sun-Ra Arkestra, Alternative TV, Sniffing Glue, Ida Lupino, Alice Coltrane, Lee Chang-Dong, Jacques Cousteau, Clare Denis, Abbas Kiarostami, Li Yang, Ritwik Ghatak, Hal Ashby, Alan Pakula, David Simon, Moufida Tlatli, Debra Granik, Courtney Hunt, Kelly Reichardt. The Orchids, The Slits, The Supremes and The Bodysnatchers. Robert Mitchum, Robert de Niro, Rita Hayworth and Sandra Bullock.

What will you study?

You will study the basic principles of film making, develop an understanding of the nature and potential of visual storytelling, and discover the importance of sound, lighting and the screenplay in film making. You will produce a portfolio of moving-image projects to illustrate your technical ability in cinematography, sound recording, editing and writing/direction. You will also gain a sound knowledge of the theories of contemporary cinema and the history of film criticism.

Please note that this is an indicative list of modules and is not intended as a definitive list.

Core modules

All modules are core.

Learn a language

You will have the opportunity to study a foreign language, free of charge, during your time at the University as part of the Kingston Language Scheme. Options currently include: Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

We usually expect applicants to have:a second class degree or above in a humanities subject (film, media studies, languages, history, English etc) or in any other subject felt to relate to the art and craft of film making; a passion for film making; and a distinct and individual voice.We also carefully consider non-standard entrants with relevant personal and work experience who can demonstrate the interest, commitment and ability required to make their own films.Please note that students will also be required to purchase their own external hard drive (with a capacity greater than 250 GB) to store all of their film projects.InterviewsWe normally invite applicants for an interview with the course director or another senior member of the teaching team. International students based overseas can arrange for an interview by email or telephone.Prior learning – AP(E)LApplicants with prior qualifications and learning may be exempt from appropriate parts of a course in accordance with the University's policy for the assessment of prior learning and prior experiential learning. Contact the faculty office for further information.English language requirements All non-UK applicants must meet our English language requirements. For this course it is Academic IELTS of 6.5 overall, with special conditions in all elements. Please make sure you read our full guidance about English language requirements, which includes details of other qualifications we'll consider.Applicants who do not meet the English language requirements may be eligible to join our pre-sessional English language course.Applicants from one of the recognised majority English speaking countries (MESCs) do not need to meet these requirements. English Language Requirements IELTS band: 6.5 IMPORTANT NOTE: Since April 2014 the ETS tests (including TOEFL and TOEIC) are no longer accepted for Tier 4 visa applications to the United Kingdom. The university might still accept these tests to admit you to the university, but if you require a Tier 4 visa to enter the UK and begin your degree programme, these tests will not be sufficient to obtain your Visa. The IELTS test is most widely accepted by universities and is also accepted for Tier 4 visas to the UK- learn more.
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