Filmmaking, Animation and Photography
Welcome
Bring your ideas to life in an environment that encourages and supports your talent and development. With input from industry experts, our filmmaking, animation and photography courses will prepare you to step into roles across the creative sector.
"We had a wonderful time studying at the Bristol School of Animation. We produced a great amount of work, from short films, collaborative projects to live briefs. We developed both our technical and conceptual skills, all thanks to the support and diversity of the course."
Filmmaking, Animation and Photography courses
View introductions to our courses by expanding the information below.
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MA Creative and Cultural Leadership
Developed in collaboration with external partners, this distinctive interdisciplinary MA programme combines business and leadership with the arts, creative and cultural industries. Learn by doing through a practical, practice-led approach, with an emphasis on equality, diversity and inclusivity.
MA Creative and Cultural Leadership is a flexible work-based course, designed for transformative emerging leaders and influencers committed to equity, diversity and inclusivity in the arts, heritage, cultural and creative industries. As a mid to senior creative, cultural or heritage professional, you'll develop your transformational leadership potential.
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MA Wildlife Filmmaking
This postgraduate degree has been co-designed by UWE academics and producers, directors and production managers from the BBC's world renowned Natural History Unit (NHU).
Bristol is the global capital of natural history programme making and the natural place to study for an MA in Wildlife Filmmaking. On this highly popular Masters course you will learn how to develop and pitch ideas, tell great stories and make intelligent and surprising programmes to captivate and engage audiences.
Our partnership with the BBC Natural History Unit (NHU) means that, alongside your studies, you will have incredible opportunities to network with professional wildlife film makers, attend talks, film festivals and other events around the city.
Our MA students graduate with the skills, experience and knowledge needed for entry level jobs in all areas of production from online to broadcast. Graduates now work for the BBC, Icon Films, Discovery, Tigress and other top production companies in the UK and overseas.
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MA Virtual and Extended Realities
Virtual and Extended Realities is one of the fastest growing markets in the world. There is a recognised shortage of graduates with the skills and experience needed to support transformation in every sector.
In this one-year, full time course, you'll combine theory and critical thinking with practical experimentation. Throughout the year, you'll learn from pioneering thought-leaders and work with internationally significant industry partners. This collaboration will allow you to create innovative work in virtual and extended realities.
Previous partners include BBC R&D, Royal Opera House, English Institute of Sport and Ultraleap. You'll also benefit from the support of a personal mentor, hand-picked from our research and professional networks to support your development.
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MA Screen Business
MA Screen Business is firmly embedded in Bristol's vibrant creative sector and is delivered in partnership with Watershed, the leading film culture and digital media centre in the South West.
Exploring the structure and operations that make up the contemporary global screen industries, you'll learn about areas such as production, distribution and exhibition, as well as the marketing and reception of film and TV.
Studying this in Bristol, a UNESCO City of Film, means you'll be part of the city's rapidly expanding screen business sector, the third largest in the UK.
Bristol is home to the BBC's world-famous Natural History Unit, Aardman Animations, the Bottle Yard Studios, and many leading independent production companies, as well as being one of two Channel 4 regional hubs, and the new production base for Netflix.
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MA Screen Production (Documentary)
Aimed at students with some experience of film and video-making already, our MA Screen Production (Documentary) offers you access to expert support and industry-level facilities to take your work to the next level.
Covering the huge breadth of forms of documentary, you'll study wide-ranging filmmaking practices and apply these to producing your own films.
The course is practice-focused, expanding your experience of documentary filmmaking, and training you to be a 'thinking documentary filmmaker', as you learn from the work of great documentarists.
This course is integrated into the buoyant documentary sector of Bristol's audiovisual economy, where Channel 4 recently opened its regional hub, and commissioners are investing in documentary projects.
Some of the fastest growing indies in the UK, such as Plimsoll, Drummer, Silverback and Icon Films are based here and we work closely with local companies, as well as the BBC, to offer you varied production opportunities.
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MA Screen Production (Screenwriting)
Aimed at students with some experience of writing their own scripts already, our MA Screen Production (Screenwriting) supports you to develop scripts for your own dramas and feature films.
Focusing on the professional practices of writing, you'll learn about the structures, relationships and business environment of the screen industry, as you hone and develop your scripts.
UWE Bristol has sector-leading expertise in film, standing at fourth for our Film Production and Photography courses in the UK in the Guardian University Guide 2022.
You'll be taught by award-winning film and TV screenwriters, and trained in the individual and collaborative practices of scriptwriting.
Studying this in Bristol means you'll be part of the city's rapidly expanding screen business sector. The city is home to the renowned Bottle Yard Studios, and many leading independent production companies, as well as being one of two Channel 4 regional hubs, and the new production base for Netflix.
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MA Photography
Art and industry combine on this innovative, practice-based postgraduate course, designed to develop your creative promise, deepen your experience of photography and moving image, and optimise both your artistic and professional potential.
Taught by award-winning artists, photographers and leading academics in the field, our distinctive, practice-based MA in Photography will allow you to explore the diverse applications of the medium, and to deepen your understanding of photography as a discipline.
Through a course of intensive study, creative practice, and professional engagement, you will develop the passion that brought you to photography in the first place, and will be supported in the development and production of innovative work, whilst also building skills to maximise and contextualise your creative outputs.
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MA Animation
Learn your craft from internationally renowned practitioners. We have partnerships with the region's animation industry - including Aardman Animations and Arthur Cox - and students have the opportunity to get feedback on their films from leading industry professionals.
This Screen Skills accredited MA Animation course will help you develop storytelling and craft skills to allow you to gain entry level jobs in the animation industry.
The course is based at Bower Ashton Campus, part of City Campus, where exceptional facilities and resources include state-of-the-art digital media, production and fabrication workshops offer a combination of traditional tools and the latest technology.