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Industry standard facilities
Opportunities for practical workshops
Learn from subject matter experts
Choose from a range of optional modules
MA
Film Production
Key Information
Academic Year
Course Overview
MA Film Production offers a blend of practical and critical work with an industry focus, giving you the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to progress to a career in film and related areas or to further study. The course will enable you to develop the multi-skilled essentials needed to work in the fast-changing and internationalised creative industries.
You'll be encouraged to take your creativity and artistic ability to the next level and become part of the next generation of innovative filmmakers. The programme offers a wide variety of workshops focusing on screenwriting, directing, cinematography, lighting, producing, sound recording, editing, effects and colour grading, and more. You'll have the opportunity to work with industry-standard equipment and benefit from expert guidance from supportive technical tutors.
Staff have a wide range of industry and subject experience, including at the BBC.
How You Study
This course is designed to provide an educational context through practical workshops in production techniques, exploration of ideas in seminars, and more focussed individual discussion in tutorials. Students have the opportunity to develop an advanced level of creative, conceptual, technical, critical, organisational, and research skills, all of which are appropriate to employment in the media industries. Independent study consolidates learning.
Weekly contact hours on this programme may vary depending on the module options chosen and the stage of study.
Postgraduate study involves a significant proportion of independent study, exploring the material covered in workshops and seminars, and making projects.
Modules
Module Overview
This module has been developed in partnership with Lincoln Arts Centre (LAC) and Lincoln City Council (LCC). It's aim is to combine Community Partnership & creative filmmaking, shaping prospective student projects during the module on a collaborative basis with civic organisations (community groups, non-profit orgs, volunteer groups, projects, local organisations, transformative documentary initiatives) and creative collaborations; guided by the co-ordination team of: Phillip Warnell (UoL); Frances Plant (LCC); Ben Anderson (Director of LCC) with input from specialist staff in the School of Creative Arts.
Lectures and seminars will build student awareness of ethical and sustainable filmmaking initiatives and documentary filmmaking techniques, third-sector co-authorship and community film initiatives. The module will encourage collaboration between undergraduate and postgraduate students, along with students across programmes in the School of Creative Arts.
It will offer students the opportunity to work with community groups and creatives, whilst providing them greater access to the transformative ideas and methods which can support their screen-based authorship.
Module Overview
The module involves a dynamic combination of practice and theory taught in conjunction with students' making of short film works in Documentary, Fiction, and Experimental film genres.
The teaching involves use of case study lectures, seminars, screenings, sharing of archival materials, filmmaking methods and approaches to collaborative projects.
Module Overview
This module is the culmination point of the one year programme. Following a Sem B preparatory period of research and development, this final 60 credit module is designed to foreground students' chosen pathway relative to completing an ambitious film, thesis or script-based project.
The film should be collaborative and involve several students on the programme contributing. It should be a shared endeavour with students working to professional, industry standards in terms of production. Assessment of the module will, however, be individual, based on your creative contribution, specialist role and professional understanding.
Students can choose to pursue a thesis instead of a practice-based film work, or can also opt to develop a creative screenplay or combination of screenplay and thesis (with reduced wordcount).
Module Overview
This dual purpose module will commence a series of inductions, advanced sessions, master classes and lectures on cinema's 'Heads of Department' offering technical inductions into equipment use, specialist skills acquisition, film directing and producing, editing, studio use, location sound and the post-production environment.
The above sessions are coupled with developmental scriptwriting work, encouraging students to build their resources and develop prospective screenwriting sequences for project work.
Module Overview
This module has a three-part aim, firstly towards ensuring detailed research and development takes place, in preparation for the onset of the Graduation film/project in Sem C. Research and development methods will be explored and workshopped, with the aim of nourishing film ideas and proposals, exploring and testing proposals, guided by staff, peer to peer exchange and suggested referrals.
Secondly, to explore the tenets of narrative output from a range of investigative sources and points of reference (especially international film festival outputs) to raise awareness and question conventional narrative approaches.
Students are encouraged to experiment and ask questions such as: How can we find emancipation through the disruption of taken-for-granted industry norms and standards? How might we redefine film grammar? How can theory be 'mobilised' into practice? How can film interrogate narrative conventions of cinema, privileging the emerging of spontaneous or disruptive cinematic moments?
'The edit environment' is a series of regular post-production workshops threaded across the semester, designed to advance students' workflow, image and sound editing and post-related learning to date, refining skills in screen design and output during a crucial period of developmental for their final projects.
† Some courses may offer optional modules. The availability of optional modules may vary from year to year and will be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved. This means that the availability of specific optional modules cannot be guaranteed. Optional module selection may also be affected by staff availability.
