Ethnographic and Documentary Film (Practical) MA

Students will learn to tell stories in various film modes; to draw on anthropological and social science approaches to documentary; to think critically about the relationship between form and content in ethnographic/documentary practice; to master the technical skills needed to produce different kinds of films of different lengths for varied audiences; and to critically view and review film material.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.

The programme consists of one core module (60 credits), two optional /elective modules (30 credits) and a project/diary (90 credits).

• Practical Ethnographic and Documentary Filming and Editing
• Students without a social science background at either undergraduate or Master's level also take Social Anthropology or another social science foundational module in term one as agreed with the tutor.

Students choose two of the following:

• Anthropology and Photography
• Documentary Film and the Ethnographic Eye
• The Story and I - Finding the Form and/or Time and the Staged Index
• One of the film history modules taught in the School of Slavonic & East European Studies (SSEES), or Departments of History or English, (for example, Russian Cinema in SSEES), details to be confirmed
• An Anthropology or other social science module from the Faculties of Social & Historical Sciences, or Arts & Humanities
• An Anthropology or other social science module from the Faculties of Social & Historical Sciences, or Arts & Humanities

A major practical film project and diary allowing the students to demonstrate their mastery of the skills of documentary film-making in a film of 20–35 minutes.

The programme is delivered through a combination of practical tutorials, seminars and masterclasses and assessed by camera and editing exercises and a written piece.

We facilitate two types of placements. Firstly, we will enable short-term internships at the film companies with whom we already have relationships through Open City Docs. Secondly, as opportunities arise students can work on collaborative or other film-making projects, such as the Doc in a Day workshops or UCL film productions.