About the course

With the digital film and television industries experiencing unprecedented growth, there has never been a better time to consider working in this exciting and creative environment. Taught by industry professionals and using the latest technology, you’ll develop the practical skills, creative flair, technical expertise and business know-how to really kick-start your career. You’ll also take advantage of our excellent links with industry partners, including Warner Bros Leavesden and Elstree Studios, as well as opportunities for work placements and employment. Graduates typically go on to become producers, directors, editors and cinematographers.

Why choose this course?

The Film and Television programme is a Creative Skillset accredited course that provides an environment in which students can grow into confident television and film practitioners.

• State-of-the-art high-definition tapeless television studio, industry standard shooting and lighting equipment, Avid production suites and an advanced dubbing suite.
• Industry sponsors include: BBC, ITV, Avid, Warner Bros, BFI, Elstree Studios to name but a few.

Film & Television successes

• Proud to be winners of the prestigious Royal Television Society London Student Awards for Best Drama 2015 and Best Sound Craft Award 2016, as well as being nominated for Best Documentary 2014, 2015 and Best Entertainment Programme 2016.
• The Elstree Project is a unique oral historyarchive charting 100 years of Elstree studios. Since the project began in 2010, over 40 students have been crew members on interview shoots with veterans from the film and television industry at the studios of Elstree and Borehamwood.  Some of the stories our students have heard first-hand include what it was like to operate the film camera for Star Wars, design props for Stanley Kubrick and floor manage The Muppet Show, all whilst getting the opportunity to further their practical filmmaking skills. Trips to the studios are a regular part of the project and the work forms part of a vitally important archive.
• We are proud to be in partnership with the Edinburgh International Television Festival talent network scheme. This gives some of our final year students access to places on this highly acclaimed new talent programme - helping fast track our graduates in to employment, as they receive mentorship and internships from leading companies and broadcasters such as BBC, Endemol, ITV and Sky.

Film & Television industry links

Our prestigious end of year show for final year students The Visions Festival has sponsorship from a stellar list of industry partners:

• Avid – Best Post-Production Sound
• BBC – Post-Production
• BFI – Best Dissertation
• Elstree Studios and The Kubrick Estate – Stanley Kubrick Prize for Fiction
• ITV – Award for Best Factual Entertainment  
• Warner Bros Studios Leavesden – Best Production Design
• The Lord Lew Grade Foundation - Lord Lew Grade Award for Individual Student Achievement
• Zeiss - Best Cinematography
• This gives our students strong employability skills. Many prize winners go onto jobs with our industry partners.

Film & Television student testimonials

"As well as learning the essentials of how to run a production, I've also learnt how to network and made great connections to use after graduation! I've also learnt lots of technical skills as well as film theory and how to develop an idea into a film. It's a really engaging course which prepares students for what to expect in the industry."
Alice Walker-Mitchell Third Year Student

Film & Television facilities

The course has a wide range of cameras appropriate for the year of study and the project at hand. These cameras range from URSA MINI PROS, Canon C100's mark 2, Canon XF305, and Panasonic 371, with lenses from Zeiss and Samyang. These cameras are complemented by professional lighting equipment from amongst others Kino Flo and Arri, professional sound equipment from Sennheiser and SQN, and professional grip equipment including Steadicam Rigs, Jibs, and Dolly's. 

The TV Studio is a large dedicated HD broadcast standard facility complete with a railed light rig and pedestal cameras with Prompt systems. Post production facilities consist of a 50 seat and 30 seat dedicated labs with major post production software available from Avid and Pro Tools to DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut, and all Adobe products. Also available are dedicated post production suites ideal for colour grading, and dubbing studios for ADR and audio finishing.

Royal Television Society Bursary

• We're pleased to announce that we will be offering the RTS Bursary again for undergraduates in January 2017. Successful applicants will receive £1,000 each year for three years plus student membership of the RTS and membership of the Hospital Club in London’s Covent Garden – a private club popular with media professionals. Full details of the scheme are on www.rts.org.uk

Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve Accreditation

Students are also offered the opportunity to become Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve accredited before completing their degree. Resolve is one of the leading colour correction and grading applications in the industry, and also includes picture editing and Fairlight audio editing capabilities.  Blackmagic is a name recognised across the film and television industry, and a certification as a pro-user in their software will make graduating students even more employable.  The University is proud to be one of Blackmagic’s first accredited training centres in Europe.

