Awards

Target Award

Award Description:Master of Arts - MA

Alternative Exit

Alternative Exit

Programme Offerings

Part-Time

DL-JMU-SEP

Educational Aims of the Course

MA Film develops students’ theoretical skills in film criticism, as well as developing practical skills in filmmaking delivered by staff who are at the forefront of academic discipline and professional creative practice. Students will develop sophisticated research and crafts skills, which will then be applied to the context of film culture in order to produce a substantial body of work suitable for use in industry or for academic research and publication. Students will have the opportunity to develop advanced craft skills that will be appropriate for producing a practical body of work that demonstrates a thorough awareness of the relationship between theory and practice. The programme aims to build a cohort of practice-informed academics, and theory-informed practitioners, while offering the opportunity to develop the relevant skillsets required by employers within the film and creative industries. The programme will also foster the development of the necessary critical and practical skills for those who wish to go on to further postgraduate study in the area of film analysis and production.

Learning Outcomes

1.
Identify and assess narrative structures, generic forms, aesthetic and formal qualities and their relation to meanings in film.
2.
Make informed judgments by critically evaluating theoretical approaches to film.
3.
Demonstrate sophisticated critical evaluation regarding the aesthetic and communicative properties of film.
4.
Work in flexible, creative and independent ways, showing self-discipline, self-direction, critical self-awareness and reflexivity
5.
Exploit a range of technologies to communicate ideas, information and aesthetic judgements to an audience.
6.
Demonstrate advanced literacy and oral and written communication skills, including the ability to present a rhetorically effective, coherent, well-supported, and sustained argument.
7.
Deliver substantial work to a brief and deadline.
8.
Demonstrate a critical awareness of the different modes of global, international, national and local film cultures.
9.
Demonstrate a sophisticated awareness of how disability, class, ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality, sexuality and other social divisions play key roles in terms of both access to the media and modes or representation in film text
10.
Deploy appropriate sophisticated language (theoretical or practical) to produce an innovative artefact.
11.
Understand and evaluate the ethical, regulatory and legal considerations relevant to the production of cultural forms and products.
12.
Critically evaluate and synthesize ideas from different sources of knowledge and from different academic disciplines
13.
Carry out an extended piece of independent research by acting autonomously in planning and implementing tasks.
14.
Write/produce and present materials suitable for use in industry or for academic research and publication.
15.
Evaluate the application of research models (in terms of theory and practice) to areas of research.

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

The MA Film develops students’ research skills both via traditional scholarly means (film studies) and through practice (filmmaking). This hybrid approach to both teaching and assessment allows students to specialise in either practice or theory or a combination of both. This allows a degree of flexibility in terms of skill acquisition and assessment output. This approach will avoid alienating those students who do not wish to produce a substantial portfolio of practical work, however it will offer opportunities throughout the programme to acquire and advance skills in areas of practical filmmaking and audio/visual production, thus addressing the whole range of learning outcomes of the programme. The programme offers an innovative range of mixed mode delivery, which includes lectures, workshops, demonstrations, seminars, tutorials, field trips and screenings. A diverse range of assessment types will be available for students. Options include making an audio-visual artefact, conducting an academic written research project, creating a video essay, designing and delivering presentations, organising events, creating a Vlog and writing a script and screenplay. There will be opportunities to work alone, especially with regard to written assignments, as well as opportunities to work in teams, especially with regard to practical assignments. Formative feedback will be given by staff during individual tutorials and production group meetings. Peer critique sessions will also be an important element of formative feedback, with these being facilitated during student-led seminars and student presentations of research and work. Summative feedback will generally be made available via the university’s VLE and will meet the 15-day turnaround threshold. Students will also be encouraged to discuss their feedback with tutors, either during office hours, PDP sessions or at mutually convenient times outside of scheduled hours.

Opportunities for work related learning

The Film Studies teams have forged effective links with industry partners, including Liverpool Film Office, BBC, ITV Northern Lights Partnership, Lime Pictures, Envy Post Production London, FACT, HOME Manchester, TATE, Creative England, and the Bafta award-winning companies Hurricane Films and LA Productions. Twickenham Studios are due to launch a brand new film studio in 2020. Some of these partners will provide “live” briefs for modules, where students will work in collaboration with creative enterprises and upon completion of research projects, will receive relevant and valuable formative feedback from industry professionals. Students from BA Film Studies have gained internships within some of these companies and the same opportunities will be afforded to those studying MA Film. Students will also be encouraged to engage with the facilitators and curators of exhibition facilities such as those at FACT, TATE and HOME Manchester, in order to exhibit their research within the public domain, as well as gaining industry experience by engaging with such institutions. Students will also be encouraged to sign up to Production Unit Liverpool Screen School (PULSS), which affords students the opportunity to work on professional projects initiated by professional bodies and clients. The programme team will also hold networking events, where industry professionals are invited to give seminars to students focusing on their line of professional activity, as well as giving students the chance to network with industry contacts. LJMU’s Centre for Entrepreneurship have close ties with the Film Studies department and they will be invited to give workshops on how to foster the development of entrepreneurial activity within the creative industries.

Programme Structure

Programme Structure Description

Part-time students (2 years) complete 30 credits in each semester of year one and two and submit the 60 credit Final Project (7005FILM) in the summer semester in year 2. In Year 1 students will study 60 taught credits: 7001FILM Researching Film in  Semester 1 and 7003FILM Exploring Film Festivals, … For more content click the Read More button below. An alternative award of PG Certificate is achieved if the student gains 60 credits, excluding Final Project (7005FILM),and an award of PG Diploma is achieved if the student gains 120 credits, excluding Final Project (7005FILM).

Entry Requirements

Alternative qualifications considered

IELTS

Undergraduate degree

Extra Entry Requirements

  • to demonstrate the ability to benefit from and contribute to the programme
  • to display the potential to develop postgraduate level research skills

HECoS Code(s)

(CAH24-01) media, journalism and communications