BA (Hons) Film Business & Production
Are you passionate about the business side of film? Do you have an entrepreneurial mindset and ambitions to pave a career in a fast-growing creative industry?
The BA (Hons) Film Business & Production degree reflects current demands for professionally ready graduates equipped with the vital creative, business and entrepreneurial skills to navigate the modern film, screen and media environment.
This industry-facing course is a vital part of the roster of degree courses that will make up the Screen and Film School offer – BA Hons Filmmaking and BA Hons Film Business & Production and will allow students from both courses and disciplines to work in synergy to create cutting edge and industry-standard screen and film content.
The unique collaborative feature of the BA Hons Film Business & Production will give you the opportunity to be part of a creative production team, collectively learning how to work together and develop a film or screen venture. This collaborative approach to working between the courses will ensure open access to the entire industry, including peripheral and supporting roles.
Over the past decade, the UK Film & TV industry has continued to experience significant growth. Opportunities to work in this vibrant and exciting industry have never been better. BFI have revealed that £737 million was spent on UK high-end television production in the first six months of 2019, UK cinemas saw their highest summer box office returns on record – from May to August, the total box office was over £474 million, up 7.8% on the same period in 2018 (UK Cinema Association, 2019). Streaming giants such as Netflix and Amazon have invested billions into the UK economy to help meet their huge demand for content.
This course will be validated by BIMM University and taught at Screen and Film School. Upon successful completion, students receive a degree from BIMM University.
The course will challenge you to embrace current structural and production techniques for screen and television, as well as emerging trends, and help you to learn key business skills which will then be used to develop high-level business plans and strategies. This will include film and media content production and delivery; financing and funding; evolving business and revenue strands; legal and accounting principles; intellectual property and marketing strategies, production management, development and distribution. You will also develop key skills to ensure success in the film and screen business including networking, pitching and creative entrepreneurship.
The course will be delivered by experienced film business practitioners who combine their academic teaching with relevant and current professional practice. An Industry Engagement Strategy is also embedded within the curriculum and encourages you to engage with industry throughout your time at Screen and Film School. This is achieved through dedicated workshops, masterclasses, live briefs and work placements. During your studies you are encouraged and supported in the creation of the development of a network of contacts through industry engagement and are further supported in your progression into the world of work via the Alumni Community.
Course Specification
Mode of attendance: Full-time
Length of course: 3 years
Awarding institution: BIMM University
Campus delivery: Brighton & Manchester
UCAS code: N400
Institution code: B39
Language of study: English
Start date: September 2022
Minimum Requirements
Minimum of 2 A-levels at Grade C or above (64 UCAS points), OR BTEC Level 3 equivalent, and normally three GCSEs at a minimum grade C/4, including English Language.
IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 to be achieved in each band.
Progression
Graduates can progress directly to a career in the film industry in entrepreneurial and business areas such as producing, marketing, distribution, accounting, locations, publishing, sales, legal, commissioning, merchandising and contracts.
Course Fees
Because we’re an industry-led practical film school, we’re uniquely positioned to offer outstanding value and quality to all our students. Course fees are currently £9,250 per year for UK students, £15,950 per year for EU & International students, (subject to review) and there are no compulsory additional course costs however we strongly recommend investing in a Terrabyte external hard drive and a personal laptop/Macbook.
Year 1
All students take the following core modules in their first year of study.
This module aims to introduce you to the script to greenlight process of the film, television and streaming industries. It will build your knowledge of the first stages of bringing a production to life exploring how to develop a creative idea or script. to pitch it effectively and secure the funds needed to greenlight your project ready for production. This module will introduce you to the industry processes which are inherent in ensuring and idea can realised on screen.
This module will familiarise you to the key business, production and creative roles and technical to filmmaking. In addition it aims to provide an initial understanding of the importance of research, information analysis, business strategy and presentation skills in order to develop your ability to communicate and ‘sell’ an idea through the pitching process, vital skills which you will continue to develop throughout the three years of the course.
