- UCAS course code
- PT55
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
BA Film Studies and Middle Eastern Studies
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Duration: 3 years
Year of entry: 2025
UCAS course code: PT55 / Institution code: M20
- Typical A-level offer: ABB
- Typical contextual A-level offer: BBC
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: BBC
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 34 points overall with 6,5,5 at HL
Fees and funding
Fees
Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £26,500 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.
Policy on additional costs
All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).
Scholarships/sponsorships
Scholarships and bursaries are available to eligible Home/EU students, this is in addition to the government package of maintenance grants.
- Find out more from Student Finance
- International student? Check your country page
- Interested in a student internship?
Course unit details:
Docufiction Filmmaking
| Unit code | DRAM30061 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 40 |
| Unit level | Level 3 |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 1 |
| Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
Please note that this unit is delivered on-campus only and is therefore not available to remote learners
The course is designed to teach students different dramatic styles by integrating theory and analysis with practical work. In addition to attending seminars and screenings, the students will develop video production techniques and post-production skills to discover how different narrative forms are achieved with industry level camera equipment and editing software. Smaller production groups will be formed to devise a short dramatic film using documentary film techniques, which will then go into production, overseen by the tutor. The students will conduct research, develop a working script and learn how to cast and direct non-professional actors on location and through improvised acting. Each student will be required to carry out a variety of functions which could include: director, camera-person, sound-person, editor, production assistant and researcher.
Pre/co-requisites
| Pre-requisite units | Any L1 Drama Study or Practical core option Any L2 Drama Study core option - Theatres of Modernity or Screen, Culture and Society At least one 20 credit L2 Drama practical course unit |
| Co-requisite units |
Drama Dissertation/Research Essay
|
Aims
- To give students an opportunity to explore different approaches to video production conducted in the borderland between fact and fiction, and to test those strategies through undertaking practical work on docufiction preproduction, production and postproduction.
- To conduct practice-based research on docufiction film by drawing on docufiction history and theory.
- To develop a critical understanding of media objectivism in historical and contemporary media by understand how an artifice of authenticity can be devised in media productions.
Knowledge and understanding
Demonstrate a critical and systematic understanding and knowledge of:
- the artifice of authenticity
- docufiction history and theory
- film production processes
Intellectual skills
Demonstrate critical understanding and ability to use -
- critical film analysis
- reflective practice
- editing skills
in order to develop, create and produce short films of industry standard or approaching industry standard.
Practical skills
Demonstrate advanced practical skills in:
- preproduction of docufiction film
- production of docufiction film
- postproduction of docufiction film
Transferable skills and personal qualities
- Advanced interpersonal communication and team-working skills
- Critical thinking skills and creative group-work practice skills (problem-solving, thinking innovatively, drawing on creative approaches of others, evaluating arguments, giving and receiving feedback, time-keeping)
- Using effective leadership and group-work skills to solve complex problems
- Performing with confidence and precision for specific audiences/contexts, making use of diverse creative approaches and media
Employability skills
- Group/team working
- Ability to work independently and as part of a group to conceive, plan, undertake and evaluate original, well-developed projects that involve complex and unpredictable scenarios; Ability to work independently and as part of a group to solve problems arising from engaging with challenging and unpredictable scenarios
- Project management
- Advanced skills in group-work, leadership, reflexivity, planning and project management
- Other
- Understanding of and adherence to industry-level professional and ethical standards in practical work; Ability to develop informed critique of professional practice (own and others), drawing on understanding of high quality standards; Development of a professional identity and skills/knowledge base to inform further professional practice, training and learning
Assessment methods
| Production of a project proposal, working script and a docufiction film | 60% |
| Reflective Essay | 40% |
| Project proposal | N/A (formative) |
Feedback methods
| Feedback method | Formative or Summative |
| Film - written | Summative |
| Reflective essay - written | Summative |
| Formative feedback points throughout the process, via dedicated tutorial hours and in-class sessions | Formative |
Recommended reading
Hight, C. & Roscoe, J. 2001. Faking It: Mock-Documentary and the Subversion of Factuality
Owens, J. and G. Millerson. 2012. Video Production HandbookMurch, W. 2001. In the blink of an eye
Rabiger, M. 1992. Directing the Documentary
Rhodes, GD. and JP Springer. (eds.) 2006. Docufictions: essays on the intersection of documentary and fictional filmmaking
Rosenthal, A. 2002. Writing, Directing, and Producing Documentary Films and Videos
Ward, P. 2005. Documentary: The Margins of Reality
Study hours
| Scheduled activity hours | |
|---|---|
| Practical classes & workshops | 176 |
| Independent study hours | |
|---|---|
| Independent study | 224 |
Teaching staff
| Staff member | Role |
|---|---|
| Johannes Sjoberg | Unit coordinator |