The BA in Film and Theatre Making combines the strengths of Queen’s highly regarded Film and Drama departments, offering students a unique opportunity to study the intricacies of production practice in both film and theatre. Over the three years of the programme, students will learn the basics of directing and acting, along with technical and production elements for both stage and screen.
Queen’s is unique among Russell Group institutions in offering a pathway in Film and Theatre Making, allowing the best and brightest students to focus on practical skills in both disciplines.
Film and Theatre Making highlights
World Class Facilities
Students make use of Queen’s state-of-the- art Film Studio, the QFT with two digital cinemas, the 120-seat Brian Friel Theatre (with full lighting and sound facilities) and studio rehearsal space. http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/ael/Discover/facilities/
Internationally Renowned Experts
The programme features world-leading experts in Documentary film, British Film and Drama, Irish Drama, Shakespeare, dance, etc.
Student Experience
Extracurricular performance opportunities are offered by the Tyrone Guthrie Society and the student Drama Society, which have taken productions to student festivals in Ireland and the UK as well as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and to festivals in Belgium and Italy.
Industry Links
This programme features close links to the Lyric Theatre Belfast, Film NI and the BBC.
Global Opportunities
Students in the BA in Film and Theatre making will receive training in acting, directing and film and theatre production from professionals in both areas.
Queen's University Belfast is committed to providing a range of international opportunities to its students during their degree programme. Details of this provision are currently being finalised and will be available from the University website once confirmed.
Professional Accreditations
Accredited as Avid Authorised Learning Partner for Education, we offer industry accredited certification in Media composer.
Further Study Opportunities
Further study, including Master’s programmes, is also an option; see the School website for further information. http://www.qub.ac.uk/ael
Student Testimonials
"The drama department offers an excellent programme of study that finely balances practice and theory, giving students adequate freedom to tailor the options according to their strengths, preferences or interests. Along with a strong support network of staff, the opportunities to establish links with theatre practitioners serves only to enrich the experience of studying drama at Queen's."
Kevin McCluskey, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. in Drama
My experiences in Film & Theatre-Making have far exceeded my expectations. I knew that I would enjoy the subject matter but it has given me so much more than that; I feel as though I have really developed my self-motivation, independence and confidence through the course. The course strikes an equal balance of involvement in the film and theatre space, splitting the modules evenly and giving great freedom to choose our own modules. The combination of theoretical and practical work flows well into each other, one informing the other. While the independent study time is intense, you can gain great gratification from the work you produce for the course. The faculty are also always open and comfortable to answer any questions you may have.
In each year, students will integrate practical learning with historical and theoretical modules that encourage them to take lessons from the history of theatre and film to create new, exciting and innovative work.
Stage 1
In Level 1 you will take five core modules that are designed to introduce the core theories and concepts relevant to the study of Film and Theatre production. You will also have the opportunity to choose a further module in an area of interest.
Stage 2
In Level 2 you will undertake one compulsory module, and choose a further five. Subject to availability there is a wide range of topics available, allowing you to follow existing enthusiasms and develop new interests too. The modules are designed to build on the learning gained in Level 1.
Stage 3
In Level 3 you will choose six modules -- again designed to build on and deepen your knowledge and understanding of Film and Theatre Making. Subject to availability there is a wide range available, including a Work-based Learning module, supporting your employability, and a Dissertation module that supports independent (but supervised) investigation of the subject(s).
10 (hours maximum) 3-6 hours of seminars/tutorials; 6-10 hours of workshops and practical training
Large Group Teaching
3 (hours maximum) hours of lectures
Personal Study
22 (hours maximum) 20-22 hours of reading and group preparation
Small Group Teaching/Personal Tutorial
0 (hours maximum) Varies
Learning and Teaching
The BA in Film and Theatre Making provides a range of learning experiences which enable our students to engage with subject experts, develop attributes and perspectives that will equip them for life and work in a global society and make use of innovative technologies and a world class library that enhances their development as independent, lifelong learners. Examples of the opportunities provided for learning on this course are:
E-Learning technologies
Information associated with lectures and assignments is often communicated via a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) called Canvas. A range of e-learning experiences are also embedded in the degree through, for example: interactive group workshops in a flexible learning space; podcasts and interactive web-based learning activities; opportunities to use IT programmes associated with audiovisual production processes in practical and project-based work etc.
Lectures
Introduce basic information about new topics as a starting point for further self-directed private study/reading. Lectures also provide opportunities to ask questions, gain some feedback and advice on assessments (normally delivered in large groups to all year group peers).
Personal Tutor
Undergraduates are allocated a Personal Tutor who meets with them on several occasions during the year to support their academic development.
Practical Workshops
Where you will have opportunities to develop technical skills and apply theoretical principles to real-life or practical contexts. Workshops will help you develop practical skills in both film and drama.
Professional projects
Students will engage in projects in film and theatre in second and third year in which they will receive guidance from industry professionals throughout the process.
Self-directed study
This is a vital part of life as a Queen’s student when important private reading, engagement with e-learning resources, reflection on feedback to date and assignment research and preparation work is carried out.
Seminars/tutorials
Significant amounts of teaching are carried out in small groups (typically 10-20 students). These provide the opportunity for students to engage with academic staff who have specialist knowledge of the topic, to ask questions of them and to assess their own progress and understanding with the support of peers. You should also expect to make presentations and other contributions to these groups.
Work placements
Students have the opportunity to undertake a work placement in Year 3. This is a significant learning and employability enhancement opportunity.
Assessment
Details of assessments associated with this course are outlined below:
Assessment is by film projects, performances, presentation, and written coursework. The way in which you are assessed will vary according to the Learning Objectives of each module. Some modules are assessed solely through project work or written assignments. Others are assessed through a combination of coursework and end of semester examinations. Details of how each module is assessed are shown in the Module Outline Document which is provided to all students.
Feedback
As students progress through their course at Queen’s they will receive general and specific feedback about their work from a variety of sources including lecturers, module covenors, placement supervisors, personal tutors, advisers of study and your peers. University students are expected to engage with reflective practice and to use this approach to improve the quality of their work. Feedback may be provided in a variety of forms including:
Feedback provided via formal written comments and marks relating to work that you, as an individual or as part of a group, have submitted.
Face to face comment. This may include occasions when you make use of the lecturers’ advertised “office hours” to help you to address a specific query.
Placement employer comments or references.
Online or emailed comment.
General comments or question and answer opportunities at the end of a lecture, seminar or tutorial.
Pre-submission advice regarding the standards you should aim for and common pitfalls to avoid. In some instances, this may be provided in the form of model answers or exemplars which you can review in your own time.
Feedback and outcomes from practical classes.
Comment and guidance provided by staff from specialist support services such as, Careers, Employability and Skills or the Learning Development Service.
Once you have reviewed your feedback, you are encouraged to identify and implement further improvements to the quality of your work.
Facilities
Film and Theatre Making students have access to the Brian Friel Theatre, a 120-seat black box theatre with full lighting and sound facilities, backstage area and shop, and dressing rooms. Classes and rehearsals take place in a rehearsal room that also serves as a studio theatre. http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/ael/Discover/facilities/BrianFrielTheatre/
"Drama at Queen’s takes pride in offering students a complete education in all aspects of theatre and drama, practical, theoretical, and historical. Students learn from world-class staff in top-notch facilities in an atmosphere designed to foster intellectual inquiry and personal growth. We offer tutorials with professional theatre practitioners and links to most of the major theatres in Belfast."
Dr. Kurt Taroff, Senior Lecturer in Drama
"This course is designed to bring together theory and practice to empower creativity. A substantial amount of practice is available on this course but with a rigorous back bone of critical theory. We want educated filmmakers and independent thinkers graduating from this department. Graduates that are ready to face the new and exciting challenges connected to a growing film industry and other related fields. Film and Theatre Making is a brilliant first step on this journey."
