Filmmaking

Filmmaking is both a creative art and a technical discipline, concerned with every aspect of the process by which moving images are conceived, shot, edited, and brought to an audience. At its core is storytelling, but filmmaking also encompasses the visual grammar of cinematography, the rhythmic and emotional construction of editing, the design of sound, the management of production, and an understanding of how films create meaning and affect viewers. It requires both hands-on practical skill and the critical and theoretical awareness that allows a filmmaker to understand and expand their own creative practice.

At the University of Plymouth this three-year full-time programme engages you in key concepts and debates in film through a combination of lectures, screenings, and practical tasks. You will experiment with narrative, genre, and representation, testing theoretical ideas in short filmmaking exercises and developing your ability to analyse, reflect, and apply critical frameworks to your own creative work. The programme builds progressively, culminating in a portfolio of work that demonstrates the range and depth of what you have learned.

A year abroad is incorporated into the programme, giving you the chance to experience film culture and filmmaking practices in a different country and to broaden your creative and critical perspective.

Filmmaking graduates pursue careers across the full breadth of the screen industries, including television, film, advertising, digital media, and online content creation. Roles as director, producer, cinematographer, editor, screenwriter, and production manager are all paths that a strong portfolio and practical training open up. The critical and analytical skills developed alongside the practical work also prepare graduates for roles in film criticism, education, distribution, and cultural programming.

Many graduates also continue to postgraduate study in film practice or screen studies, deepening their creative or intellectual engagement with the medium.