The module aims to develop your understanding of production processes through the practical realisation of a film. Once a project has been greenlit it is ready to go into production and this module will introduce you to the exciting and logistically complex production processes of shooting and post-production. To embed understanding of such processes, you will work collaboratively within a small production team to produce a short-filmed outcome. In addition, by stepping into a departmental role beyond the production office you will gain an understanding of the key technical, logistical and creative specialisms of directing, camera, lighting or sound, essential to the filmmaking process.
The module introduces you to the paperwork and protocols of the production office and the key roles within the production team who manage a film though the three main stages of; pre-production, production and post-production. The production team are at the heart of any filmed outcome and vital to ensuring a project is realised.
The module aims to introduces you to the distribution and franchise processes and the crucial part they play in ensuring that films get developed, realised and then marketed in order to reach the films intended audience.
This module also aims to introduce to you the importance that collaboration and communication skills play within the process of film business and how these roles work together in order to realise distribution and franchise professional standard film development.
The module aims to introduce you to the evolution of the modern film business and the impact this has had on how films are made and distributed. It will also explore key areas of film business such as changing technology, distribution platforms, audience, trends, genres and budgets.
This module also aims to present to you the different areas of film business and skills required in each of the respective roles in the film business chain and how teams work together to reach the best outcome for films and how this process has changed due to technological and monetary influences.
Entrepreneurial behaviour is needed now more than ever before. Entrepreneurial skills and abilities enable you to deal more effectively with current challenges, create an innovative approach to problem solving, develop a positive attitude to change, and support the growth of self-confidence and creativity which are all attributes akin to entrepreneurship.
The aim of this module is to introduce you to the process of identifying opportunity, self realisation, taking and managing risk and organising and co ordinating resources for employment. Entrepreneurship involves interacting with your environment, thus discovering, evaluating and exploiting enterprising opportunities. This module is structured so you function in teams (production crews) to work, learn and grow together. Collectively as a production crew you will establish and develop a real film industry venture, for real needs and real audiences.
Throughout this module you will also explore and integrate entrepreneurial skills, attributes and behaviours to prepare you for the demands of the modern film, screen and media industry. Entrepreneurial activity promotes multidisciplinary approaches designed to support you in all your SFS coursework. You will have ownership of your learning working in physical and virtual teams and your lecturers and coaches act as a supporter and facilitator of the process, a catalyst
The first Creative Industries module will introduce you to the strategies and tools to set you on the right path toward pursuing a successful career. Whether focused on a particular career goal or considering several future possibilities, you will broaden your knowledge of the opportunities available to you as a future creative industry professional.
In this module, you will further develop your investigative skills, exploring relevant underlying concepts and principles and interpreting these within the context of your area of study. You will explore the nature of creativity, the wider context of the industry and practice reflective techniques.
You will also evaluate sources and consider issues such as potential biases and cultural diversity. This evaluation will contribute to developing an enhanced awareness of your creative identity and greater insight into the topics that inspire and motivate you. In addition, you will improve your understanding of how your area of interest intersects with the wider creative industry.
Using academic enquiry, you will develop a reflective journal to evaluate your strengths and areas for self-development in relation to your studies, careers and personal aspirations. This investigative work will help establish a connection between the skills you have identified concerning specific careers and areas of the industry, enhancing your understanding of what is required to be a successful professional practitioner.
This module aims to advance and develop your understanding of the script to the green-light process of the film, television and streaming industries and refine your knowledge of development, pitching and securing the funds to greenlight your project ready for production. This module will familiarise you with industry processes inherent to ensuring an idea can be realised on screen. It will explore in detail the producer’s task of identifying viable ideas and scripts that will attract funding, talent and an audience.
