Film and Television - Theory, Culture and Industry: University of Westminster

Introduction

The Westminster Film School is a vibrant meeting place for students, industry professionals and film theorists. It provides world-class courses in film and television production and film theory at undergraduate and postgraduate level, as well as the opportunity to undertake doctoral and post-doctoral research in theoretical and practical disciplines.

The MA Film and Television is the longest running postgraduate course in the country in the study and research of film and television and retains its strong reputation within the film sector. In addition to theoretical, cultural and critical dimensions, the course offers an overview of the international film industry both historic and contemporary, including production, distribution, exhibition and marketing, from mainstream commercial productions to alternative, experimental and independent film, video and digital work.

Past and present students from all over the world are employed in the film and television sectors: as small-scale producers and film and video makers, or working for larger organisations and TV companies as script consultants, programmers, executives and film educators. Both part-time and full-time students have made the course the basis for continuing studies as Doctorate students both in the UK and internationally. Throughout the course's history students have taken the course to develop and expand their teaching careers in the further and higher education sectors.

Course Content

The course is built on a series of taught modules, each requiring written research essays or projects for assessment, and all students complete a 10,000 word research thesis, in an area of their specialist interest, to complete their studies. This is an option-based course offering students the opportunity to choose from the range of modules on offer but concentrating on one of three pathways: historical, theoretical and industry.

Modules offered include:

Industry:

• Cinema: Distribution and Exhibition
• The World Film Business
• The Hollywood Studio System

Culture:

• Film, Culture and Society
• European Cinema since 1945
• Issues in British Film Culture
• British Cinema in the 1950s
• Popular Television
• Experimental Film, Distribution and Exhibition

Theory:

• Authorship, Genre and Realism
• Structuralism and Psychoanalysis
• Experimental Film Theory Practice
• Film Music and Sound Track Analysis

Entry Requirements

• A good first degree
• Exceptionally, previous relevant experience
• Full-time students from abroad: proven ability to write English to a high standard