Dr Declan Keeney, Lecturer in Film Studies
The information below is intended as an example only, featuring module details for the current year of study (2024/25). Modules are reviewed on an annual basis and may be subject to future changes – revised details will be published through Programme Specifications ahead of each academic year.
An introduction to the fundamental principles and critical approaches of editing for screen. The course seeks to give students the necessary core skills to develop both their technical ability in non-linear editing and their critical approach to theorising film practice.
The course is designed to develop skills in digital postproduction techniques and critical approaches to picture and story editing and provides a springboard for more advanced practical projects at levels 2 & 3.
The course builds a solid foundation for those interested in film or video editing careers and an appreciation of what it takes to create good work in the edit suite and the effect editing has on story telling. This course builds on the historical and critical understanding of the craft to help inform the creation and analysis of new work.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate a fluency in the terminology/parlance of film post-production and an ability to use a range of specialised communication skills in support of established practices within film and video production
2. Engage critically and practically with approaches to editing/montage and their effect on ‘meaning’.
3. Produce work that demonstrates a strong working knowledge of editing techniques for film and television.
4. Demonstrate the intelligent creation, manipulation and theorisation of the moving image.
5. Work in a flexible, creative and independent environment, showing self-discipline, self-direction, good communication and good team working skills.
6. Demonstrate intermediate knowledge of post-production workflows and digital file handling using Avid Media Composer.
Skills
Significant new skills students will acquire include:
1. Proficiency at nonlinear film and television editing
2. Intermediate knowledge of codecs, acquisition formats and broadcast delivery
3. A greater understanding of the parlance used for film production
4. Familiarisation with multiplatform delivery of visual content
5. An enhanced critical understanding of montage and film editing
This module offers students the opportunity to engage with examples of contemporary theatre texts and performances from a wide range of perspectives. The course will investigate how writers, theatre companies, and performers have addressed contemporary issues and concerns to do with, for example, gender, race and class. It will also explore how theories and ideas around such issues help to shape the analysis of theatre and performance. The module aims to provide students with the skills and tools to become competent readers of contemporary theatre, and to encourage them to engage with multiple perspectives on the political nature of theatre and performance.
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
- Be able to critically and theoretically analyse, evaluate and interpret performance texts and performance events from a range of critical perspectives,
- Be able to theorise, interpret, and analyse the theatre event as a complex matrix of relationships between texts, participants (spectators, performers), playing spaces, and the material, historical and cultural contexts of its production and reception,
- Have developed their critical, analytic and performance skills,
- Have improved their essay writing skills and deepened their understanding of how written work is assessed.
A 12 week introduction to the fundamental principles of film practice. The course seeks to follow the contours of the film production cycle from development, through pre-production, to production/shooting and post-production/editing. Students acquire, via workshop and studio activity, a range of basic skills appropriate to each stage in the production process.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this modules students will:
have a critical understanding of the basic language and form of film production\have acquired expertise in a key set of film production skills\become familiar with a range of film production equipment\have developed a familiarity with a range of filmic genres and approaches and their respective conventions.
Skills
Instruction will be provided in the following key skill areas:
basic cinematography\basic editing (Final Cut Pro)\basic scripting, story boarding and mise-en-scene.\basic sound recording techniques (on location)\basic lighting for location
This module is about theatre and performance as live events taking place on the material stage. This module will examine theatre and live performance by drawing on a wide historical and geographical range of theatre practices: from ancient Greece to the contemporary stage; from Ireland to South Africa and Japan. You will explore several key themes concerned with theatre’s role and relation to myth, ritual, conflict, memory, space and the body. Where relevant you will also attend a number of live performance which will be part of the curriculum.
Learning Outcomes
Having completed this module, you should:
• be able to interpret and analyse theatre events as a complex matrix of relationships between texts, participants (spectators, performers), spaces, and the material, historical and cultural contexts of their production and reception.
• be able to identify and interpret the cultural frameworks that surround performance events, and with which these events engage and interact.
• be able to analyse, evaluate and interpret theatre and performance from a range of critical perspectives using a variety of theoretical frameworks.
• have developed critical, analytical and written skills through the submission of assignments.
• have developed essay writing skills and deepened their understanding of how written work is assessed.
Skills
Textual analysis; application of theory to practice in theatre-making; essay-writing skills.
The module will introduce students to the principles of film form, narrative, styles and methodologies of film criticism. It will concentrate on American and British cinema and the examples drawn from these two very different cinematic industries will help increase and broaden knowledge of film and cinema, audiences and industries.
Learning Outcomes
The objectives of the module are to introduce students to key ideas and approaches in film history and criticism.
Production Practices is a core module designed to provide single-honours Drama students with an appropriate degree of expertise in the use of various technical apparatus necessary to realise the demands of production in live performance and/or recorded media.
Learning Outcomes
Having completed this module students should:
Have achieved an appropriate degree of expertise in the use of various technical apparatus necessary to realise the demands of production in live performance and/or recorded media;
Be able to engage creatively and critically with the skills and processes of production, design and rehearsal by which performance is created, and have an ability to select, refine and present these in performance;
Be able to work creatively and imaginatively in a group and to have developed the creative skills needed for the realisation of practice based work.
Skills
Technical skills pertinent to the production of a live performance and/or recorded media.
This module consolidates and extends students’ practical filmmaking skills by focusing on the development, production and post-production of a short fiction film. Through a series of lectures and workshops students will explore the practice and discourse of narrative filmmaking and how to work with actors to create story meaning. Key roles in the production process will be examined throughout and students’ knowledge of the craft of these roles will be strengthened. These roles include producing, cinematography, sound recording, production design and editing. This course of study culminates in the production of a short fiction film where students follow the industry path of writing, directing and post-producing in a collaborative team. Furthermore, through the study of cognate work and production theory, students will learn to reflect on their creative practice and articulate this work in the context of contemporary film practices.
Learning Outcomes
1. Apply an understanding of how fiction films create meaning in your own film practice. [Assignments 1 and 2]
2. Evaluate the impact of drama directing strategies and techniques employed in the professional film production process. [Assignment 2]
3. Employ aspects of the conventions of narrative storytelling techniques in a short fiction film. [Assignment 1]
4. Work effectively and cooperatively as a part of a production group. [Assignments 1 and 2]
5. Employ intellectual enquiry and debate through practice-based collaboration with fellow students, academics and professional practitioners. [Assignments 1 and 2]
6. Undertake a range of production tasks in small groups to enhance your appreciation of good communication in the production environment and improve interpersonal skills and group communication in the context of filming on location. [Assignment 1]
Skills
1. Ability to cast, rehearse and work successfully on set with actors.
2. A greater understanding of the technicalities of film production.
3. Fluency in the terminology of film production.
4. Ability to consider how performance style and acting choices feed into the narrative weight and meaning of a film.
5. Ability to employ aspects of the theory of drama directing to enhance narrative meaning and the emotional and narrative quality of the resulting film.
6. Ability to consider aesthetic qualities of film through the prism of the production processes and decisions behind them, and being able to critically evaluate the narrative, emotional and stylistic value of the production processes as individual elements and as a whole.
Students will study a range of theatre movements from the mid to late nineteenth century into the early twentieth century. These may include, for example, Naturalism; Realism; Symbolism; Expressionism; Futurism; Epic Theatre; Surrealism and Dada. Through their studies, students will have the opportunity to critically engage with a range of philosophers and practitioners of the theatre such as, for example, Ibsen; Chekhov; Stanislavski; Strindberg; Büchner; Brecht; Marinetti; Apollinaire; Camus; Ionesco, among others.
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
• Have knowledge of a range of theorists and practitioners of modernist theatre,
• Be able to situate theatrical styles and performances within their historical, social and cultural context,
• Be able to communicate in a variety of oral, written, visual and performance media,
• Have improved their essay writing skills and deepened their understanding of how written work is assessed.
Skills
The capacity to analyse and critically examine diverse forms of performative discourse and their effects on representation in the arts, media and public life. Information retrieval skills, involving the ability to gather, sift, synthesise and organise material independently and critically evaluate its significance.