This module also aims to develop your understanding of various key roles within the business of film and refine your understanding of technical, creative and production roles within the industry. It also aims to embed knowledge of research practices, information analysis and presentation techniques. By the end of the module you will have a developed ability to communicate and ‘sell’ an idea through pitching, a vital skill, which you will continue to develop over the two years of the course.
Year 2
All students take the following core modules in their second year of study, plus four optional modules
Please note that the offering of optional modules in individual Film Schools, in any given academic year, will be subject to the availability of resources and sufficient student interest.
This module continues the entrepreneurial skillset that you have been developing in Year 1. The experience developed in your first year on the course will have shown you a range of entrepreneurial behaviours and related practical, social and conceptual skills. You will have learnt how to recognise opportunities and how to address needs that have may not been fully resolved.
Year 2 focuses on the transformation and developing your skills into turning ideas into action, taking greater responsibility for creating value, and developing sustainable solutions. Collectively your production crew will have created communication channels for you to generate value for others in the form of an action, product or service. This module enables you to change or expand further your ideas to seek support, think more strategically and make the most of your strengths and weaknesses. There is a greater emphasis on how to refine priorities and plans to adjust to changing circumstances, marketing techniques, interpersonal communication skills and the building of customer relationships. The knowledge and experience you have already gained will show you how to gather and manage different types of resources to create value for all involved.
The module aims to utilise the production, business and logistical production skills that you have learnt throughout level 4 and level 5 of the course, within the collaborative production of a short–filmed outcome. Working alongside the BA Filmmaking students the filmed outcome can be realised in any of the following genres; factual & documentary, fictional narrative, short form branded content or advertising, music video or innovative or experimental moving image. This module aims to develop your area of production, entrepreneurial and business skills by working in small production teams to realise a collaboratively produced short–filmed outcome that will have been devised and realised by you alongside the BA Hons Filmmaking production team.
The creative arts have the power to bring people together, unite communities, support mental well-being, raise awareness of social issues and above all, bring joy to many people around the world. In Creative Industries & You 2, you will discover how you can turn your passion and talent into a collaborative project with a positive impact on society. Employing research and networking skills, you will develop a greater understanding of a charity, cause or campaign. In teams of students from all Screen and Film School courses, you‘ll select a cause and identify a way to support its key objectives, either by raising awareness, raising funds or contributing as volunteers. You will be introduced to Screen and Film School’s partner charities but you are also able to find your own, or work independently of an existing organisation. Through this collaborative project, you’ll develop essential interpersonal and communication skills, experimenting with various digital tools for enterprise. You’ll reflect on your own values, applying theories of human psychology to explore how to get the best out of yourself and each other. Building on your industry research skills, you will assess your target audience and define clear SMART targets for your project that will enable you to execute an element of the strategy and evaluate its success. In teams, you will spend time working on your project both in class and in your own time, developing effective collaborative working methods. You’ll record your project activity in your Personal and Professional Development Plan, reflecting on how you have developed and changed over the course of your first year and a half at Screen and Film School. Working with your Personal Adviser you will identify objectives, opportunities and actions that will help you stay on the path to success for the second half of your journey towards becoming a Creative Industries Professional.
This module continues the exploratory work you began in Context & Culture of the Creative Industries. You will directly apply ideas to your own discipline and development, selecting an area of investigation relevant to your own practice, and communicating your argument via your medium of choice. The concepts you encounter will actively critique claims to authenticity and originality; themes you will encounter frequently throughout your career as a Creative Professional. You will debate artistic production, the motivations for it, and the problems of creative autonomy. You will investigate relevant contemporary cultural issues and theories relating to society, race, gender,technology, and the environment to develop your contextual understanding of how these relate to your own creative practice, professional values, and sense of personal agency. You will be encouraged to meet with your Personal Adviser in a 1:1 tutorial to help you reflect on the strengths and areas for development identified in your Personal and Professional Development Plan in first year, tracking your academic progress and setting new actions that will support you to achieve your best work. The research methods and study habits you develop throughout this module will prepare you for next year’s Final Project, in which you will self-direct a significant piece of academic, creative and/or professional practice.