Thinking about a Postgraduate Degree? Please see our (MA) Film & TV course for more details.

Over the three year programme of study, you will develop a range of key skills that prepare you for a role in industry. From scripting to shooting, from editing to audio design, from writing proposals to pitching ideas, our team of TV and film professionals will deliver the practical training, creative flair and business know-how you need to kick-start your career. You will also be encouraged to use the university’s excellent links with industry partners - Warner Bros, Elstree Studios, BBC, to name some - to gain access to potential employers via work experience and special events. All of this activity will enable you to assemble showreels and portfolios which demonstrate the breadth and depth of your creative and technical expertise.

Film & Television Production provides an environment in which students can grow into confident television and film practitioners, with a high level of creative and technical expertise, capable of entering the creative industries as effective professionals. The majority of the time will be employed developing practical experience of film and television production and students will be encouraged to combine innovation with market awareness. They will receive course instruction from active professionals as well as a programme of lectures from leading practitioners in the film and television industries. Simulated environments to mirror industry will also be used to ensure students are industry ready.

Please see Programme Specification attached for more detail on course structure.

What job can I get?

Our graduates become producers, directors, scriptwriters, researchers, editors, production designers and camera operators on a wide range of film and television productions.

Key staff

Lyndsay Duthie
Course director Lyndsay Duthie has 20 years of experience in Television, 10 of them at ITV producing hit programmes, talk shows and documentaries. She is co-author for 'The TV Studio Production Handbook’ due for publication in 2016.
Find out more about Lyndsay Duthie

Professional Accreditations

Creative Skillset Tick

Creative Skillset accreditation is awarded in recognition of the highest level of contemporary industry teaching and facilities. This gives potential employers an indication that candidates from our degree course have been trained professionally and are ready to take up an industry role successfully.

Avid Accreditation

Students are offered the opportunity to become Avid accredited (the industry’s leading professional editing software) before completing their degree. This is a major advantage for post-production roles strengthening student’s applications for positions within the editing departments of film and TV production companies.

Blackmagic Design

Students are also offered the opportunity to become Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve accredited before completing their degree. Resolve is one of the leading colour correction and grading applications in the industry, and also includes picture editing and Fairlight audio editing capabilities.  Blackmagic is a name recognised across the film and television industry, and a certification as a pro-user in their software will make graduating students even more employable.  The University is proud to be one of Blackmagic’s first accredited training centres in Europe.

The Production Guild

Our partnership with the UK’s leading membership organisation for high level industry film practitioners The Production Guild offers our students unique access to masterclasses and placements. Members of the guild are major award winners and work across TV dramas and US studio features.

Course details

Careers

This suits those that are expecting to work in roles such as producer, director, scriptwriter, researcher, production designer, camera operator etc. For an interest in post-production, the career roles could involve editor, post-production sound or colour grader.

Teaching methods

The course is taught as a range of lectures, workshops and seminars. There are regular field trips to Broadcast Studios such as the BBC and opportunities to attend screenings and live TV recordings such as Channel 5’s The Wright Stuff. There are regular guest lecturers from top industry professionals such as British Board for Film Classification,  Jan Harlan, Producer of The Shining and Stephen Scott, Production Designer for Hansel and Gretel.

Work Placement

There is a work experience module that students can complete. The course has a dedicated Professional Development expert to help marry up students with work experience opportunities. The course also has numerous external facing clients such as BMW, Elstree Studios and Chapel Music that students can get involved in.

Studying on the Film and Television degree at Hertfordshire offers you the unique opportunity to gain accredited work experience on our own ongoing live research activity - The Elstree Project.  Since the project began in 2010, over 40 students have been crew members on interview shoots with veterans from the film and television industry at the studios of Elstree and Borehamwood.  Some of the stories our students have heard first-hand include what it was like to operate the film camera for Star Wars, design props for Stanley Kubrick, and floor manage The Muppet Show, all while getting the opportunity to further their practical filmmaking skills.  Trips to the studios are a regular part of the project, and the work forms part of a vitally important archive.

Study Abroad

This course offers you the opportunity to study abroad through the University's study abroad programme.
Study abroad opportunities are available worldwide and in Europe under the Erasmus+ Programme.
Find out more about Study abroad opportunities