This module will explore the relationship between Drama and mental health regarding the historical development of both subjects and their interrelationship in contemporary healthcare practice. Students will analyse key theories and practices in Drama by variously engaging with both canonical and contemporary plays that engage with mental health and its vicissitudes. Students will be trained in key aspects of acting that pertain to the on-stage performance of the interior life of characters constructed for performance. Students will have the opportunity to work with staff who engage with mental health in various subject areas across QUB and local health and social care trusts. Students will engage with the intersection between aesthetic performance and professional training in health and social care to gain a unique insight into how dramatic art can impact positively on mental health.
Learning Outcomes
In completing this module, students should be able to demonstrate, where appropriate, knowledge and understanding in a range of the following areas:
• critical awareness of research methodologies and methods used to investigate Drama and mental health;
• a range of key components of performance within Drama to include: ideational sources, body, space, image, sound, text, movement, environment;
• applications of performance in educational, community and social contexts and pedagogical perspectives as appropriate to Drama education;
• the use of group processes in the creation of work including working collectively, co-creation and hierarchical and non-hierarchical structures;
• the interdisciplinary elements of drama and how to apply appropriate knowledge, concepts and skills from other disciplines.
Skills
Students will be able to demonstrate the following:
• engaging in performance and production, based on acquisition and understanding of appropriate performance and production vocabularies, skills, structures, working methods and research paradigms;
• describing, theorising, interpreting and evaluating performance texts and events from a range of critical and technical perspectives and using appropriate subject-specific vocabularies;
• analysing the role which drama may play in contributing to debates on mental health;
• questioning the ethical implications and appropriateness of performance work to ensure activities are undertaken in safe and supported environments for specific audiences and participants.
Students will have the ability to:
• work in planned and improvisatory ways, to anticipate and accommodate change, ambiguity, creative risk-taking, uncertainty and unfamiliarity;
• operate and think reflexively, creatively, critically and technically to develop ideas and construct arguments;
• effectively lead, facilitate, participate, and problem solve within team working contexts;
• recognise situational and interpersonal factors and how these can be effectively accommodated to facilitate productive working relationships;
• articulate ideas and communicate information comprehensibly in visual, physical, oral and textual forms;
• critically use information retrieval skills, involving the ability to gather, sift, manipulate, synthesise, evaluate and organise material.
This module presents key theories and concepts in the study and analysis of popular genres in the media. Students will examine a range of factual and fictional genres, interrogating the ways that they have been defined, interpreted and used by producers, broadcasters and distributors, audiences and academics.
This will support students in developing their skills in analysing media productions, as well as when taking genre into consideration for their own practical work in other modules.
Learning Outcomes
On completing this module, students should be able to:
• Identify popular genres
• Understand and apply the basic concepts of genre analysis
• Understand key interpretations of popular broadcast genres
• Assess, interrogate and challenge such interpretations in relation to specific texts and / or groups of texts
• Analyse broadcast texts through the lens of genre theory
Skills
• Textual analysis of audio-visual material.
• Applying critical concepts to texts.
• Critiquing critical concepts.
• Oral communication and argumentation (seminars).
• Written communication (assessed work).
• Time management.
• Independent research.
• Group work (seminars).
This module aims to build on foundational skills developed at Level 1, placing these within the wider context of performance and theatre production. Lectures and workshops will be themed around a menu of key skill areas and students will select from these according to their specialist interests. The module will provide an understanding of the evolution of the philosophy and practice of actor training in terms of the cardinal figures in the field.
Learning Outcomes
During the course of this module you will develop an understanding of the theory and practice of selected modern acting techniques and an overview of approaches to acting from Stanislavsky and Meisner. You will also explore a practical interaction with another actor in performance.
Skills
You should have developed your teamworking, communication and problem-solving skills to a high level.
This module will introduce a number of British films from a range of different historical periods. Students will consider films in relation to theoretical issues of national identity, representation, class and gender and will also explore British film culture to examine issues of production, film funding, censorship and reception.
Films studied may include well-known examples from British cinema such as Passport to Pimlico (Cornelius, 1949), Room with a View (Ivory, 1985), or Elizabeth (Kapur, 1998) but will also consider a range of less well-studied texts to explore the breadth and range of ‘national cinema.’ One of the key objectives of the module will be to use film examples to address complex issues relating to national identity, shared history and popular taste. It will also consider how film can be a useful vehicle for understanding and addressing such issues.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the module, students should be able to demonstrate:
1) an understanding of the film culture of Britain and a knowledge of British film production and reception
2) an understanding of the various critical and theoretical approaches to British cinema
3) an understanding of the relationships between cinema, history and national identity
4) the ability to analyse and evaluate films produced within Britain
Skills
1) Critical thinking skills
2) Analytical skills
3) Skills of rhetoric and argument
4) Presentation skills
5) Written, verbal, and visual communication skills
An introduction to the theory and practice of directing, writing and performing for radio and podcasting. Seminars will introduce key theoretical and practical principles linked to selected case studies. Students will apply these skills in their own short radio dramas as writers, script editors, SFX Spot/Foley Operators, directors or actors. We will work closely with students on the Broadcast production degree on the technical aspects of this module. The module is open to students on all drama and Broadcast Production programmes and on the Creative Writing programme in the Seamus Heaney Centre.
Learning Outcomes
Having completed this module students should:
Have an understanding of the distinctive demands of acting, writing and directing for radio
Have a critical appreciation of radio drama as a genre and be familiar with a range of relevant examples
Skills
Oral communication, team-working and specialist technical skills.
This is a skills based course, which looks at how theatre and drama techniques may be used in an educational setting as both an aesthetic encounter and a learning tool. In experiencing the key techniques of the practice, students will also examine its history as a form and the theoretical principles on which it is based. Students will work in groups to devise and deliver a drama workshop in a real school setting targeted at Primary, Key Stage 3 or GCSE Levels.
Learning Outcomes
Students will acquire an understanding of the practice of theatre-in-education in a national and international context
Students will acquire a basic competency in the practices and techniques of theatre-in-education
Students will acquire an understanding of the history and techniques of process drama.
Students will acquire a basic competency in some of the techniques used in process drama
This module asks students to examine the process and challenges of adapting works, either within the same medium in a different time or place, or between different media, with staff from across the school collaborating to offer students an understanding of how different media work, and how the differences between those media impact the process of adaptation. The class will also examine how adaptation plays an integral role in the process of translation. Each week students will examine several versions of a play, novel, and/or film script (or watch them), looking at originals from the Greeks forward to see how adaptors have grappled with great works of different eras and cultures in an attempt to make them more accessible to contemporary audiences, while at the same time (in most cases) attempting to preserve something of their original context. The class will also look at theoretical models of adaptation. Ultimately, students will be asked to examine the adaptation history of a single original work in an academic essay, and will try their own hand at adaptation in presenting a treatment for a work of fiction, drama, film, or any other form, adapted from a prior work.
Learning Outcomes
Having completed this module, you should:
Understand the history of adaptation in drama and other forms.
Be able to analyse translations and adaptations
Be able to identify the rationale behind what is altered and what is kept.
Become adapters on their own.
Skills
Research and analytical skills
Performance skills
Communication and speech
Interacting with others (both in interactions between performer and director, as well as performer and audience)
Technical proficiency
This course aims to introduce students to the theories around producing professional broadcast factual stories, both for television and radio. It will build on the practical skills students have already acquired to develop professional storytelling skills for journalism, content creation, factual or documentary work.
Students will refine their editorial decision-making and incorporate rigorous considerations into their work at every level. It will examine the differences between styles and genres and commercial and public service broadcasters. It will introduce students to the law and broadcasting codes as they apply to journalistic and factual programme making. The practical skills will give students a deeper ability to research, develop, write and create structured and creative stories in video format, for TV or for radio.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module students will be able to identify what makes successful factual or documentary content for broadcast and identify a target audience for their piece. They will demonstrate how to write for broadcast, and how to combine a script, sound clips, effects, and/or moving images into their story effectively. They will show a competence in audio and video recording, story for broadcast and project management from concept to final delivery.