Intellectual Property & Closing the Deal 1
Development, Financing & Distribution 1
Film Budget Management 1
Monetising Your Film 1
Production Co-ordination & Management 1
Creative Producing 1
Year 3
All students take the following core modules in their third (and final) year of study, plus one optional module.
Please note that the offering of optional modules in individual Film Schools, in any given academic year, will be subject to the availability of resources and sufficient student interest.
In this module, you will consider, develop and be assessed on your understanding of and engagement with the pitch to greenlight production process skills that you have been developing throughout the course. Collaborating with the BA Filmmaking students you will advance and develop your understanding of the script to the green-light process of the film, television and streaming industries and refine your knowledge of planning, development and pitching to greenlight your collaborative project ready for production. This module will lead into Production to Distribution in Semester 2 where you will support the BA Filmmaking students film projects in order for them to be realised throughout the pre-production, production and post-production process and beyond.
This module is supported by your Year 3 optional module where you will be specialising in your area of film business and production and research and develop your role-specific business and production skills which you will apply to this project.
This module engages you with film production, post-production and distribution where the filmed outcomes that you have been involved with the development of in Semester 1 will be filmed, edited and delivered. The Production to Distribution Module provides the opportunity for you to put into practice expert specialist film business skills, methodology and understanding of your chosen production role on a major short film production. The aim of this module, is to apply and synthesise developed understanding of and engagement with the production process, exploring its collaborative dynamics, response to the production process in your role and supporting the realisation of and/or distribution of your finished film and production portfolio.
Assessment of this module will include a week of peer reviews of the finished film where you can discuss and reflect on the success of the production process in relation to the finished film with final outputs of finished film and portfolio. This module also builds on the ongoing Year 3 Final Project where the in-depth research, analysis of films and use of theoretical frameworks carried out in Final Project can now be applied to the production and realisation of major short film productions. You will refer to the research undertaken in Final Project and the Optional Specialist modules in the Production Realisation module.
This module is the final step in your Film School journey and will support you as you look to enter your chosen field as a creative professional. Drawing on evidence from throughout your time at Screen and Film School you will critically self-evaluate your personal learning journey and industry engagements to date. You will explore concepts and theories of personal and professional development to support, challenge and test your assumptions, to determine your readiness for work in the creative industries. You will have the opportunity to discuss this with your peers and learn from your collective experiences in both small degree path groups and large mixed discipline sessions. With this position in mind, you will then be challenged to create and consolidate creative assets to give you the edge over the competition in your chosen field. Specialist workshops will be offered throughout the module, informed and delivered by our wide – reaching connections and specialist tutors in the creative industries. This culminates in the creation of a portfolio which tells the story of your personal and professional journey so far, communicating your unique professional identity and future career plans in the creative industries.
In this module you will undertake a significant project of your own choosing. It’s your chance to explore your passion within the industry and creative arts: experiment, take risks, strengthen your skills and create a product/cohesive portfolio of work that you are proud to showcase at the end of your degree. This module will support you in consolidating the broad learning and development from the course so far, building a bridge into industry, the workplace and future opportunities. You will be supported to self-direct your own learning through a series of lectures, seminars and 1:1 tutorials with expert supervisors. Primary and action research are supported in this module both through theory and feedback guidance. The series of lectures will provide a strong theoretical understanding of key research methodologies and approaches, and the application of this learning supported through feedback in seminars and tutorials. The foundations for research theory and practice are laid spine modules (as well as some core modules) in both Year 2 and 3.
Intellectual Property & Closing the Deal 2
Development, Financing & Distribution 2
Film Budget Management 2
Monetising Your Film 2
Production Co-ordination & Management 2
Creative Producing 2
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Any questions?
For any questions regarding our courses or if you’d like more information on how to apply to Screen and Film School, please contact our Admissions Team on 01273 602070 or email [email protected].
