BSc in Digital Film Production Birmingham City University

Do you have a passion for film? Are you fascinated by what goes on behind the scenes of the movies and TV shows you love? Are you longing to get your hands on professional equipment and learn the craft skills you need to make your own productions? If so, Digital Film Production at BCU is well worth your consideration.

This course will allow you to develop essential skills with film production technology – from script to screen. Bring your creative ideas to life using industry-standard sound, camera and lighting equipment, and learn how to apply technology and craft in the pursuit of your artistic vision. From narrative design, through selection and testing of cameras and lenses, to creating digital production workflows and using professional sound and picture finishing software including Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere Pro, Da Vinci Resolve, and Logic Pro, you will be encouraged to develop an extensive portfolio of work in addition to that produced for assessment.

What's covered in this course?

The Digital Film Production degree course combines a study of audiovisual technologies and production processes, with contextual investigations and production experience. You’ll develop knowledge, understanding and skills relevant to the production of digital film content and to the wider film, television and video industries.

You’ll focus on fundamental technical concepts, including the physics of sound and light being recorded during production (and the tools and techniques required to do this), as well as the technology used to digitally store and manipulate both images and audio in post-production.

When you graduate, you will be versatile, technically literate, and creative: well-equipped to perform a variety of craft roles within film, television and video production and will bridge the gap between technology specialists and creative artists.

Birmingham City University is a great place to study - the city has ambitious plans to develop a production hub of Film and TV studios to attract productions to the region and you will be on the same campus as students on our Visual Effects, Computer Games Technology, Sound Engineering, Music Technology and Photography courses offering the chance to collaborate on creative projects.

You’ll also be encouraged to engage with industry in various ways including module assessments based on live briefs, access to Industrial Mentors for many of your modules, and the opportunity to take a 36-week Industrial Placement between your second and final years. You can also register your availability for paid work experience on corporate productions within the University and apply for entry-level crew roles which external producers sometimes require to be filled.

Professional placement year

This course offers a professional placement year. This allows you to spend a whole year with an employer, between the second and third years of your degree and is a great way to find out more about your chosen career. Some students even return to the same employers after completing their studies.

The University will draw on its extensive network of local, regional and national employers to support you in finding a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study. If you do not find a suitable placement, you will be automatically transferred back to the standard, non-placement version of the course.

Please note that fees are payable during your placement year, equivalent to 20% of the total full-time course fee for that year (£1,850 for UK students).

Why choose us?

1. Top 5 for Animation and Game Design (Guardian League Tables 2023)
2. We are an ARRI-certified course - The ARRI accreditation means that we are able to offer ARRI certification on students' ability to use their industry-standard ARRI Alexa Mini cameras. These cameras have been used to shoot hundreds of films, including the 2019 Academy Award winner Green Book
3. Opportunities to enhance your industry awareness - get involved with our Curzon Street Studios team in a wide range of production and film projects, including working on gigs and commercials for professional football clubs and high-profile industry giants such as Sony, Disney and Microsoft.
4. Outstanding facilities - Our Centre for Digital Media Technology is equipped with over 1,200 sq m of facilities including two film/television studios, four multi-track recording studios, post-production suites, a MILO motion control rig and several editing and grading stations.
5. Knowledge of the fundamental aspects of film production - Explore the technology and science of film production, from working with light and sound to understanding how different production and post-production tools affect the images and sound you capture
6. Highly employable graduates - Move quickly into key production roles with the combination of technical knowledge and practical production experience from your course. Our graduates have gone on to work on major feature films and high-end TV series

Year One

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following core modules (totalling 120 credits):

• Video Production
• Visual Design
• Capture and Acquisition
• Studio Production
• Sound for Film
• Audio and Video Technology

Year Two

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following core modules (totalling 120 credits):

• Production Practice
• Narrative Design
• Production Workflows
• Collaborative Practice
• Post Production
• Research and Testing Methods

Professional Placement Year (Optional)

In order to qualify for the award of BSc (Hons) Digital Film Production with Professional Placement Year a student must successfully complete all of the final year modules listed as well as the following module.

• Professional Placement Year

Final Year

In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following core modules (totalling 120 credits):

• Production Project
• Individual Honours Project
• Virtual Production
• Professional Futures

Enhancing employability skills

Engaging with industry and gaining work experience during your studies is essential if you intend to have a competitive edge when you start to apply for work after graduation. Getting work experience in film, television and the wider screen industries can be challenging, so we encourage you to take advantage of all the opportunities which may become available.

The University is eager to recognise students who have made the effort to gain this experience and stand out from the typical graduate using the following examples:

You have the option to undertake an assessed Industrial Placement of 36 weeks between your second and third year, which will provide you with valuable work experience and give you the professional skills and knowledge that will enhance your degree studies.

The second-year Collaborative Practice and final-year Production Project modules have been designed so that you can use your practical production work as a basis for the assessments in each case.

The University encourages you to enrol in its Graduate+ scheme: an extracurricular awards framework that is designed to augment the course-specific skills that you will develop throughout your degree studies with broader attributes which will enhance your employability upon graduating.

Employability

There is a range of additional opportunities to gain industry contacts, experience and showcasing including:

• Working as a paid crew member on one of our commercial productions
• Working as a (usually unless for a Charity) paid crew member on the work of external production companies
• Submitting work to film festivals both in the UK and abroad
• Collaborating with other students to create work outside of that created for assessment
• Setting up a YouTube channel

Where our students go

Our students have gone on to work on productions including:

• The Batman
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
• The Beast: When Eddie Met Arnie
• Call The Midwife
• Help
• No Time To Die
• Venom - Let There Be Carnage
• Poldark
• Victoria
• Doctors

And in roles such as:

• 1st AD
• 1st AC
• 2nd AC
• Camera Operator
• Steadicam Operator
• Boom Operator
• Sound Trainee
• Camera Trainee
• Location Marshall

Graduate jobs

Graduates have gone on to work for companies such as the BBC, ITV, and Red Planet Pictures and work on productions for Working Title, Studio Canal, RDF Television, Objective Productions, Channel 4, Sky, and Buffalo Pictures. Students from this course have also gone study at the National Film and Television School.

The skills and knowledge you'll gain throughout the course will allow you to tackle various jobs in the film, television, and wider screen industries. You'll be experienced with an industry-standard kit from Canon, ARRI, Sony, Samyang, KinoFlo, Aputure, Dedo, Sennheiser, Sound Devices, Flanders, and many more.

The career progression after graduating includes roles in the Production, Postproduction, Sound, Camera, and Lighting and Grip departments. Roles within these departments include First Assistant Director, Second Assistant Director, Production Assistant, Production Manager, Assistant Editor, Editor, Camera Operator, First Assistant Camera, Second Assistant Camera, Director of Photography, Lighting Camera, Gaffer, Electrician, Production Sound Mixer and others.

You may also choose to explore non-production roles in kit rental and maintenance, crewing agencies, exhibition, distribution and marketing among others. Throughout your course, the team will help you to nurture your own creative flair and career interests, and guide you on your journey to becoming a working professional.