Film and Media Production MA

Study level: Postgraduate
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This course welcomes creatives with a passion for storytelling and who seek to engage new forms of spectator within the context of remediated traditions of film and media practice.

Year of entry

Location

Coventry University (Coventry)

Study mode

Full-time
Part-time

Duration

1 year full-time
2 years part-time
Up to 2 years, with professional experience

Course code

AHT088

Start date

May 2023

How to apply
Book an Open Day
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Course overview

This course welcomes creatives with a passion for storytelling and who seek to engage new forms of spectator within the context of remediated traditions of film and media practice.

Designed to develop the skills required for the ever-changing, fast developing new media landscape, this exciting course fosters individuality, confidence and creativity.

  • You will have the option to apply for a ‘professional experience’ opportunity2, designed to further develop your skills and knowledge with the aim of maximising your employability prospects. See modules for more information.
  • You will experiment and develop new forms that take account of the analogue world and new digital tools that, when placed together, infer possibilities that are innovative, raise questions and have impact.
  • You have the opportunity to join our community of critical thinkers and makers, taught by staff who are themselves film makers, authors and artists, who continually challenge traditional and emergent practices in their own work (staff may  be subject to change).
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Global ready

An international outlook, with global opportunities
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Teaching excellence

Taught by lecturers who are experts in their field
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Employability

Career ready graduates, with the skills to succeed

Why you should study this course

The course places emphasis on experiential learning and offers a creative space in which experimental and innovative ways of working can be accommodated. It is based on critical practice and invites you to respond to the problems of media production now and how it has been shaped by key historical practitioners.

  • The course has been instrumental in exploring software which is then introduced to the school and campus as a whole. The most successful iteration being the introduction of Klynt which is being used now by Media Production and Digital Media amongst others.
  • All student work is outward facing; productions from every semester are shown publicly using our state of the art media base at The Tank.These regular screenings and actions ensure real life public reaction to the work produced that in turn influences practice in progress.
  • You will have access to professional equipment via our dedicated Media Loan Shop and studios. The Media Loan Shop has state-of-the-art equipment including GoPro Camera kits, Cannon and Nikon Photographic and Video cameras (inc. DSLR), Blackmagic Ursa Mini 4.6K EF camera collection Edirol recorders, and a range of photographic lenses, lighting and filters (terms and conditions apply4).
  • Coming to study in a hugely diverse city which has been awarded the title of City of Culture 2021, meaning huge local investment, epitomised in the ten-year Cultural Strategy for Coventry.

Accreditation and Professional Recognition

This course has been accredited1 and recognised by the following bodies:

CMI Chartered Management Institute

Chartered Management Institute (CMI)

As part of this course, you will undertake a professional development module which is currently accredited by the Chartered Management Institute(CMI) for the 2022-23 intake. Upon successful completion of this module, you will gain the CMI Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice at no additional cost. Coventry University’s accreditation with CMI is currently ongoing for the relevant modules and is regularly reviewed and monitored by the CMI through their quality systems.

What you'll study

The course seeks to enhance our understanding of filmmaking and related media practice in the context of new forms of production and exhibition, including new screen practices, moving image in the gallery, 360 cinema and Go-Pro aesthetics.

Seen through the lens of traditional analogue formats, the emergence of new technologies has been seen to put these in crisis. However, the centrality of filmmaking and narrative storytelling in a culture of streaming, fragmented exhibition, and glitching visuality has never felt so strong.

The course will develop your skills through an exploration of the following themes: Non-fiction as a critical media practice (documentary and exploratory cinemas, experimental sound and moving image in traditional and contemporary practice and storytelling across traditional cinematic and contemporary media platforms.

Modules

  • The module explores emergent forms of media production and alternative strategies for project realisation in terms of subject matter, content, style, medium, scale, technical characteristics and impact. The module begins from the students’ current knowledge and practice, raising questions about their own processes of 'making'.