Skills
Devise, research, write and produce a factual or documentary story for TV or radio.
Includes: Carrying out a broadcast interview; recording with audio or video recording equipment; writing for broadcast; structuring a factual or documentary story for broadcast; audio and or video editing; reflecting on your own work.
This module focuses on Shakespearean drama as a theatrical script: that is, words intended to be spoken in performance before an audience and not as dramatic poetry to be read or studied as such. In both its workshop format and its critical writing assignment, this module is centred on Shakespeare in performance.
Learning Outcomes
Learning outcomes for this module include: knowledge of the key components of Shakespearean performance and the processes by which it is created and realised; an understanding of how to read Shakespearean texts and how transitions from page to stage may be effected; the ability to contribute to the creation of Shakespearean performance through an understanding of appropriate performance vocabularies, techniques, crafts, structures and working methods; the ability to engage in appropriate independent research, whether investigating past or present Shakespearean performances or as part of the process of creating new performance.
Skills
To aid closer reading of both text and performance; to aid interpretive abilities; to encourage creative interpretations in the student; to aid directorial and performance abilities.
This module introduces Level 2 undergraduate students to the distinctive challenges of acting for musical theatre: namely, sustaining a character, sustaining relationships between characters, and sustaining the overall dramatic narrative while singing. Through a combination of studio-based practice, rehearsal, performance and critique, students will learn how the core tasks of dramatic acting can be integrated with vocal technique to produce the unique performance genre of musical theatre, In so doing, students will gain practical knowledge of the history of musical theatre and its formal evolution over time. Key works of musical theatre to be studied will likely include West Side Story (Bernstein/Sondheim, Oklahoma (Rodgers/Hammerstein), Guys and Dolls (Loesser) and She Loves Me (Bock/Harnick).
Learning Outcomes
• to acquire knowledge of major types of musical theatre across a range of periods and styles (eg, quasi-operatic, naturalistic)
• to perform scenes and songs from canonical works in the musical theatre repertoire
• to enhance skills in performance analysis, peer-to-peer discussion, and self-reflection
• to enhance skills in research-informed theatrical performance
Skills
Collaborative and practical work, leadership, team-building, giving formative feedback to peers, responding appropriately and creatively to formative feedback from peers and module convenor, research and analysis, written communication, oral presentation.
This module – delivered in conjunction with the Lyric Theatre’s new writing programme - introduces students to the concept of dramaturgy as a critical tool in interrogating the connection between the playtext and performance. With the input and insight of professional dramaturgs, this module will explore the historical development of dramaturgy alongside the critical role of the dramaturg in the contemporary theatre. This module will involve play/performance analysis of a diverse range of theatre forms, genres, and practices and will explore both canonical and contemporary artists, including the work produced under the Lyric Theatre’s new writing programme. Students will consider the dramaturgical process of selection, construction and framing in relation to the work produced by the Lyric’s annual showcase of new work, as well as a dramaturgical analysis of select live performances. Students will also create a range of short projects using writing, research, art, with the option of devising a live short performance as part of a diverse portfolio of assessment. Completion of this module will be required for all students who wish to submit a creative writing dissertation for DRA3025 Dissertation in the form of a playscript.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module students will be able to:
- Engage with the contested and problematic term ‘dramaturgy’ and understand the role of the dramaturg in the devising/new writing process;
- Demonstrate a critical and creative understanding of dramatic structure and style, including non-realistic performance (post-dramatic theatre, puppetry, dance etc.)
- Use dramaturgical tools of play analysis and creative research to interrogate playtexts as well as the process and performance of live theatre;
- Conduct background research (written/visual) on the world of the play or performance text;
- Demonstrate an understanding of the principles and practices of dramaturgy as they relate to plays from other cultures.
- Think differently about theatre – how it is made and its relationship to wider culture and society.
Skills
By the end of this module students will have:
- Enhanced their ability to work independently and interpersonally by creatively researching and critically reflecting on the process of developing work from page to stage;
- Developed their analytical, research, and practical skills;
- Developed their collective, individual, and interdisciplinary modes of working;
- Enhanced their potential to make theatre and to become reflective theatre practitioners.
Gender, Culture, and Representation – Backwards & in Heels
Overview
This interdisciplinary module introduces students to the central ideas of gender theory and to a wide variety of representations of gender across a range of media, including theatre, performance, literature, visual art, film and television. Using key texts and cultural works students are encouraged to examine critically the representation of gender across media, and the political, legal, and ethical dimensions of gender within our culture. The module involves a critical engagement with the relationship between identity, representation and culture and explores theories concerning the social construction of the masculine and feminine body. The module engages with several key issues, including the representation of femininity and masculinity, gender in the literary and theatrical canon of Western culture, the spatiality and temporality of gender, and its intersections with issues of race/ethnicity, class, and labour. Students will be asked to think about these issues and ideas across disciplines but also within their areas of study through seminars.
Learning Outcomes
Having completed this module, you should:
* have engaged with a variety of representations of gender, the body and sexual identities within socio-historical, theoretical and representational frameworks and across multiple forms of media,
* have cultivated an understanding of the theoretical and practical movements that have shaped the construction and representation of gender, sexuality and the body in culture,
* have developed a critical understanding of the relationship between representation and identity.
Skills
Having completed this module, you should:
* have developed reflexive thinking and independent critical and analytical skills.
* have developed imaginative and communicative skills based on the application of reading materials to class presentations
This is a level 2 module exploring creative practice in experimental and alternative forms of film. We will focus on a particular form or forms of experimental filmmaking which may include: the autobiographical or portrait film; the city symphony; and/or the essay film.
The class will help students to produce alternative, personal work that, by demonstating a personal voice or style, will prove a valuable addition to their portfolios. Students will gain skills in cinematography, sound design, and editing.
The class will focus on originating and refining project ideas, developing structure, and creating visual and audio aesthetics for films in these modes, along with exploring critical concepts through creative practice. This will be supported by appropriate technical instruction and some critical-historical exploration of the experimental forms explored.
It is advantageous for students to take FLM2015 Cinema and Modernism, and/or FLM2012 Documentary Film Studies prior to or alongside this class.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module, students should be able to demonstrate:
1. An increased ability to design creative practice to explore critical concepts.
2. An increased ability to conceive and control concept, structure and visual/ aural stylistics in alternative production.
3. A heightened awareness of their own personal approaches, themes, and production style in creative practice.
4. A critical and historical understanding of the alternative forms of practice featured in the class, including some key figures and concepts involved in each.
5. An increased understanding of and dexterity with production tools including cameras and editing software.
Skills
1. Analytical skills are developed during project development, production, editing, and evaluation. Students must assess the sophistication and coherence of their creative ideas in all of these stages and find appropriate ways to develop them in light of this.
2. Critical thinking skills are developed through the design of production work to explore or interrogate critical concepts.
3. Skills of rhetoric and argumentation are developed through the proposal and evaluation, and non-assessed presentations.
4. Oral communication skills are developed through production process and in the non-assessed presentation
5. Technical skills in the use of cameras and editing software are developed during the production process and in training workshops
6. Organisation skills and problem-solving abilities are developed during planning and production periods.
The Creative Industries are an increasingly important contributor to not only the Northern Irish cultural and economic landscape, but the global economy more generally. This interdisciplinary, school wide module introduces you to the practicalities of engaging with creative enterprise and developing ‘real world’ transferrable skills by taking you through the process of creating, running and growing a creative company. Aligned with the QUB Innovation Centre Project and Enterprise SU, it draws on the Qubis Customer Discovery Methodology to help you to identify potential customers, partners and mentors industry, and build your business model around conversations with them. It also provides you with the skills to undertake a critical evaluation of the Creative Industries in the UK and Ireland.
