BA (Hons) Media Arts

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Advice from graduate Danny Cooke:

"To be a freelance film-maker, you need to be dedicated and patient. When you start off, it is unlikely that you would be making a sufficient amount of income. When studying, use your spare time to build up a portfolio, this is one of the most important things to help you get clients."

Read more from Danny in his case study.

• Freedom to experiment – you can choose to focus on one medium, develop several or integrate across the range to find your own creative voice. You’ll have the opportunity to develop projects to suit your own creative and career ambitions.
• Open doors to your future career by showcasing your work to the public in exhibitions, and developing a portfolio of work. You can enhance your professional profile further by engaging with our live briefs.
• Advance your technical skills using our outstanding equipment and facilities including a fully equipped cinema, moving image studio with green screen, photographic and sound studios, computer labs, animation rostrums and much more.
• Learn from award-winning tutors from industry, arts practice and academic research. 
• Tailor your degree to match your interests and career goals with an option to specialise in television in your final year.
• Benefit from strong links with the industry such as the BBC, ITV and Royal Television Society along with regional arts and community groups, giving you the opportunity to develop and realise creative collaborations beyond the University.
• This course is assessed by coursework only – there are no exams.
• 100 per cent of students agreed staff were good at explaining things and 100 per cent of students agreed staff made the subject interesting (source: 2018 NSS and 2018 DLHE survey results available on Unistats*).
• Exchange programmes in Europe and the USA.
  
• Our alumni support current students with mentoring and career opportunities. Graduate Rachael Lyons, who has been Commercial Digital Producer for the X Factor is currently mentoring one of our stage 3 students on our professional mentoring scheme.
  
• Connect with current students and alumni in our dedicated Media arts Facebook group.

• Year 1
• In your first year, you will explore what media arts means to you through a series of short, critically framed, practical projects. You will investigate narrative composition and context, in still and moving image, sound, interaction and animation. You will start to work beyond the University, exploring professional working methods in a documentary and explore audience address in a public exhibition or screening.

  Core modules

  • MEDI401 Media Arts Practice

    This module will provide students with a set of challenges to promote understanding of contemporary Media Arts practices and the context in which these practices sit. It will explore how theory and practice interlink as well as giving the students a grounding in relevant methodology.

  • MEDI405 Documentary

    The module introduces forms through which we (as subjects) construct (and are constructed by) representations of truth and reality. Students produce a substantial piece of practical documentary work. The choice of subject matter is open but the realisation should exist as an original document through gathering and analysis of primary (and sometimes source) material.

  • MEDI406 Situating Practice

    In this module students will be required to critically evaluate the skills and experience gained in previous modules and develop strategies for the future. They will be introduced to key critical approaches to presenting work to the public and engage in practice which explores the dialogue between their work and wider contexts.

  • MEDI408 Photo Narratives

    This module will introduce to students the creative possibilities of working with ideas of narrative. This is a practice lead module which integrates appropriate references to narrative theory.

  • MEDI409 Interactive Media and Animation

    Students will experiment with interactive media and animation through a range of approaches ¿ for example through stop-motion, vector animation, artist programming (MaxMSP/Jitter etc.). Students will develop their practice through resolving theoretical and practical issues in the areas of interactivity, nonlinearity, moving image, use of sound and the construction of user-experiences.

  • MEDI410 Film Narratives

    This module is a concise introduction to the practices of moving image production and screen-based storytelling. Students will also be introduced to various approaches for the generation and development of ideas.

• Year 2
• In your second year, you will study advanced practical techniques and develop a critical framework for your practice. Creativity, experimentation and developing your own creative voice will be at the heart of this part of the course. You will explore socially engaged media working in collaboration our industry partners. A module on media theory will enhance your academic skills. An international field trip is part of stage two, as is the option to study abroad.  

  Optional modules

  • MEDI501 Critical Dialogues

    Critical Dialogues 2 mixes contemporary debates and media histories in a lively lecture/seminar programme. The module provides exposure to seminal media arts theory / practice and facilitates students to engage critically with their own work, situated in the context of established practitioners.

  • MEDI505 International Project

    This module provides a structured context for a period of study in another country than the home one. As part of the module students will be expected to undertake appropriate study at a recognised institute. Additional project work will be approved prior to the commencement of the module but it is expected to reflect the exchange experience.

  • MEDI508 Critical Dialogues 2

    Through a lively lecture/seminar programme, Critical Dialogues 2 builds on contemporary debates and media histories introduced the Critical Dialogues module. The module continues to explore a range of seminal media arts theory / practice and facilitates students to engage critically with their own work, situated in the context of established practitioners.

  • MEDI509 Experimental Production

    This module provides a framework in which to research and develop one or more large-scale projects built on thematic interests (i.e. a sense of personal `practice¿), by means of practical experiments, underpinned by contextual research and ongoing reflection.

  • MEDI510 Transmedia Storytelling and Branding

    This module challenges students to produce branding and advertising work in response to live briefs. Students will explore the techniques of this field, as well as critical responses to the `culture industry¿. Students will underpin creative and theoretical approaches with practical skills.

  • MEDI511 Social Context

    This module offers an opportunity for students to work collaboratively on projects that will develop and enhance their professional and creative skills in working towards a collective outcome. It places creativity at the core of collaboration alongside the facilitation of new ideas and practices.

  • MEDI512 Experiment

    In this module students will undertake a range of short projects where they are required to experiment with a number of forms and practices. The module provides the framework for a student lo take creative risks, broaden their practical skills, enhance their confidence and to develop their own creative voice.

• Final year
• In your final year, you will complete two major self-directed projects in independent practice and collaborative practice. All our students do a written dissertation on a subject of their choice. You will prepare for your future career in our professional module and showcase your achievements in a substantial public exhibition or screening. In stage three, we offer one to one mentoring by industry professionals and the opportunity to meet and network with potential employers.

  Core modules

  • MEDI602 Media Dissertation

    Students will research a subject area within Media Arts in considerable depth, developing their own methodologies in researching, collating and synthesising data and concepts in order to present arguments clearly and persuasively. The outcome will be a piece of written work with illustrations, bibliography, notes and appendices as appropriate.

  • MEDI608 Media Arts Futures

    This module will support students in their aspirations beyond graduation. Students will identify career/ postgraduate aims and further develop their portfolios and professional profiles to effectively promote themselves and their practice in appropriate contexts.

  • MEDI609 Collaborative and Contextual Practice

    In this module you will undertake a collaborative project, emphasis will be placed on working processes and methodologies, group interaction, the planning and completion of the project within a defined context. This module provides an important critical context arising from issues relating to collaborative practice, working from a research and development stage through to realisation in order to contribute new objects or forms of cultural production.

  • MEDI611 Independent Practice

    Drawing on a growing sense of practice, underpinned by tutorial support, students will develop a large scale project through an application of practical and critical skills.

Every undergraduate taught course has a detailed programme specification document describing the course aims, the course structure, the teaching and learning methods, the learning outcomes and the rules of assessment.

The following programme specification represents the latest course structure and may be subject to change:

BA Hons Media Arts programme specification 2019 20 0662

UCAS tariff

96 - 112