Film Production

UCAS code: PP31

Here's what University of Portsmouth says about its Film Production course.

This is a Connected Degree Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.

Overview Our ScreenSkills Select-accredited BA (Hons) Film Production degree will mould you into the expert filmmaker, cinematographer, editor, and special effects producer the booming film industry craves.

Master the practical and business elements of film creation and exhibit your films at national screening events, which will turn employers’ heads your way.

Graduates have created indie films, joined Marvel, Maverick and Pinewood Studios, and worked on critically acclaimed titles Black Mirror, Wonder Woman 1984, and No Time to Die. Here’s your chance to follow in their footsteps.

Course highlights

• Familiarise yourself with advanced professional equipment used in the industries – including Arri Alexa cinema camera systems, a Pro Tools-equipped Foley and ADR sound studio, and a Baselight colour grading system

• Attract potential employers by showcasing your films at our annual screening event at London’s British Film Institute (BFI)

• Boost your professional experience by taking an optional one-year placement – either with a company or by setting up your own

• Bolster your practice and knowledge by attending specialist masterclasses and workshops on all areas of film production

• Show your editing expertise to industry peers by gaining an Avid Media Composer certification

• Enhance your employability by accessing training events, bursaries and scholarships – one of many advantages of a ScreenSkills Select accreditation

Accreditation This course is accredited by ScreenSkills Select, a professional body for the screen industry.

All ScreenSkills Select-accredited courses must show the highest level of quality and relevance to the industry. This ensures you'll learn the knowledge and skills relevant to your future career and assures potential employers that your degree is relevant to the screen industry. This accreditation also gives you access to exclusive benefits such as employability training events, scholarships and bursaries.

Careers and opportunities You'll have plenty of career routes when you finish this course. Many of our graduates have found success in a variety of roles, destinations and productions – with some going on to work on the sets of blockbuster films and award-winning TV series.

Others have also been nationally recognised in the film and TV industry. For example, a team of our graduates won a Royal Television Society (RTS) award in 2020 for Best Student Film.

Graduate roles Roles our graduates have taken on include:

• runner

• camera assistant

• junior/editing assistant

• sound recordist

• junior researcher

• personal or production assistant

• junior/production coordinator

• second/third assistant director

Graduate destinations Companies and studios our graduates have worked in include:

• Walt Disney

• Maverick

• Marvel

• Outpost facilities, Pinewood Studios

• BBC

• ITV

• NBC Universal

Film and TV work Graduates have worked on commercial and indie titles such as:

• Wonder Woman 1984

• Rocketman

• No Time To Die

• The Batman

• Bridgerton

• Bohemian Rhapsody

• Black Mirror

• Boiling Point (indie film)

• Villain (indie film)

** Year 1 core modules:**

• Creative Storytelling (40 credits)
• Film Craft (20 credits)
• Future Production (20 credits)
• Post Production - Editing (20 credits)
• Screen Debates (20 credits)

** Year 2** Core modules:

• Film Production Practices (20 credits)

Optional modules:

• Cinematography (20 credits)
• Directing (20 credits)
• Engaged Citizenship Through Interdisciplinary Practice (20 credits)
• Factual Media Production (20 credits)
• Fiction Film-Making (20 credits)
• Film and Ethics (20 credits)
• Film Curation (20 credits)
• Film Sound Production (20 credits)
• Post Production Visual Effects (20 credits)
• Professional Experience (20 credits)
• Screenwriting (20 credits)
• Student Enterprise (20 credits)
• Television Format Live (20 credits)
• Thematic Design (20 credits)
• Underwater Filming and Media (20 credits)
• Workflow and Grading (20 credits)
• World and Transnational Cinema (20 credits)

** Year 3**

Core modules:

• Graduate Film (40 credits)
• Graduate Film Package (20 credits)
• Professional Industry Skills (20 credits)
• Self Promotion (20 credits)

Optional modules:

• Advanced Cinematography (20 credits)
• Advanced Screenwriting (20 credits)
• Gender, Sexuality and Cinema (20 credits)
• Researching Genre (20 credits)

Changes to course content

We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.

Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry. If a module doesn't run, we'll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

You'll be assessed through:

• essay and report writing
• video essays
• film production artefacts
• group projects and presentations
• pitching
• production files
• practical assessments
• workshops and supervised work sessions
• masterclasses
• tutorials
• production meetings

You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.

You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.

The way you’re assessed may depend on the units you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows:

• Year 1 students: 8% by written exams, 40% by practical exams and 52% by coursework
• Year 2 students: 8% by written exams, 28% by practical exams and 64% by coursework
• Year 3 students: 28% by practical exams and 72% by coursework