Creative Media Production (film-making)
Set a strong foundation for a career as a filmmaker
If you’re interested in further developing filmmaking and post-production skills this course is ideal. It builds on experimental and creative development, including digital video, sound and audio, and a strong core in film and artistic integrity. The use of digital techniques and analogue film production is a key element of the course. You’ll build and develop a portfolio of work to show to potential employers or universities.
The course will allow students to develop their technical and creative skills, opening avenues of future study in film, animation or visual effects. The course teaches industry-standard software and processes, meaning a student could pursue work immediately after.
The course is based on several projects throughout the year, and we teach you some theories to give you a thorough understanding of the film industry. You are assessed on the practical projects that you will undertake across the course of the year.
Development: Ideas for the film are created, rights to existing intellectual properties are purchased, etc., and the screenplay is written. Financing for the project is sought and obtained.
Pre-production: Arrangements and preparations are made for the shoot, such as hiring cast and film crew, selecting locations and constructing sets.
Production: The raw footage and other elements of the film are recorded during the film shoot, including principal photography.
Post-production: The images, sound, and visual effects of the recorded film are edited and combined into a finished product.
Internship:
Core Units:
- Individual Project (Pearson-set)
- Creative Media Industry
- Professional Practice
- Film Practices
- Film Studies
- Editing for Film & Television
Optional Unit:
- Storyboarding,
- Principles of Animation,
- Principles of Photography
- Single Camera Techniques,
- Sound for Media Products
- Documentary
- Project Management
- Scriptwriting for Film & TV
- Social Media practice
- Collaborative Project (Pearson-set)
- Personal Professional Development
- Advanced Sound Media Studies
Criteria: Those working within the creative media sector cannot just rely on their technical skills and must ensure they develop all relevant employability skills to increase employment opportunities.
For instance, they will be required to communicate appropriately with stakeholders throughout their career, so the ability to use maths and English in a professional context is an essential employability skill that must be developed at all levels of study.
Development of essential maths and English skills is embedded throughout these qualifications in accordance with industry requirements and below are some examples of how these skills are developed in the BTEC Higher National curriculum:
- Written reports
- Formal presentations
- Informal conversations
- Use of professional, sector-specific language
Fields of Employment:
- Film Practices
- Film Studies
- Editing for Film & Television
- Television Practices
- Television Studies
- Film Editing
- Film Production
- Film Scriptwriting
- Art Direction
- Production Design
- Television Video Editing
- Television Production
- Television Scriptwriting
- Television Studio
- Operations
- Producer
- Director
- Video Editor
- Camera Operator/Technician
- Cinematographer
- VFX Technician/Supervisor
- Lighting Technician/Supervisor
- Sound Editor
You will enjoy access to professional film-making equipment, including:
Blackmagic Ursa 4.6k camera
Edit suites featuring Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro and Photoshop
Canon C100 professional HD camera
Black Magic BMPCC cinema camera
DJI Osmo 4k gimbal camera
Fully-Manual Samyang VDSLR T1.5 lenses and Shoot35 follow focus
Specialist lenses such as Lomography, Lensbaby and Circular Fisheye
Canon E0S DSLR and Lumix G7 cameras
Rigs – track, crane, slider, sprung-art and vest stabiliser and shoulder mounts
Sound recording equipment – Rode shotgun and lavmics, booms and blimps
Professional lighting – 800w tungsten lamps (redheads) 650w Arri Fresnel, LED lamps and ring lights, as well as stands, flags and reflectors. New for 2021/22 you will also have access to a State-of-the-Art filming studio and editing suite.
Topics in year one include:
Individual Project (Pearson-set); Creative Media Industry; Professional Practice; Film Practices; Film Studies; Editing for Film & Television; Cinematography – Camera; Cinematography – Lighting
Topics in year two include:
Collaborative Project (Pearson-set); Personal Professional Development; Advanced Film Production Studies; Emerging Technologies (Virtual Reality); Scriptwriting for Film&Television; Art Direction and Product Design; Film Criticism.
This course can be studied full-time or part-time for 32 weeks (64 for the HND), Monday and Wednesday. Filming projects will take place outside of lesson time, and can be scheduled any time day or night.