BA Film & Television

Compulsory modules

Approaches to Film

Critically interpret film texts and discover the conventions of fiction and non-fiction cinema. Explore cinema as a diverse, global and transcultural medium, focusing on historical and cultural contexts.

Introduction to Filmmaking 

Explore the methodologies and working practices related to the creative production of film and television texts, learning about the relationship between development of meaning and creative decision-making in these forms. Gain hands-on experience of the practices and processes involved in planning, documentation and analysis of critically engaged moving image production, and use specialist equipment necessary for production work.

Introduction to Scriptwriting 

Develop in-depth knowledge of scriptwriting and analysis of creative works and enhance your own scriptwriting skills with creative and intellectual tools. You’ll explore personal storytelling in cultural and intellectual contexts, as well as following script development – from the final draft through to creative production. 

Approaches to Television

Gain a critical understanding of central issues in television texts and fiction and non-fiction programming. You’ll examine television forms and narratives, industrial contexts, digital platforms and new delivery technologies, as well as the role of the audience and public service broadcasting.

TV Studio Production 

Develop critically engaged film/television production, cultivating an understanding of the practices and processes of devising, planning, realisation and documentation. You’ll learn to apply systematic approaches to film/television practice, individual research and collaborative decision-making.

Optional modules

Radical Forms in Theatre and Performance

Discover the history, traditions, practices, and theoretical and analytical perspectives of radical theatre-making and experimental performance practice. You’ll learn to appreciate the cultural, political, and aesthetic significance of radical experimentation in theatre and performances, and express critical understanding of creative practice and risk-taking.

Comedy on Stage and Screen

Gain insights into how comedy intersects with film, theatre and television through a series of case studies. You’ll learn how humour highlights critical issues such as identity politics (gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, disability), taboo, embarrassment, cult, cancel or outrage culture, and explore relevant production, industrial and socio-cultural contexts.

These are the modules we currently offer for 2024/25 entry. They may be subject to change as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they're informed by the latest teaching and research methods.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Compulsory modules

Professional Roles and Screen Industry Pathways

Gain lived experience of professional roles and industry pathways in film and television production. You’ll develop knowledge and skills in a specific department of production and have the chance to experiment and reflect on future career directions.

Film Forms and Cultures

Discover the rich variety of film forms and explore critical and conceptual issues of form, including theoretical perspectives, questions of form, and form’s meaning and politics. 

Optional modules

Placement and Employment Skills

This module provides you with an opportunity for reflective learning and intensive research through an industry role of your choice. You’ll reflect critically on your career development and acquire transferable skills for future employment.

Documentary

Develop skills to critically analyse and produce non-fiction films and television through close analysis of texts and engagement with various industrial and technological contexts. You’ll engage with critical debates and conceptual issues and put ideas into practice. You’ll understand documentary-makers' creative decision-making and their connection to ideological concerns.

Television and Contemporary Culture

Engage with issues of genre, globalisation, industry, and representation. You’ll examine the construction of critical and contextual frameworks that underpin television studies. Explore television’s international flows, build a picture of national industrial practices, and analyse digital media practices and platforms. You’ll develop a critical understanding of conventions and histories of selected genres and explore the implied impact of ideologies of representation.

Identity, Performance and Culture

Understand the construction, representation and performance of diverse modes of identity in theatre and in culture. You’ll develop skills of close textual and performance analysis, and learn how local, national and global contexts have influenced playwrights, theatre makers and theatre cultures. 

Reworking Shakespeare in Performance 

Understand Shakespeare as a powerful signifier of culture, explore adaptations of Shakespeare and learn how these relate to broader cultural and political contexts. You’ll learn about the practices and preoccupations that currently affect the interpretation of Shakespeare and gain the ability to make connections between social and cultural concerns and their presentation on stage.

Independent Critical Project

Apply your knowledge and research skills to an area of interest with an extended research project that includes a creative component. You’ll develop your research project independently under the guidance of your supervisor.

Creative Screen Practice

Understand how creative processes relate to research, critical analysis and industry practices. You’ll develop your skills in collaborative production by working on a short practical project. You will also critically analyse and evaluate theoretical issues that are crucial to filmic or television decision-making, and enhance your professional skills in the fields of film and television.

These are the modules that we currently offer for 2024/25 entry. They may be subject to change as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Optional modules

Creative Research Project

Apply your previously gained knowledge and skills to a significant research-based project that includes a creative element and critical research and reflection. You’ll developed the project independently under supervision.

Dissertation: Film and Theatre

Apply the knowledge and skills you’ve acquired in the previous modules to a major piece of independent work around an area you are interested in. Independently initiate and develop the project under the guidance of a supervisor.

Performance and Design: Site, Scenography and Installation

Critically explore theatre and performance design by engaging with historical and contemporary scenographic practices. You’ll learn about the role of designers in shaping and reimagining theatre and performance. You’ll advance the ways you read, see and encounter the visual, aural, spatial, material and technological elements of design. Get involved in critical reading and discussions on a diverse range of international designers, methods and performance environments. You’ll gain exposure to professional contexts through visits to archives, talks or masterclasses from visiting designers and/or scholars.

Advanced Film/TV Project

Apply the knowledge and skills you’ve gained to a practical, research-based project, independently developed by you and your group under the guidance of a supervisor.

Development and Pre-production

Strengthen your understanding of film and/or TV idea development and pre-production processes. You’ll reinforce your knowledge of industry practices attained in prior practical modules while working towards the production of a substantial practical project. You'll reinforce the mutually beneficial relationship between critical thinking and creative practice.

Commercial and Community Filmmaking

Develop your filmmaking competencies and professionalism through a short film-based project. You’ll develop specialisms in film as well as a critical understanding of film, industry practices and community contexts. You’ll apply relevant knowledge to the practical project, creating a project that responds clearly to the needs of community partners or commercial clients. You’ll also engage with perspectives and practices in film accessibility, sustainability and social engagement as part of the project.

Other optional modules 

Adaptions across Stage and Screen

Advanced Scriptwriting

Screen Bodies

Musical Theatre

Film Festivals and Programming

These are the modules that we currently offer for 2024/25 entry. They may be subject to change as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.