Media Production BA (Hons) | University of Bedfordshire

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Summary:

Applying through UCAS? Apply here (P14F)
Course Code: P14F

Applying through UCAS? Apply here (P310)
Course Code: P310

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Why choose the School of Arts and Creative Industries

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Our students learn from industry professionals in state-of-the-art multi-camera studios, working with industry-standard camera, sound and lighting equipment.

Industry links with sector leaders such as the BBC, ITV, the Royal Television Society, Reuters, Bloomberg and UK newspapers.

Our film and TV courses rank 7th for teaching quality and 9th for student experience in their subject field (Times Good University Guide, 2024).

About the course

Success in the media industry means creating powerful products that communicate with target audiences through a constantly evolving range of media platforms. This broad-based course focuses on the production process while giving you the theoretical grounding you need. So you study practical units such as digital design, making sound and images, film-making and experimental production, combined with units ensuring your understanding of media theory, digital cultures and future digital production.

Facilities and specialist equipment

High-spec multi-camera television studios
Mac-equipped newsroom with radio news booth and transmission gallery
Industry-standard radio facilities
Digital video-editing suites including Adobe Creative Cloud software (Premier Pro)
Netflix-standard Sony FX6 cameras for broadcast-quality film and television content
Sony FX3 Cinema Line camera with full-frame sensor and enhanced mobility for easy solo hand-held shooting
Industry-standard sound and lighting equipment

Student experience

Develop live projects and enjoy work experience opportunities at industry organisations including the BBC (The One Show and Radio 1); Coolr social media agency; Pooja Studios; Luton Town FC’s Media and PR department; MK Dons FC; and MKFM radio station.

Produce shows for our award-winning local community radio service, Radio LaB, and our in-house online TV station, Beds TV.

Benefit from regular opportunities to meet visiting, industry-active professionals, from TV producers to published writers and performers.

Participate in and contribute to student festivals and competitions, building your experience and portfolio.

Take advantage of field trips to studios and course-related destinations including MKFM, BBC Broadcasting House, BT Sport, and Sky.

Engage directly with the industry through networking events, guest talks and workshops with media professionals.

Recent guest speakers include Mick Payne, Match of the Day producer; Tom Wall, TV producer for Channel 4, Channel 5 and Netflix; Jess Symons, MD at Ivy House Productions; Lorraine Heaton, Production Management, BBC Studios; Keanu Rattray, Digital Content Manager at FIFA; BBC Radio 1 hosts Melvin Odoom and Rickie Haywood-Williams; Station Sound Producer Matt Fisher; and Kiss FM’s Sam Darlaston.

with Professional Practice Year

This course has the option to be taken over four years which includes a year placement in industry. Undertaking a year in industry has many benefits. You gain practical experience and build your CV, as well as being a great opportunity to sample a profession and network with potential future employers.

There is no tuition fee for the placement year enabling you to gain an extra year of experience for free.

*Only available to UK/EU students.

with Foundation Year

A Degree with a Foundation Year gives you guaranteed entry to an Undergraduate course.

Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course, our Degrees with Foundation Year provide a fantastic entry route for you to work towards a degree level qualification.

With our guidance and support you’ll get up to speed within one year, and will be ready to seamlessly progress on to undergraduate study at Bedfordshire.

The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree.

This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your bachelor’s degree.

Why study a degree with a Foundation Year?

Broad-based yet enough depth to give you credible vocational skills
Coverage of a variety of areas typically delivered by an expert in this area
Gain an understanding of a subject before choosing which route you wish to specialise in
Great introduction to further study, and guaranteed progression on to one of our Undergraduate degrees

The degrees offering a Foundation Year provide excellent preparation for your future studies.

During your Foundation Year you will get the opportunity to talk to tutors about your degree study and future career aspirations, and receive guidance on the most appropriate Undergraduate course to help you achieve this; providing you meet the entry requirements and pass the Foundation Year.

What will you study?