    Compulsory

  • This module aims to provide students with the theoretical, conceptual, investigative and practical tools needed to develop their own independent research and comprehend which methods will best support their response to a particular research project.

    Compulsory

  • This CMI module1 aims to provide students with a framework of knowledge and understanding of how to effectively lead and develop people in a strategic and entrepreneurial way whatever the master’s degree of specialisation they elect to follow.

    Compulsory

  • This project module aims to allow students to develop their independent and collaborative working skills through a focussed application and response to a specific context. Working with peers from within School of Media & Performing Arts MA courses and/or external collaborators, students will develop an interdisciplinary response to a live brief generated by addressing and engaging with a social challenge (subject to availability2).

    Compulsory

  • This module focuses on a range of contemporary experimental approaches in combining audio with moving image creatively with new media interfaces. The module requires the students to experiment with forms, conventions, techniques and practices and critically formulate how their own work can develop and extend into these new forms.

    Compulsory

  • The aim of this module is for students to develop a body of research-informed work in a specialism of their choosing, which demonstrates a critical awareness of current developments and trends in their area of practice/specialism. This work will form the basis of the student’s final project.

    Compulsory

  • This project module aims to allow students to develop their independent and collaborative working skills through a focussed application and response to a specific context. Working with peers from within School of Media & Performing Arts MA courses and/or external collaborators, students will develop an interdisciplinary response to a live brief (subject to availability2) generated by engaging with a community issue with the support or guidance of a local group or organisation.

    Compulsory

  • The module focuses on the construction of new forms of storytelling, through the combination of traditional screenwriting techniques with the affordances of digital technology. The module will introduce students to new possibilities of storytelling and new potential in hybrid forms that allow for alternative viewpoints, collaborative working and new forms of distribution and exhibition.

    Compulsory

  • In this module, students will manage to completion a substantial piece of independent research practice that is informed by the wider contexts of their discipline, and is well-conceived, well-rounded, coherent and of a standard appropriate to master's level.

    Compulsory

  • This project module aims to allow students to develop their independent and collaborative working skills through a focussed application and response to a specific context. Working with peers from within School of Media & Performing Arts MA courses and/or external collaborators, students will develop an interdisciplinary response to a live brief generated by exploring opportunities for enterprise within their practice. Students will explore potential routes to monetise their work and consider their roles as members of the future media and performing arts workforce.

    Compulsory

With professional experience option

The professional experience opportunity2 enables you the opportunity to apply for optional professional experience in semester 1, which, upon successfully securing an opportunity, will extend the duration of your master’s to either 16, 20 or 24 months. The professional experience provides an opportunity for you to develop expertise and experience in your chosen field with the aim of enhancing your employability.

Please note that the optional professional experience modules incur an additional tuition fee, which for 1 semester of professional experience is £1,333.33, for 2 semesters of professional experience is £2,666.67, and for 3 semesters of professional experience is £4,000.

Professional experience may also be subject to additional costs, visa requirements being met, subject to availability and/or competitive application. Professional experience opportunities are not guaranteed but you will benefit from the support of our Talent Team in trying to find and secure an opportunity. Find out more about the professional experience option.

We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.

How you'll learn

You will engage with a series of different learning activities and resources which include:

  • Group critiques
  • Artist talks and lectures (subject to availability)
  • Masterclasses (subject to availability)
  • Seminars
  • Tutorials
  • Workshops

This course can be offered on a part-time basis. Whilst we would like to give you all the information about our part-time offering here, it is tailored for each course each year depending on the number of part-time applicants. Therefore, the part-time teaching arrangements vary. Request further information about part-time study.

Teaching contact hours

In a typical week you will have approximately 8 contact hours of teaching, comprising seminars, talks and lectures, as well as workshops and skills training. As you develop your final major project these modules will become primarily tutorial-based. This course operates on a 'flipped classroom' basis, and you will be expected to undertake guided reading and preparation tasks ahead of classroom sessions.

