BA (Hons) Film and Television Production

Why study Film and Television Production at ARU?

• Study on a course industry-recognised by ScreenSkills, the industry-led skills body for the UK's screen-based industries, with the ScreenSkills Select quality-mark for courses best suited to prepare you for a career in the screen industries.
• Develop your skills in script, cinematography, editing, producing, and directing, in studio and on location.
• Benefit from support from award-winning lecturers whose work has been screened on all the major UK television networks, as well as at multiple international film festivals.
• Join a course whose students' films have won awards in the regional and National Royal Television Society Student Awards over many years.
• Get hands-on in our specialist film facilities, with full training from our technical team.
• Take advantage of our links with local and national organisations, which will help you make contacts, find work placements, take part in "live briefs", and even give you the opportunity to show your films publicly at Cambridge Arts Picturehouse.
• Join our organised trips to Sheffield Documentary Festival, Camerimage in Poland and Aesthetica Short Film Festival in York.

Join the award-winning students on our BA (Hons) Film and Television Production degree and develop your skills in script, cinematography, editing, producing and directing in studio and on location. If you don't want to just watch film and television, but make it, this is the course for you.

As a production course, this is all about the filmmaking. Your modules will be around 80% practice-based to 20% context and research.

Over the three years you'll gain key skills, from ideas development and scripting to pre-production planning and shooting, through to post-production skills in editing and colour grading. You can choose to keep a broad skillset or start to specialise in particular craft areas like producing, camera or editing.

You'll shoot on digital formats from HD to 4K and analogue 16mm film. By the final year, you and your crew will be working with feature film industry level equipment like our new Arri Alexa Mini cameras.

You'll learn from highly experienced filmmakers, television producers and technical officers in our specialist facilities. With an emphasis on collaborations, you'll have opportunities to work with students from all the year groups as well as your lecturers on this small, focused and friendly course.

Whether your career aspirations are to crew on high-end TV drama or film, work in post-production, set up your own company as a videographer, create stunning cinematography or innovative online content, reinvent what television is, or use film to make change in the world, the skills you learn on this course will set you up to start that journey.

What can you do with a Film and Television Production degree?

Our BA (Hons) Film Production degree course will prepare you for employment or self-employment in film, television and the creative industries; the ever-expanding field of online screen content including music, dance, marketing and fashion promos; as well as high-end small screen (streaming) drama and documentary.

This course carries the ScreenSkills Select quality-mark, which indicates courses best suited to prepare students for a career in the screen industries.

We place an emphasis on creativity and storytelling, as well as solid, transferable skills such as teamwork, communication, problem-solving, resourcefulness, and risk management.

You’ll also learn highly valued specialist skills such as editing, cinematography, production management, budgeting, producing and directing – invaluable as you launch a career in this highly competitive but growing and diverse creative industry.

Gain crucial work experience and industry contacts at Cambridge’s two annual film festivals. Get involved with Cambridge Film Festival, one of the longest running film festivals in the UK, as an intern in the lead up to the festival, a volunteer during it, or even as part of the CFF Youth Lab and Jury. At Watersprite International Film Festival, the biggest student film festival in the UK, you can become part of the central organising committee and lead subcommittees like marketing, filming, events, judging. Watersprite gives you a huge opportunity to build your networks and make connections with industry guests, mentors and student filmmakers from around the world.

You might also decide to continue on to a Masters course, such as our MA Film and Television Production. Take advantage of our Alumni Scholarship and get 20% off your fees.

Employability and personal career development

Informed by employers, our courses support an integrated approach to employability. You’ll have opportunities to develop the skills and abilities they are looking for and gain a deeper understanding of how your academic learning relates to the world of work through Live Briefs and Ruskin Modules.

You will need to dedicate time outside of your course to develop your employability, through placements, internships or volunteering or through our partner scheme Students at the Heart of Knowledge Exchange (SHoKE). You can evidence this experience on your CV and talk about it in interviews to give you that all important edge.

Our Employability and Careers Service offers a range of expert advice and support to build your unique professional profile, including tailored career appointments, advice on writing your CV, and help to complete job applications. You’ll have 24/7 access to the Careers Centre, our comprehensive online digital resource, which empowers you to start building a Personal Career Development Plan from the very start. Design your future at ARU.