Studying our Media Production BA (Hons) course will equip you with the knowledge and expertise around media theory, digital design and production. In core areas of study, you will develop your understanding of a range of film and media theories in our Media Theory and Research unit while also exploring the cultural and historical contexts of contemporary film and media. Building on this, you will also explore a variety of cultural, economic, technological and social perspectives to explain the effects of new media forms on society in our Digital Cultures and Practices unit. With a critical approach, you will also consider Contemporary Practices and Debates in The Media in the context of their cultural, political and socio-historical developments. In practical areas of study, you will develop your digital media production skills in our Future Digital Production unit while also building on your project management and analytical skills. This closely links to our unit in Experimental Production where you will have the opportunity to create a short experimental production based on approaches around surrealism and expressionism as well as production practice beyond the mainstream.

Furthermore, you will learn the core skills to design and evaluate web-based media and digital imaging in our Digital Design Skills unit. To develop your visual style, our Making Images unit will expose you to principles, techniques and the practice of image making and sound recording. This will be particularly useful in our Reading the Screen unit where you will be introduced to the principles of audiovisual material. Moreover, you will also critically examine Non-Fiction Filmmaking and explore theory and practice around how reality is represented in the media. This unit will allow you to experiment with digital recording and editing equipment while also exploring how it is used in documentary practice. Another important element of any production is sound, and you will learn to effectively communicate with still or moving images together with sound and interaction in our Sound, Image and Interaction unit. You will explore the potential of stills in portraying narratives and movement alongside the use of soundtracks.

Finally, you will have the opportunity to produce a piece of practical media production work or a media studies dissertation in our Special Project: Media Production unit. If you prefer to work on a practical project, you will have the option to choose the type of production you want to submit, and this could range from a documentary film to a script supported by a 3,000-word contextual study. With the dissertation option, you will be able to explore a topic of your interest that is strongly relevant to media studies while working on this with a supervisor. To help you with this, our unit in Research, Development and Industry will develop your skills in production research, documentation and development. To prepare you for the real-world environment, our unit in Becoming a Freelancer will support you in building the confidence to establish contacts in the creative industries while introducing you to the nature of freelance work. With the help of a tutor, you will work on your CV, engage in explicit networking and create a professional development plan to secure work in the field.

How will you be assessed?

Assessment is an integral part of your learning. Your assessments will follow the pattern of teaching and learning. As you complete each stage of your production we will give you feedback and give you advice on how to further develop and improve your work so that you can take it to the next stage. We will assess both the processes you use to produce work and the quality of the final production. The media industry expects high quality work completed to absolutely fixed distribution deadlines. We will reflect this in our assessment of your work and so whilst the way in which you work is important, ultimately it is the quality of what you produce that will be the main influence on your grade.

The theoretical aspects of the course will be assessed through essays, presentations and computer-based examinations. This will prepare you for writing a dissertation for your final project if you wish. As the course progresses we will move from well-defined conventional production briefs to more open-ended challenging briefs that require you to generate new ideas and new ways of working. You may also be required to research the availability of new production tools and apply them to your work. We will always expect your production work to be contextualised. You will normally be required to submit a written evaluation of your production work along with some reflection on its strengths and weaknesses. You will also be required to relate your work to current genres and practices.

Careers

Career paths open to you in any industry that requires excellent communication and team working skills alongside understanding of different media platforms and how they work together.

Many of our graduates have now progressed to successful careers in the UK and international media.

Entry Requirements

48 UCAS tariff points including 32 from at least 1 A-level or equivalent

Entry Requirements

96 UCAS tariff points including 80 from at least 3 A-levels or equivalent

Fees for this course

UK 2024/25

The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2024/25 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance

Merit Scholarship

We offer a Merit Scholarship to UK students, worth £2,400* over three academic years, which is awarded to those who can demonstrate a high level of academic achievement, through scoring 120 UCAS tariff points or more.

Bedfordshire Bursary

If you aren’t eligible for the Merit Scholarship, this Bursary is there to help UK students with aspects of student living such as course costs. The Bursary will give you £1,000* over three academic years, or £1,300* if you are taking your course over four academic years (including those with a Foundation Year).

Full terms and conditions can be found here.

Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding please email admission@beds.ac.uk