What You Need to Know
We want you to have all the information you need to make an informed decision on where and what you want to study. In addition to the information provided on this course page, our What You Need to Know page offers explanations on key topics including programme validation/revalidation, additional costs, and contact hours.
Features
There may be opportunities for students to work on professional productions for our enterprise arm, New Media Lincs, and to volunteer for Indie-Lincs International Film Festival, which is based in the Lincoln School of Film and Media. In the past, students have worked as runners on professional productions in the local area and visited a film festival in Hong Kong. All international students are allocated a mentor as part of the School’s International Buddy Scheme.
Alumni Success
Our students go on to work in a wide range of roles, including alumnus Lisa Rustage who has worked on major feature films including 'Ready Player One', 'Jason Bourne', 'Ophelia', and recent blockbuster 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. Another previous student, Anthonia Ziregbe, had her documentary 'View within the Straight Lines' screened at the Cambridge International Student Film Festival 2019.
I had a lot of wonderful support and learnt a lot from staff and fellow students at the University of Lincoln. Taking every opportunity that arose helped me pave the way to my success.
Lisa Rustage
How you are assessed
Assessment is conducted using a range of methods which include media productions, pitches, presentations, case studies, and essays.
The University of Lincoln's policy on assessment feedback aims to ensure that academics will return in-course assessments to students promptly - usually within 15 working days of the submission date.
How to Apply
Postgraduate Application Support
Applying for a postgraduate programme at Lincoln is easy. Find out more about the application process and what you'll need to complete on our How to Apply page. Here, you'll also be able to find out more about the entry requirements we accept and how to contact us for dedicated support during the process.
Entry Requirements 2025-26
Entry Requirements
First or upper second class honours degree in a relevant subject or equivalent professional experience.
If you have studied outside of the UK, and are unsure whether your qualification meets the above requirements, please visit our country pages https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/studywithus/internationalstudents/entryrequirementsandyourcountry/ for information on equivalent qualifications.
Overseas students will be required to demonstrate English language proficiency equivalent to IELTS 6.5 overall, with a minimum of 6.0 in each element. For information regarding other English language qualifications we accept, please visit the English Requirements page https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/studywithus/internationalstudents/englishlanguagerequirementsandsupport/englishlanguagerequirements/.
If you do not meet the above IELTS requirements, you may be able to take part in one of our Pre-session English and Academic Study Skills courses. https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/studywithus/internationalstudents/englishlanguagerequirementsandsupport/pre-sessionalenglishandacademicstudyskills/ . These specialist courses are designed to help students meet the English language requirements for their intended programme of study.
Course Fees
You will need to have funding in place for your studies before you arrive at the University. Our fees vary depending on the course, mode of study, and whether you are a UK or international student. You can view the breakdown of fees for this programme below.
The University offers a range of merit-based, subject-specific, and country-focused scholarships for UK and international students. To help support students from outside of the UK, we offer a number of international scholarships which range from £1,000 up to the value of 50 per cent of tuition fees. For full details and information about eligibility, visit our scholarships and bursaries pages.
Course -Specific Additional Costs
For each course you may find that there are additional costs. These may be with regard to the specific clothing, materials or equipment required. Some courses provide opportunities for you to undertake field work or field trips. Where these are compulsory, the cost for travel and accommodation will be covered by the University and so is included in your fee. Where these are optional, you will normally be required to pay your own transport, accommodation, and general living costs.
With regards to text books, the University provides students who enrol with a comprehensive reading list and you will find that our extensive library holds either material or virtual versions of the core texts that you are required to read. However, you may prefer to purchase some of these for yourself and you will be responsible for this cost.
Funding Your Study
Postgraduate Funding Options
Find out more about the optional available to support your postgraduate study, from Master's Loans to scholarship opportunities. You can also find out more about how to pay your fees and access support from our helpful advisors.
Career Development
Postgraduate study is an investment in yourself and your future. It can help you to further or completely change your career, develop your knowledge, enhance your salary, or even prepare you to start your own business.
This programme aims to provide you with the high-level technical skills and knowledge required to establish careers in the media industries in areas such as film-making, post-production, and project management. Some students may choose to pursue careers in teaching or undertake a research degree at doctoral level.
Graduates of the programme have gone on to work in the media industries and in further and higher education. These roles include: Film Festival Co-ordinator, Feature Film Director, Film Editor, Video Producer, UniLad Adventure Video Editor, Post-production Editor at Envy, high school teacher in media, Lecturer, and University Video Development Co-ordinator.
Academic Contact
For more information about this course, please contact the Programme Leader.
Dr Phillip Warnell
PWarnell@lincoln.ac.uk
Postgraduate Events
To get a real feel for what it is like to study at the University of Lincoln, we hold a number of dedicated postgraduate events and activities throughout the year for you to take part in.