The module will be taught through seminars, workshops and field work. Students create their own business idea in groups and undergo a Customer Discovery process which involves conversations with people who are key to their creative business area. Further to this, students produce a business portfolio, develop a group pitch, and written or video essay as part of their module assessment.
Indicative Syllabus:
1. Creating a USP and business plan
2. Understanding your place in the market
3. Incorporating a business with Companies House
4. Drafting shareholders agreements
5. Budgeting, cashflows and accounts
6. Hiring and managing staff
7. Creating storyboards, proposals, scripts and prototypes with a development team
8. Applying for start up and growth funding
9. Pitching for business in the creative industries
10. Selling or winding up a company
Learning Outcomes
On Completion of this module, the learner will be able to:
1. Identify, analyse and evaluate the landscape of creative companies in the UK and Ireland including TV and film production companies, virtual and augmented reality production companies and digital agencies;
2. Compare and contrast the functionality of different industry departments and how they interact to enable the production of film slates characteristics of the various technologies underpinning these changes;
3. Demonstrate methodologies for applying creative enterprise knowledge to develop their career and make independent films;
4. Conceptualise and pitch ideas, and understand the business side of film, TV and digital production;
5. Distinguish between the various roles within a film, screen and digital media team;
6. Demonstrate enhanced skills in verbal and written communication.
Skills
In taking this module, the learner will acquire and enhance their skills in:
1. Networking, team-building and team-working
2. Entrepreneurship and commercial/business management
3. Verbal and oral communication and presentation
This module will explore the relationships between film and sound, examining how the aesthetic, historical and cultural significance of film sound practices have been understood in the context of evolving technologies.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the of module, students should be able to demonstrate:
1) The ability to undertake the close critical analysis of sound in film.
2) The ability to link sound practice to sound theory.
3) An understanding of the ways in which sound technology affects film aesthetics.
4) An awareness of the social and cultural significance of sound in film.
Skills
1) Critical thinking skills
2) Analytical skills
3) Skills of rhetoric and argumentation
4) Presentation skills
5) Written, verbal, and visual communication skills
This module will introduce and explore a number of films drawn from a range of global production contexts, in particular those outside of Europe and North America. Students will consider films in relation to theoretical issues of national identity, ethnicity, globalisation and hybridity, alongside more pragmatic issues of production, distribution and exhibition. Films studied may include examples from Brazil, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Senegal, Algeria, and Israel/Palestine.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the module, students should be able to demonstrate:
1) a broad knowledge of a range of film production contexts outside of Europe and North America
2) an understanding of the various critical and theoretical approaches to world cinema/s
3) an understanding of the relationships between cinema, identity, and globalisation
4) the ability to analyse and evaluate films produced outside of Europe and North America
Skills
1) Critical thinking skills
2) Analytical skills
3) Skills of rhetoric and argumentation
4) Presentation skills
5) Written, verbal, and visual communication skills
The module examines key critical issues in so-called “non-fiction” filmmaking. Many major filmmakers, periods and movements which have come to constitute the documentary tradition as we know it today will be identified, and discussed, examining how the formation of the various modes of documentary filmmaking are partly historical but more importantly, conceptual. In particular, the module will interrogate the commonplace notion of documentary as a specific kind of film preoccupied with truth and social reality. And yet, every representation has within it elements of the subjective, the fantastic, the unconscious and the imaginary just as every fiction has elements of the document within it. The module will study films that play at the border of fiction and non-fiction rather than assume a distinct category like ‘documentary’ to be elaborated.
Learning Outcomes
1. Advanced skills in the critical analysis of documentary forms, genres and contexts
2. An understanding of critical approaches to the study of documentary film, particularly in relation to the role of documentary in other artistic practices;
3. An understanding of the interplay between notions of fiction and documentary;
4. An understanding of the visual, audio and verbal conventions through which images, sounds and words make meaning;
5. Advanced skills in written, oral and visual communication.
Skills
Organising and synthesising of a range of formal and historical materials
Principles of Business in Arts, Cultural and Creative Industries
Overview
This course is designed for Stage 2 students in all Creative Arts disciplines (Drama, Film & Broadcast, Music & Sonic Arts) to introduce and explore key elements in the ‘business’ of creative work: the planning, management and delivery of cultural and creative projects, events and/or activities. As part of an interdisciplinary class and with elements of independent group work throughout, students will share their knowledge from their own programmes and gain new insights to the crossover of skills and opportunities and the benefits of multidisciplinary teams.
The course runs in two parts. The first half of the course will introduce students to the unique planning and delivery challenges of cultural and creative work with students’ active engagement in observing or putting the theory into real-life practice. In the second half, students will work through one of two options (subject to availability): to work in teams to enhance, deliver and evaluate a programmed event or activity with a cultural business; or to undertake independent field research in the development of an event or activity proposal for a cultural business.
Assessment will be principally based on reflexive journaling and some practical assessment of their participation (the production of a short-form report or plan).
Part 1 will be delivered mainly through classroom lectures, seminars and discussions on the different functions of management and planning in the arts, cultural and creative industries.
Part 2
Subject to availability in any given year, students will choose one of two strands for Part 2 of the programme. Activities offered in these strands each year will be selected in discussion between Subject Leads of Creative Arts and relevant staff in creative centres on campus, enabling students to access contemporary events and knowledge relevant to their studies.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, students are expected to be able to:
1. Recognise common features and approaches to planning and delivery of arts, cultural and creative activities, events or projects
2. Express improved understanding of the industry context of their chosen discipline, recognising influences, norms and constraints on creative and cultural business
3. Articulate how increased understanding of creative business might influence their own creative or industry practice, their future study and professional development.
4. Understand the collaborative and team-based nature of arts, cultural and creative industries planning and delivery.
Skills
The completion of this course will support the following skills:
• Reflective & reflexive thinking
• Evaluation and observation
• Report and/or proposal writing
• Practical skills in event/project management/planning
• Teamwork and collaborative working
Students will explore documentary methods and structures though practical exercises, film analyses, and film production so as to develop a systematic knowledge of production within the non-fiction genre. They will engage in analysis of selected documentary practices and outputs and gain a comprehensive overview of key concepts in non-fiction production, in particular narrative, address, point of view, and montage through discussion and making. Advanced skills in research, planning, scripting, shooting and editing will be applied to self-initiated projects.
In this level 2 module, students will develop the technical and critical skills essential to documentary film production. Students will engage in analysis of a range of documentary sub-genres, such as ethnographic film, hybrid- documentary, expository documentary and nature film with the aim of developing a short documentary film by the end of the module.
By the end of this module, students will have worked on producing creative, critically informed documentary projects to a high standard, and will have developed their skills in cinematography, studio lighting, location filmmaking, sound recording and editing.
Our practice-led sessions will begin by creative documentary methodologies relevant to subject through text and film analysis, group discussion, then pitching, pre-production and ethics and through the stages of production and post-production.
Learning Outcomes
Having completed this module students should:
• understand practices of non-fiction film production in relation to their social, cultural, economic, political and technological contexts;
• reflect critically on the uses of relevant production techniques in the use of image and sound in non-fiction film production;
• employ models of analysis in order to consider, discuss, and evaluate contemporary documentary films and their significance
learn new production skills and apply these in group collaboration.
Skills
Research and analytical skills in creative practice
Communication and presentation
Combining methodologies from film practice with its institutional, intellectual, and societal contexts
Postconflict Drama: Performing the NI Peace Process
Overview
This module will investigate the role of the arts, and specifically theatre and performance, in contributing to processes of conflict transformation, the politics of reconciliation, and the modes through which a post-conflict society deals with the past. It will examine different approaches various practitioners and performances have adopted in dealing with the legacies of political violence and it considers how theatre/performance is being used to assimilate traumatic history into public memory.
Learning Outcomes
On the completion of this module, students will:
• have a critical understanding of how theatre/performance engages with questions of memory, history, testimony, witnessing, conflict transformation, commemoration and politics of reconciliation.
• be able to evaluate how contemporary theatre/performance is responding to – and influencing – the post-conflict experiences of Belfast and beyond.
