General OverviewThe UWS MA Filmmaking degree is designed specifically to support the development of students wishing to work professionally in the independent and world cinema sectors of the film industry, whether in fiction, documentary or experimental filmmaking, including immersive Virtual Reality productions.
Students will benefit from spending substantial periods of time learning from and working alongside internationally-recognised filmmakers as they produce three ambitious and distribution-ready short films that enable them to demonstrate their skills and creative vision and that can act as their “calling card” to launch, or reorient, their professional career.
The course is built around three major practice-based modules: Advanced Documentary Film Practice (40 credits T1); Advanced Fiction Film Practice (40 credits T2); and the Masters Film Project (60 credits T3).
In the first trimester (Advanced Documentary Film Practice), students will work under the direction of the programme core team to explore the boundaries of documentary film practice, and its intersection with other genres (fiction, essay film, transmedia practice). In the second trimester (Advanced Fiction Film Practice), students will work under the direction of an invited filmmaker to explore cutting-edge fiction film practice, including working with actors. Both these modules are launched by immersive one-week full-time hands-on workshops. Students will complete one short film in each trimester both under guidance of both core tutors and the invited filmmaker – a non-fiction film in trimester one, and a fiction film in trimester two.
In the final trimester, students undertake a major creative project – either fiction or documentary or immersive film – as their Masters Film Project under the guidance of the programme team.
This creative core represents 140 credits, and is supported by two 20-credit modules in the first two trimesters: Film as an Industry (20 credits T1) and Development Lab (20 credits T2).
Film as an Industry in trimester one provides a professional insight into the contemporary film industry, looking at every aspect of the planning and logistics of complex low-budget film shoots, from concept to new distribution models and marketing, placing these key activities within their economic and artistic context.
Development Lab in trimester two puts students through an industry-standard development process, in which they prepare their final Masters film project under the supervision of leading professionals active in the practice of the short film form.
The MA Filmmaking also offers part-time routes that are particularly flexible, and have been designed to cater to a broad range of student profiles and priorities. Students can undertake the four PgDip modules in any order. The PgCert exit award is achieved when the student completes at least 60 credits. All four core modules must be completed to achieve the PgDip, after which students can proceed to the Masters Film Project.
For example, a part-time student may undertake the Advanced Documentary Film Practice module (40 credits) in T1 of their first year. They could then choose to proceed immediately to Advanced Fiction Film Practice (40 credits) in T2, or take the Development Lab module (20 credits). In this way, the part-time student have a choice in their first year between completing two film projects (if they desire a more practical emphasis), or one film project plus major preparation for a second that will give them a deep insight into industry development processes. In their second year, the part-time student may take Film as an Industry in T1, followed by whichever T2 module they have not yet completed. This also gives students proceeding to Masters level a choice as to how much they wish to frontload their learning process in terms of module size. Of course, the part-time student may opt for a different module sequence again, as long as at least 60 credits are completed for a PgCert exit award and all four PgDip modules for the PgDip exit award. All part-time students then have the option to spread their work on the final Masters Creative Project over two or even three trimesters.
All modules use a supportive yet flexible delivery model that replicates real-world working conditions, and is compatible with ongoing professional activity. Teaching is based on intensive periods of workshop-based delivery separated by periods of individual and group development, practice-based research and reflection.
MA Filmmaking builds on UWS’ in-house strengths in film both as a creative industry and as an academic discipline. Excellence in cutting-edge professional practice is promoted through the UWS Creative Media Academy, while the Hub for Culture and Creativity nurtures an active research culture. MA core staff are actively involved in these two structures, whose work underpins our teaching strategy at every point. The course is also closely integrated with the local film industry, and several modules are delivered in close cooperation with industry partners at Film City Glasgow. In addition to UWS staff and industry professionals from across the UK, MA students will also have the opportunity to work alongside and be mentored by prominent international filmmakers who will join us as international “guest faculty”.
By drawing on the national and international networks of key staff, we are able to bring world-class talent to UWS to pass on their skills and experience to our students. Students will learn to situate their own work in the context of both the most creative trends in contemporary international film production, and the larger social, political and cultural scene of which film is only one part. On exit, graduates will be well positioned to pursue a career in independent filmmaking, and will be highly employable thanks to the strong practical emphasis, the direct exposure to cutting edge industry practice, and the opportunity to build a strong personal portfolio.
While firmly rooted in the Scottish film industry, the programme has a strong international character, both in the kind of cinema that is taught, the people who teach it, and the kind of student it is designed to appeal to. Core UWS staff all have extensive experience of working as filmmakers in a range of languages and cultures, both inside and outside Europe (including India, Latin America and the Arab world). The programme team place particular importance on welcoming international students wherever they may come from, and facilitating their integration into the MA Filmmaking community.
Pointers to further study – Progression Routes
For those whose practice is research-intensive, the MA provides a privileged gateway to a practice-based PhD, whether at UWS or at another institution. Research methodologies are integral to the way filmmaking is taught at Masters level, and reflexive and theoretical elements form part of every module. (This integration is reflected for example in the “indicative resources” listed in the module descriptors, which in each case combine practitioner perspectives with reference to landmark theoretical and reflective work in film and media scholarship.) Members of the MA Filmmaking drafting team are currently engaged in PhD support within UWS and at other HEIs, including the supervision of studies that have a strong film practice component, and can offer interested students personally tailored advice on how to make the transition to doctoral research. Professor Higgins, whom previously introduced the practice-based PhD programme at the University of Edinburgh, has supervised 6 students to successful completion, resulting not only in the academic qualification of Doctor of Philosophy but also with industry recognition through selection of doctoral work at film festivals such as Rotterdam, Dubai and Glasgow.
Teaching and learning
The focus throughout the MA is on creating an environment in which students are empowered to explore new ways of working and to learn from their failures as well as their successes. This emphasis also gives our staff the flexibility they need to meet each individual at the stage they are at in their evolution as a practitioner, and provide them with the combination of support and critique that can best stimulate their progress. Throughout, students are encouraged to take a problem-solving approach to the aesthetic, ethical and pragmatic decisions involved in filmmaking, and to learn from their mistakes as well as their successes, in line with the principles of inquiry-based learning. Our core aim is to help students learn how to tap into their own imagination, creativity and life experience, while also preparing them to survive and flourish in the highly competitive film industry of the early 21st century.
The programme is designed to maximise the value for students of our strong links with both the Scottish and European/international industries. With UWS Ayr as its home campus, the MA Filmmaking also makes extensive use of the UWS teaching space in Film City Glasgow, thus enabling us to draw on the skills and facilities of other professionals working out of Film City in order to expose our students to industry-standard practice, and to open the door to opportunities for internship/employment. Much of the teaching, learning and assessment strategy reflects the expectations of the film industry, and their requirements in terms of autonomy, creativity, lateral thinking, personal vision and imaginative engagement.
Distinctive features include:
- Each trimester’s programme incorporates immersive/experiential/hands-on learning-through-practice led by industry professionals.
- UWS core staff are practicing filmmakers and research-active academics, whose teaching demonstrates reflection, critique and research as integral to creative practice.
- The course includes elements of practice that are not assessed directly, so as to encourage risk-taking and experimentation;
Extensive use of non-standard methods of assessment (self-, and peer-evaluation; presentations before industry panels; non-verbal documentation and outputs, including the use of videographic and other multi/mixed-media formats for analytical and reflective essays; and the articulation of creative output with reflexive practices such as production/writing logs and personal essays).
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