Writing and Film - BA (Hons)

You’ll get invaluable feedback on all of your creative writing work from professional writers, including our teaching staff and Royal Literary Fund fellows, as well as your fellow students. This will offer you the unique opportunity to consider a range of responses to your work, as well as sharpening your own critical skills.

You’ll explore and develop professional writing techniques related to film including screenwriting and film journalism.

Course details

You’ll learn to tell stories which engage audiences, whether you want to write poetry, drama, short fiction, or make films and documentaries.
  • Mode of study: 3-4 days  a week
  • Intakes: September
  • Course length: 3-4 years
  • Course fee: 9250 per year
  • Locations: Chelmsford campus

Anglia Ruskin Univesity, ARU

Course overview

Investigating filmmaking practices from all over the world, and learning the language of film from the perspective of a filmmaker, you’ll make your own short films in video, animation or 16mm format, with full training in camera operation, sound recording and editing from professional filmmakers. If you specialise in filmmaking, you’ll put your well-practised skills to the test in a project that, once complete, will be screened at the Cambridge Arts Picturehouse. The best may also be selected for showing at the Cambridge Film Festival. You’ll learn to write knowledgeably and critically about film, giving you even more opportunities to get involved in Cambridge’s exciting arts scene.

Benefits

Entry requirements

96 UCAS Tariff points from a minimum of 2 A Levels (or equivalent).

3 GCSEs at grade C, or grade 4, or above.

If English is not your first language you will be expected to demonstrate a certificated level of proficiency of at least IELTS 7.0 ( Academic level), or equivalent English Language qualification, as recognised by Anglia Ruskin University.

You may also be accepted to this course with an IELTS 5.5 (Academic level- with no individual score being lower than 5.5) or equivalent English Language qualification as recognised by Anglia Ruskin University, but will then be required to undertake additional compulsory free English language modules in your first year.

Careers

Our BA (Hons) Writing and Film Studies students go on to successful careers in a variety of fields, including film and video production, film criticism, cinema/film festival administration and management, film education, broadcasting, journalism and publishing. You’ll develop literacy, creativity, problem-solving, analysis and communication skills, which are highly valued by employers. You can enhance your CV by taking advantage of our extensive local and national media contacts to gain experience on work placements. Previous students have undertaken work experience at Cambridge University Press, ITN, BBC, Pinewood Studios, the New York Film Academy, and many more. You could also learn more, develop a specialism or start an exciting career in research with our Masters degrees in English Literature or Creative Writing. Take advantage of our Alumni Scholarship and get 20% off your fees.

Modules

You’ll show your progress in a number of ways, reflecting the varied nature of your course. These will include writing portfolios, critical commentaries, presentations, journals and log books, critical essays, film reviews and analyses, internet, print and video production, and commissions. You’ll also take part in ‘crits’, in which you’ll present and defend your work.

 
  • Film Language and Concepts
  • Creative Moving Image
  • Introduction to Imaginative Writing
  • Screenwriting: The Short Film
  • Fundamentals of Publishing
  • Writing Short Fiction
  • Classical Hollywood Cinema
  • Theorising Spectatorship
  • Writing for the Stage
  • Ruskin Module (15 credits)
  • Careers in Writing: Editing and Copywriting

Optional modules

  • Documentary Film Theory
  • 16mm Filmmaking
  • Film Criticism and Reviewing
  • Independent Cinema: US and Beyond
  • Non-Fiction Filmmaking
  • From Script to Screen
  • Anglia Language Programme
  • Writing Creative Non-Fiction
  • Filmmakers on film
  • Writing Poetry
  • Film Journalism

Optional modules

  • Major Project Writing
  • Special Topics in Film Studies
  • Screenwriting: Writing and Selling the Feature Film
  • Experiments in Film and Moving Image
  • Professional Practice in Film
  • Avant-Garde Cinema
  • Gender and Popular Cinema
  • Narrative in Global Cinema
  • Research Project in Film and Media
  • Worldbuilding 1 and 2
  • The Business of Being a Writer: Craft and Professional Practice
  • Novel Writing: Long-Form Prose
  • Anglia Language Programme