Media Production BA(Hons)

Why study with us? 

• You will engage with a set of outward facing, industry-led and ideas-driven modules with a particular focus on drama, factual broadcasting and live television.

• You’ll receive encouragement and guidance from our experienced course teaching team; they will enable you to innovate, develop ideas, create content and analyse a variety of televisual forms and genres.

• You will study the ways in which drama, documentary and live television have developed with the advent of interactive content and digital distribution and keep up-to-date with how they continue to evolve.

• You will gain an understanding of how social media, mobile platforms, e-commerce and locational software are driving change throughout television and will develop ideas for interactive applications suited for second screens or internet connected Smart TVs.

• You will work regularly with digital television professionals and complete a well-chosen work placement to enable you to build up key industry contacts.

• As a graduate you will be able to demonstrate a versatile approach to your field, adapt quickly to different job situations and briefs, and exercise the critical awareness required to understand the complex relationships between media, industry, society and technologies.

Georgia Mutegevu tells us what attracted her to the city of Brighton, the importance of her new university social life and how she has enjoyed the practical elements of her course.

Year 1 

The Media Production course features a core of practice-based modules where you will work with industry professionals shooting, recording and editing material in response to industry briefs and real work expectations.

Modules

• Media Industries

  This module will give you an overview of the current state of the global digital media industries and introduce you to how media forms are developing in the digital age. The module will introduce the key contexts and frameworks that underpin the creative media industries, and discuss the pressure and influences that are driving change in those industries. You will learn how to develop, budget and pitch ideas intended for a variety of digital media platforms.

• Key Issues in Screen Studies

  This module will introduce you to major concepts used for the analysis of screen texts, by drawing on elements from the disciplines of film studies, media studies and cultural studies. Each week you will focus on one particular concept, such as narrative, editing, cinematography, ideology, representation and so on. You will be encouraged to consider the ways in which these concepts are useful in analysing different screen media.

• Filmmaking Fundamentals

  In this module you will accrue and develop key competencies in filmmaking that will underpin the practice strand of your degree. Teaching will take primarily through workshops with weekly formative tasks. Technical inductions of key equipment will be contained within the teaching which will cover areas such as camera operation, field and studio sound recording, basic light principles, and an introduction to offline editing. You will be assessed on short filmed task that will demonstrate proficiently core filmmaking practices.

• Production and Practice Management

  This module will introduce you to the collaborative processes and practice of work in group production. You will learn key roles within a production, develop a planning process and understand the workflow of a production. Formative and summative assessment for the module is designed around collaborative, team-working skills along with social skills, personal and group organisation and professionalism. Furthermore, the delivery and standard of a completed filmed project will be assessed a central indicator of group outcomes.

• Digital and Web Media Design

  This module will introduce you to the technologies used to create digital and web media products. You will become familiar with technical requirements for graphic design as well as digital acquisition and implementation for various digital media distribution channels.

• Understanding Audiences: Theory and Context

  In this module you will examine the role and characteristics of media consumption in the C21st and the relationship that exists between audiences, texts and technologies of production, distribution and reception. You will encounter a range of theories and research methods through study of a range of real-world media organisations and their respective audiences, and as a practical exercise, will design a cross-media campaign for a targeted audience demographic.

Year 2 

You will study how drama has evolved in the twenty-first century through an analysis of American serials such as Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead and Mad Men as well as UK soaps such as Hollyoaks and Eastenders.

You will also work together as part of a Writers’ Room creating long-form stories and breaking them down into episodes. You will also investigate and discuss the impact and ethical implications of reality television and develop and research new programme formats of factual entertainment.

Modules

• Podcasting and Narrative Journalism
• Digital Media Cultures
• Media Production Practices

Options*

• Media Placement
• Serial Drama
• Brands and Branding
• Media and Public Relations
• Mobile Media Cultures 

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Year 3 

Consolidating your study, you will produce a final report and a portfolio report, learn about media enterprise, complete a placement and specialise in an area of production. 

Modules

• Production Cultures
• Digital Media Enterprise
• Production Portfolio
• Dissertation

Facilities 

Media production help and support
Students develop their practical skills by using industry-standard equipment under the guidance of our teaching staff of industry professionals.

BoB (Box of Broadcasts)
The iplayer for education. Find out more about BoB.

Staff profile 

Dr Lance Dann, course leader
Lance Dann is a writer, sound designer and academic who has across the arts and media industries. He has produced radio programming for the BBC, designed sound for stage performance in New York, created interactive media projects for the Globe Theatre and film series for ABC in Australia.

He won the Gold Award for the Best Drama Producer at the 2017 UK Audio Production awards, for his Brighton-based techno thriller Blood Culture.

Other staff who teach on the course include:

• Mark Soye
• Dr Holly Chard.

Placements 

Work placements give you vital hands-on experience and boost your CV. You’ll have the opportunity to undertake a placement with one of a range of local and national television companies and media organisations.

Students from Media Production have undertaken placements at organisations including Ricochet, Firecracker Films, Mentorn Media, Charleston Farmhouse, the RSPB, Factory Films, Amplify Life, Stories into Light, the RSPCA, Halo, Thumbs Up, Envy and the Electric Theatre.

International requirements

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Course fees

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2019–20.

Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK/EU students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee.

You can find out more about our fees in the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full-time or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

What's included in the fee?

When costs such as health or DBS checks, or use of specialist materials are incurred as a mandatory requirement of the course they are included in your tuition fee.

You may incur additional costs depending on the optional modules or activities you choose. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. Before you apply check with the school that provides your course using the contact details in the Find out more tab (at the end of this page) for advice about what is included and what optional costs you could face so you can budget accordingly.

See our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as further information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Local area

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Maps

Accommodation

University building

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