• Be able to identify and evaluate different dramaturgical strategies employed by playwrights to deal with the past and the violent legacies of the Troubles.
• Have improved their critical and intellectual understanding of the relationships between theatre, politics and performance;
• Have improved their oral communication, time-management and essay writing skills through the submission of an essay abstract and the provision of formative feedback by peers & tutor.
Skills
Reflexive and independent thinking; awareness of interdisciplinary approaches to study. Writing of essays, seminar papers, presentations, use of library bibliographies and databases.
This practice-as-research module will introduce students to the different methods employed by contemporary theatre makers to position the audience as participants in performance. The module provides students with the opportunity to explore the political effects of audience participation, and to examine audience relationship and the use of space, including non-traditional performance spaces.
Examples of methods that will be explored include: site-specific work, audio performance/tours, artivism, digital dances. Consideration will be given to how these participatory methods move us individually, but also socially and collectively.
In weekly workshops and seminars students will explore these practices through discussion and practical experimentation. Seminar discussions will explore relevant critical and theoretical texts, and consider socio-political, cultural and historical contexts. Workshop group exercises will introduce students to the methodologies of key practitioners and will prepare students for the creation of their own studio-based participatory performance. Workshop discussions will connect relevant critical and theoretical texts to practice and will consider developments in participatory theatre within their socio-political and historical contexts.
In one session, there will be a guest lecture/ workshop by a Northern Ireland-based practitioner.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module students should have developed:
- an experiential and theoretical comprehension of participatory methodologies
- an awareness of key practitioners that engage with participatory methodologies and the cultural and historical contexts of their work
- the ability to present research in the form of devised participatory performance and both oral and written presentation - the ability to work creatively and imaginatively in a group
Skills
- the ability to present research in the form of devised participatory performance and both oral and written presentation
- the ability to work creatively and imaginatively in a group
- the creative skills necessary for the realisation of studio-based work that interweaves theory and practice
- skills of observation and the ability to critically evaluate their own and others’ practice
This module addresses the ubiquitous global presence of crime cinema by analysing how the genre develops within different production contexts; how it circulates globally; and how it manages to work as a form of social criticism. By examining key films and theoretical debates, the module considers the capacity of crime cinema to express local, national or regional identities while at the same time developing transcultural exchanges.
Ultimately, this module proposes a transnational view of crime cinema and an understanding of crucial dynamics and concepts surrounding its complicated definition and its development within subgenres (noir, thriller, detection etc). Through the analysis of a choice of global films and key directors, it will explore topics such as transcultural identities, travel and emigration, style, and circulation of popular cinema across different countries and media.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module the student should be able to:
- Demonstrate a knowledge of the role of popular cinema within the cinematic landscape.
- reflect how crime cinema represents social and historical realities.
- Analyse issues pertaining to the production and circulation of the genre within different national cinemas.
- Demonstrate a conceptual understanding of a range of aspects of crime cinema, including its relationship to the territory; its understanding within film critical and theoretical discourses; its formal characteristics; its stylistic and political aspects.
- Demonstrate understanding of issues regarding transnationalism, transculturality, social criticism.
Skills
Skills that will developed include:
- Analyse an audiovisual text;
- Communicate the above appropriately in written presentations
- Engage critically with the topics discussed in class.
- Planning and delivery of a research project
- Analytical skills
This course serves as an introduction to dance theatre practice and related dance theory. In weekly workshops and seminars, students will engage in an interrogation of this interdisciplinary art form through discussion and practical experimentation. Workshops will introduce students to the choreographic methods of key practitioners and will prepare students for the creation of their own dance theatre performance project. In support of the practical workshops, seminar discussions will explore relevant critical and theoretical texts and will consider developments in dance theatre practice within a socio-political and historical context. No previous dance training or experience is required.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module students will have:
- an understanding of the history of dance theatre in Ireland and Germany
- the ability to describe, theorise, interpret and evaluate the work of key dance theatre practictioners from a range of critical perspectives
- the ability to create original work using the skills and crafts of a choreographer
- the ability to engage with physical skills and use them effectively to communicate with an audience.
Skills
- The ability to present research in the form of dance theatre performance and both oral and written presentation.
- The ability to work creatively and imaginatively in a group and have developed the
creative skills needed for the realisation of practice-based work.
- Have developed observational skills and visual, aural and spatial awareness.
Building on the foundational knowledge and core skills gained in DRA2060 (Acting for Musical Theatre), this advanced Level 3 module provides intensive practical and dramaturgical study of a significant musical theatre composer and/or lyricist. Through a combination of studio-based practice, rehearsal, performance and critique, students will gain (i) higher-level skills in acting and staging musical theatre and (ii) proficiency in dramaturgical analysis of musical theatre. Logistics permitting, the module will culminate in a public performance in the Brian Friel Theatre, thereby enabling students to present critically informed practical work outside of a classroom setting. Key works of musical theatre to be studied will likely include those of Stephen Sondheim (e.g., Company, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, and Passion).
Learning Outcomes
. to acquire deeper dramaturgical knowledge of musical theatre by focusing on the work of a major composer and/or lyricist (e.g., Stephen Sondheim, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein, Leonard Bernstein).
. to perform scenes and songs from works by a major composer and/or lyricist (see above)
. to enhance skills in performance analysis, peer-to-peer discussion, and self-reflection
. to enhance skills in research-informed theatrical performance
Skills
Collaborative and practical work, leadership, team building, giving formative feedback to peers, responding appropriately and creatively to formative feedback from peers and module convenor, research and analysis, written communication, oral presentation.
As a director of his own work as well as one of the twentieth century's most innovative playwrights, Samuel Beckett has had a major impact on theatre and performance of the last fifty years. This module will explore Beckett's theatre for stage, radio and television, concentrating on his use of each medium, and in particular, the body in performance. In workshop and presentation sessions, students will explore practically Beckett's approach to performance, informed by a range of theoretical issues relating to gender, authority, technology and the body.
Learning Outcomes
Students will,
• Understand the main principles of Beckett’s aesthetic practices and his approach to the various media that he worked within,
• Understand the function of embodied practices in relation to Beckett’s work,
• Have engaged with a wide variety of theorists and thinkers on Beckett and across cognate topics,
• Have advanced their ability to closely read texts and performances,
• Have honed their skills of critical analysis in verbal, written and creative forms.
Skills
Research and analytic skills. Communication, team work and interpersonal skills.
This module asks students to examine the process and challenges of adapting works, either within the same medium in a different time or place, or between different media, with staff from across the school collaborating to offer students an understanding of how different media work, and how the differences between those media impact the process of adaptation. The class will also examine how adaptation plays an integral role in the process of translation. Each week students will examine several versions of a play, novel, and/or film script (or watch them), looking at originals from the Greeks forward to see how adaptors have grappled with great works of different eras and cultures in an attempt to make them more accessible to contemporary audiences, while at the same time (in most cases) attempting to preserve something of their original context. The class will also look at theoretical models of adaptation. Ultimately, students will be asked to examine the adaptation history of a single original work in an academic essay, and will try their own hand at adaptation in presenting a treatment for a work of fiction, drama, film, or any other form, adapted from a prior work.
Learning Outcomes
Having completed this module, you should:
Understand the history of adaptation in drama and other forms.
Be able to analyse translations and adaptations
Be able to identify the rationale behind what is altered and what is kept.
Become adapters on their own.
Skills
Research and analytical skills
Performance skills
Communication and speech
Interacting with others (both in interactions between performer and director, as well as performer and audience)
Technical proficiency
To hone student skillsets in one of three distinct strands: Acting, Directing and Production Skills. Students are encouraged to have taken DRA2003 before joining this module.
Learning Outcomes
Having completed this module you should have:
1. Significant command of fundamental skills in and approaches to acting, directing or production.
2. An understanding of the rigours and commitment required in mounting a full production.
Skills
1. Have a developed command of at least one key production or performance skillset and an understanding of related skillsets.