In addition, you will be expected to undertake a further 300 hours of self-directed study each semester, e.g. working on course assignments, group project activities, reading and maintaining your own public facing digital profile. This will be supported by skills sessions.

The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials.

As an innovative and enterprising institution, the university may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are prepared for courses due to start in or after the 2022/2023 academic year to be delivered in a variety of forms. The form of delivery will be determined in accordance with Government and Public Health guidance. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.

Assessment

A variety of assessment types are included on the course so as to facilitate your development into a professional world which may demand work to be presented, formatted, proposed or submitted in different forms. You will encounter a variety of coursework forms on the programme which may ask you to produce among other elements:

  • Artefact/Bodies of work
  • Contextual documents
  • Portfolios
  • Proposals
  • Presentations
  • Research books

The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.

Entry requirements

Applicants to this Master’s degree should normally possess a good honours degree (2:1 or equivalent) in a relevant subject. If the degree is in an unrelated subject, applicants need to demonstrate appropriate industry knowledge and experience in their application documentation.

Each applicant will be required to include a short statement regarding their interest in studying on the MA Film and Media Production course at Coventry University (300-500 words) and are invited to include a link to an online portfolio in order that the course team can get to know their practice. All applicants will be offered a videoconferencing conversation as part of the application where they will have the opportunity to meet with a member of the course team and ask questions about the programme of study.

Candidates with professional/industrial experience, and/or other relevant training and experience may be admitted with lower qualifications.

Non-traditional entry students are welcome: applicants without formal qualifications but professional/industrial experience may be admitted on the basis of interview and submission of supporting material.

Each application will be considered on its merits and the final decision will be made by the course director

We recognise a breadth of qualifications; speak to one of our advisers today to find out how we can help you.

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Select your region to find detailed information about entry requirements:

Europe

Americas

Middle East

South Asia

South East Asia

East Asia

Africa

Russia and Central Asia

You can view our full list of country specific entry requirements on our Entry requirements page.

Alternatively, visit our International hub for further advice and guidance on finding in-country agents and representatives, joining our in-country events and how to apply.

Applicants to this Master’s degree should normally possess a good honours degree (2:1 or equivalent) in a relevant subject. If the degree is in an unrelated subject, applicants need to demonstrate appropriate industry knowledge and experience in their application documentation.

Each applicant will be required to include a short statement regarding their interest in studying on the MA Film and Media Production course at Coventry University (300-500 words) and are invited to include a link to an online portfolio in order that the course team can get to know their practice. All applicants will be offered a videoconferencing conversation as part of the application where they will have the opportunity to meet with a member of the course team and ask questions about the programme of study.

Candidates with professional/industrial experience, and/or other relevant training and experience may be admitted with lower qualifications.

Non-traditional entry students are welcome: applicants without formal qualifications but professional/industrial experience may be admitted on the basis of interview and submission of supporting material, which can be found in the UK entry tab.

Each application will be considered on its merits and the final decision will be made by the course director.

English language requirements

  • IELTS: 6.5 overall, with no component lower than 5.5. 

If you don't meet the English language requirements, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course. 

For more information on our approved English language tests visit our English language requirements page.

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Fees and funding

2022/23 tuition fees.

Student Full-time Part-time
UK £10,600 per year Request fee information
International £16,950 per year Not available

For advice and guidance on tuition fees3 and student loans visit our Postgraduate Finance page.

We offer a range of International scholarships to students all over the world. For more information, visit our International Scholarships page.

  • We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Your fee status determines your tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available to you. The rules about who pays UK (home) or international (overseas) fees for higher education courses in England are set by the government's Department for Education. The regulations identify all the different categories of student who can insist on paying the home rate. The regulations can be difficult to understand, so the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) has provided fee status guidance to help you identify whether you are eligible to pay the home or overseas rate.

    If you meet all the criteria required by any one category, including any residence requirements, your institution must charge you the home rate. You only need to find one category that you fit into.