2. Have developed your team-working and problem solving skills.
3. Have developed your capacity for reflective review.
The module explores cinema’s relationship with the environment. It introduces students to how film cultures from different parts of the world engage with issues regarding ecology, sustainability, human-animal relationships, the natural world, and climate change. It considers a range of film forms and genres, such as non-fiction, art cinema and popular cinema, and how they articulate the aforementioned topics in terms of narration, aesthetics, and representation. The module draws from interdisciplinary literature, integrating eco-criticism, environmental humanities, and film studies. Indicative topics are landscapes in film, animal representation in cinema, cinema in the age of Anthropocene, planetary cinema and global consciousness, interspecies relations and post-humanism in cinema, disaster cinema, eco-cinema, extractive reason and activist cinema.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
Demonstrate a systematic understanding of key interdisciplinary concepts, scholarship and methodologies as pertaining to cinema, the environment, and co-related concepts.
Demonstrate a critical ability to formulate arguments, appreciate the ambiguity of knowledge, and apply concepts to analyse a range of moving image forms and genres.
Communicate ideas and concepts through written form and/or a creative use of videographic criticism.
Exhibit the ability to manage their own learning and to make use of appropriate scholarly material.
Skills
Critical thinking
Advanced research and argumentation skills
Writing skills
Ability to explore interdisciplinary conceptual debates
The media are time-based; they have a narrative flow from line to line and scene to scene and episode to episode, with each programme fitting into the wider flow of its schedule or platform, and into the wider schedule of the audience’s day and life. The media are also key mechanisms for communicating ideas and information about history and about potential futures, through fact and fiction. This module explores the ways that the media engage with time, drawing mainly on television. This will include the presentation of history and possible futures through both fact and fiction, including consideration of the political and cultural role of history and historical drama. It will include engagement with key concepts such as heritage drama, nostalgia and authenticity. It will also include consideration of the temporal nature of the media themselves, such as in their narrative construction and scheduling, and how that plays into the lives of the audience.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module, students should be able to:
Analyse media texts in relation to key ideas relating to time, history, memory and nostalgia;
Analyse the social and cultural role of history as related through the media;
Analyse media narratives in relation to their temporal construction.
Skills
Students will practice and develop core academic skills of research, analysis and communication through class work, independent research and assessed work.
Analysis and interpretation of media texts in relation to specific theoretical concepts.
Understanding of the social and cultural significance of the representation of history and potential futures in the media.
This module will explore the history, theory, and practice of the individual performer on stage, in manifestations including storytelling, stand-up comedy, performance art, the confessional (often queer) performances of the 1990s, and various types of fictional performances featuring a sole performer acting against absent interlocutors. Artists examined may include Anton Chekhov, Eugene O’Neill, Marina Abramovic, Holly Hughes, Karen Finley, John Leguizamo, Anna Deavere Smith, Neil Watkins, and many others.
Concurrently, students will be asked to develop and perform their own work, either through the emulation of an historical style, or through the creation of a uniquely personal performance method.
Key issues will include: Poor Theatre, engaging with audiences, creating characters/selves, performing autobiography, monologue theatre, and one-person theatre vs. performance art, among others.
Learning Outcomes
Having completed this module, you should:
Understand different forms of performance featuring a single performer throughout history.
Be able to analyse solo performances of different styles and types.
Be able to create and perform your own solo performance, either based upon previous styles or as a new invention.
Be able to help colleagues and fellow students develop and improve their performances (as a director).
Skills
Research and analytical skills
Performance skills
Communication and speech
Interacting with others (both in interactions between performer and director, as well as performer and audience)
Creative writing
This module considers how music and image interact in film, and the social and cultural aspects of these associations. Students will be introduced to a range of key theories, in particular those surrounding music in classical cinema, and will obtain a precise understanding of the ways in which music ‘works’ in film, achieved via the close analysis of a range of filmic texts.
The module also considers ways of discussing film music in non-specialist terms, and as such no formal training in music is required to enrol on this module.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the module, students should be able to demonstrate:
1) the ability to analyse the associations between music and film in a sophisticated manner
2) a broad understanding of the various critical and theoretical approaches to film music
3) an understanding of scoring practices in film, including how they have developed over time
4) an understanding of the sociological and cultural aspects of film music
Skills
1) Critical thinking skills
2) Analytical skills
3) Skills of rhetoric and argumentation
4) Presentation skills
5) Written, verbal, and visual communication skills
An examination of film project development exploring the generation and researching of film ideas from initial concept through to script development and testing of creative approaches.
Learning Outcomes
Reading, writing, visual analysis, image/sound/filmmaking, interpersonal skills and experience of new technologies.
Skills
On completion of this module students will:
1. Have advanced their interpersonal skills through groupwork
2. Advanced their film production skills including experiencing new technologies
3. Increased their understanding of how film projects develop and the various tasks involved in the pre-production stage
4. Advanced their ability to write a range of key production documents (such as treatments, scripts, talent and location release and ethics forms)
Hollywood Cinema has arguably become the dominant mode of film exhibition, functioning as the yardstick by which other forms of cinema are defined and measured. By overtly considering the spectacularism inherent to Hollywood Cinema in the wake of the Paramount decree of 1948, this module offers a critical overview of its history, production and exhibition processes, aesthetics and key theoretical approaches of contemporary Hollywood Cinema in order to elucidate its spectacular potential. In addition to delineating the notion of spectacle, it explores how cinema has used spectacle since the collapse of the studio system to seduce audiences with the promise of an experience unique to the film theatre.
Learning Outcomes
Ability to demonstrate in written and oral form an appropriate level of critical engagement with the institutional history and aesthetic tendencies of post-war American cinema;
Ability to apply appropriate historical understanding and critical approaches in the analysis of specific films and their social and economic contexts
Demonstrate an understanding of how contemporary Hollywood Cinema positions itself as a spectacular form of entertainment.
Skills
Skills in the written and oral presentation of analytical study of images, sounds and written word, working in a flexible, creative and independent way, showing self-discipline and organisational competence (time-management, etc.), relating general historical issues and theoretical debates to other related issues and debates.
This module aims to provide an understanding of the complexities involved when people interact in challenging situations involving life-changing decisions. The module is delivered in collaboration with healthcare and social care staff and students in QUB and local NHS services. Students will engage with various models of interaction including acting for the stage, the sociology of symbolic interaction, simulation-based education in healthcare and social care, and applied behaviour analysis. Students will learn how to draw upon these different models as they analyse their own performance and that of their peers in Drama and other subject areas as they perform in complex and challenging interactive scenarios. Students will be able to demonstrate leadership as part of their continuous assessment by analysing and providing feedback on the interactive skills of other students. By completing the learning outcomes students will gain a more nuanced understanding of human interaction as it is manifest on stage in theatrical performance and in other professional contexts.
(Convenor: Dr Paul Murphy, p.murphy@qub.ac.uk)
Learning Outcomes
Creative and imaginative skills as shown through the realisation of research projects on theatre and social justice.
Communication in a variety of oral, written, visual and performance media.
Developing ideas and constructing arguments and the capacity to present them in appropriate ways.
Understanding of group dynamics and an ability to implement them in research projects.
This module provides an opportunity for student to utilise disciplinary skills in a work-based environment within the context of reflective practice. Students will negotiate suitable placements in consultation with their academic supervisor and participate in a programme of related classes and events. Simulated work-based projects in which students work in groups with the support of the university’s Enterprise Unit in the Students’ Union are also possible.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module, students should have:
Increased ability to relate academic theory to the work environment
A developed understanding of the organisational culture, policies and processes
The ability to reflexively and critically evaluate their own learning from the placement
An appreciation of enterprise and innnovation
Enhanced career knowledge
Skills
Employability skills, including effective communication, teamworking and problem-solving.
General introductory seminars and individual tutorials leading to a dissertation which may be linked to a performance project or existing performance.
8000 word length (or combination of practical output + 6000 words)
Learning Outcomes
To develop research skills (including performance research).