Facilities

Coventry University is home to superb facilities and our new Arts and Humanities building is planned to fully open in 2023. We have a well-stocked Media Loan Shop so you can borrow an extensive range of specialist, professional equipment, including 4K and HD video cameras, DSLR cameras, tripods, audio equipment and lighting4.

television studio

Television Studio

On select courses, you’ll have access to our on-campus TV studio The Tank, with its specialist TV studio equipment, including large cameras, mixing facilities and fibre-optic wiring throughout.
 

photography suite

Photography Suite

The photography suite is a superb facility that includes virtual drum scanning, photography studios, black and white print darkrooms, free black and white film processing, and a digital print bureau.
 

recording equipment

Media Loan Shop

As a student, you’ll have access to Coventry University’s specialist Media Loan Shop. This well-stocked facility offers an extensive range of specialist, professional photography and film equipment.

Careers and opportunities

On successful completion of the course you will be able to:

  • Demonstrate the ability to work creatively and effectively within a range of emergent media forms;
  • Demonstrate the technical, organisational and creative skills required to function as an independent digital media practitioner in an international context;
  • Think critically and reflexively about the full range of factors that impinge upon creative activities within digital media;
  • Apply specialist knowledge in order to engage in new media practices in the field with communities of interest reflecting local, national and international concerns;
  • Engage in radically challenging media practice through continuing innovative approaches of engagement and impact;
  • Apply a continuing experimental approach to hybridity between conventional and new media forms to creatively interrupt entrenched conventions.

Preparing our Masters graduates for onward careers is central to our approach to learning and teaching on the course. This includes developing authentic assessment, collaborative opportunities, placements, and advice and guidance for onward study on PhD programmes here and internationally (subject to availability2). Our three collaborative modules provide opportunities to work with students in photography, VR/AR, as well as media management and media/communication studies. You will be able to take advantage of cross-Faculty connections and collaborations, as well as placement and onward opportunities with the support of our Talent Team.

Where our graduates work

This course is part of the Media Cluster in the School of Media and Performing Arts. Our students have gone on to work in: digital music services in The Netherlands; as research posts at the Five College Women’s Centre, Massachusetts USA; in PR companies in Saudi Arabia; in government organisations and broadcasters in Africa; and as producers in TV stations in China. Our graduates also regularly go on to set up their own companies across the globe.

Further study

Recent cluster graduates have gone on to doctoral study in the UK, Africa, China and America.

How to apply

  • 1Accreditations

    The majority of our courses have been formally recognised by professional bodies, which means the courses have been reviewed and tested to ensure they reach a set standard. In some instances, studying on an accredited course can give you additional benefits such as exemptions from professional exams (subject to availability, fees may apply). Accreditations, partnerships, exemptions and memberships shall be renewed in accordance with the relevant bodies’ standard review process and subject to the university maintaining the same high standards of course delivery.

    2UK and international opportunities

    Please note that we are unable to guarantee any UK or International opportunities (whether required or optional) such as internships, work experience, field trips, conferences, placements or study abroad opportunities and that all such opportunities may be subject to additional costs (which could include, but is not limited to, equipment, materials, bench fees, studio or facilities hire, travel, accommodation and visas), competitive application, availability and/or meeting any applicable travel COVID and visa requirements. To ensure that you fully understand the visa requirements, please contact the International Office.

    3Tuition fees

    The University will charge the tuition fees that are stated in the above table for the first Academic Year of study. The University will review tuition fees each year. For Home Students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, the University may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation.

    For International Students, we may increase fees each year but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation. If you defer your course start date or have to extend your studies beyond the normal duration of the course (e.g. to repeat a year or resit examinations) the University reserves the right to charge you fees at a higher rate and/or in accordance with any legislative changes during the additional period of study.

    4Facilities

    Facilities are subject to availability. Due to the ongoing restrictions relating to COVID-19, some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) may vary from those advertised and may have reduced availability or restrictions on their use.

    Student Contract

    By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the university. A copy of the 2022/23 contract can be found here. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the university will owe to you. You should read the Contract before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the university.

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