A maximum of one BTEC/OCR Single Award or AQA Extended Certificate will be accepted as part of an applicant's portfolio of qualifications with a Distinction* being equated to a grade A at A-level and a Distinction being equated to a grade B at A-level.
Irish leaving certificate requirements
H3H3H3H3H3H3/H2H3H3H3H3
Access Course
Successful completion of Access Course with an average of 70%.
International Baccalaureate Diploma
33 points overall including 6,5,5 at Higher Level.
BTEC Level 3 Extended/National Extended Diploma
QCF BTEC Extended Diploma (180 credits at Level 3) with overall grades D*DD
RQF BTEC National Extended Diploma (1080 GLH at Level 3) with overall grades D*DD
Graduate
A minimum of a 2:2 Honours Degree.
All applicants
There are no specific subject requirements to study Film and Theatre Making, however, students should have an interest in studying theatre and performance, and be prepared to participate in practical theatre classes. All applicants who receive offers will be invited to attend an offer holders’ day, where they will gain experience of what Drama at Queen’s involves.
Note
All applicants must have GCSE English Language grade C/4 or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University.
How we choose our students
Applications are dealt with centrally by the Admissions and Access Service rather than by individual University Schools. Once your on-line form has been processed by UCAS and forwarded to Queen's, an acknowledgement is normally sent within two weeks of its receipt at the University.
Selection is on the basis of the information provided on your UCAS form. Decisions are made on an ongoing basis and will be notified to you via UCAS.
For last year's intake, applicants for this BA programme offering A-level/BTEC Level 3 qualifications must have had, or been able to achieve, a minimum of five GCSE passes at grade C/4 or better (to include English Language). Performance in any AS or A-level examinations already completed would also have been taken into account and the Selector checks that any specific entry requirements in terms of GCSE and/or A-level subjects can be fulfilled.
For applicants offering Irish Leaving Certificate, please note that performance at Irish Junior Certificate (IJC) is taken into account. For last year’s entry applicants for this degree must have had a minimum of 5 IJC grades C/Merit. The Selector also checks that any specific entry requirements in terms of Leaving Certificate subjects can be satisfied.
Offers are normally made on the basis of three A-levels. Two subjects at A-level plus two at AS would also be considered. The offer for repeat candidates is set in terms of three A-levels and may be one grade higher than for first time applicants. Grades may be held from the previous year.
Applicants offering two A-levels and one BTEC Subsidiary Diploma/National Extended Certificate (or equivalent qualification), or one A-level and a BTEC Diploma/National Diploma (or equivalent qualification) will also be considered. Offers will be made in terms of the overall BTEC grade(s) awarded. Please note that a maximum of one BTEC Subsidiary Diploma/National Extended Certificate (or equivalent) will be counted as part of an applicant’s portfolio of qualifications. The normal GCSE profile will be expected.
Applicants offering other qualifications, such as Higher National Certificates and Diplomas, will also be considered.
For applicants offering a HNC, the current requirements are successful completion of the HNC with 2 Distinctions and remainder Merits. For those offering a Higher National Diploma, some flexibility may be allowed in terms of GCSE profile but, to be eligible for an offer, applicants must have good grades in the first year of their HND. The current entrance requirements are successful completion of the HND with 2 Distinctions, 10 Merits and 4 Passes overall. Any consideration would be for Stage 1 entry only.
The information provided in the personal statement section and the academic reference together with predicted grades are noted but, in the case of BA degrees, these are not the final deciding factors in whether or not a conditional offer can be made. However, they may be reconsidered in a tie break situation in August.
A-level General Studies and A-level Critical Thinking would not normally be considered as part of a three A-level offer and, although they may be excluded where an applicant is taking four A-level subjects, the grade achieved could be taken into account if necessary in August/September.
If you are made an offer then you may be invited to a Faculty/School Visit Day, which is usually held in the second semester. This will allow you the opportunity to visit the University and to find out more about the degree programme of your choice and the facilities on offer. It also gives you a flavour of the academic and social life at Queen's.
If you cannot find the information you need here, please contact the University Admissions Service (admissions@qub.ac.uk), giving full details of your qualifications and educational background.
International Students
Our country/region pages include information on entry requirements, tuition fees, scholarships, student profiles, upcoming events and contacts for your country/region. Use the dropdown list below for specific information for your country/region.
English Language Requirements
An IELTS score of 6.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in each test component or an equivalent acceptable qualification, details of which are available at: http://go.qub.ac.uk/EnglishLanguageReqs
If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this degree programme, Queen's University Belfast International Study Centre offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for admission to this degree.
Academic English: an intensive English language and study skills course for successful university study at degree level
Pre-sessional English: a short intensive academic English course for students starting a degree programme at Queen's University Belfast and who need to improve their English.
International Students - Foundation and International Year One Programmes
Queen's University Belfast International Study Centre offers a range of academic and English language programmes to help prepare international students for undergraduate study at Queen's University. You will learn from experienced teachers in a dedicated international study centre on campus, and will have full access to the University's world-class facilities.
These programmes are designed for international students who do not meet the required academic and English language requirements for direct entry.
With its practical and professional components, study in Film and Theatre at Queen‘s provides an excellent background for work in film, television, on the stage, and in the creative industries. Our graduates have progressed to a range of entertainment and media-based careers.
Employment after the Course
Our graduates have progressed to a range of entertainment and media-based careers.
Positions obtained by recent graduates of Film and Drama at Queen’s include:
Researcher at BBC NI
Production Trainee at BBC
Professional actors & directors for the stage
On-set VFX Supervisor for HBO (Game of Thrones)
Camera Department for HBO (Game of Thrones)
Festival Director at Belfast Film Festival
Editor at Fifty Fifty Productions, London
Graduates of our separate Film and Drama programmes have gone on to significant successes in the professional world. Success stories include Des Kennedy, Touring Director of Once and Associate Director of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; Shaun Blaney, an actor, winner of the 2015 International Academy of Web Television Best Male Actor Award for Farr (RTÉ); Seamus O’Hara, an actor, currently featured in My Mother and Other Strangers (BBC).
Other popular graduate career routes include education and training, arts administration, public relations, marketing and postgraduate study.
Further study, including Master’s programmes, is also an option; see the School website for further information.
Prizes and Awards
Students in the programme will have the opportunity to compete for the Brian Friel Award in theatre practice as well as Queen’s Foundation Awards.
Students regularly win Royal Television Society and other student awards at both local and national level.
Degree Plus/Future Ready Award for extra-curricular skills
In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised from a world leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall. We call this Degree Plus/Future Ready Award. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.
1EU citizens in the EU Settlement Scheme, with settled status, will be charged the NI or GB tuition fee based on where they are ordinarily resident. Students who are ROI nationals resident in GB will be charged the GB fee.
2 EU students who are ROI nationals resident in ROI are eligible for NI tuition fees.
3 EU Other students (excludes Republic of Ireland nationals living in GB, NI or ROI) are charged tuition fees in line with international fees.
All tuition fees will be subject to an annual inflationary increase in each year of the course. Fees quoted relate to a single year of study unless explicitly stated otherwise.
Tuition fee rates are calculated based on a student’s tuition fee status and generally increase annually by inflation. How tuition fees are determined is set out in the Student Finance Framework.
Additional course costs
An Avid Authorised Training Manual for Media Composer is required at level 1 at a cost of approx. £45.
Students will be provided with all of the film equipment and editing suites needed. Students are not expected to purchase their own camera, laptop or editing software.
Students are required to purchase a USB 3 hard drive at a cost of approximately £90 for personal use. Students are occasionally required to purchase tickets for performances. This is estimated at a maximum of £100 per year.
Students may also incur some costs on props or costumes, but these are discouraged as the School will be able to provide these (or similar) in most cases.
An Avid Authorised Training Manual for Media Composer is required at Stage 1 at a cost of approximately £45. Film Production will provide all of the film, sound, media equipment and editing suites needed. Students are occasionally required to purchase tickets for performances. This is estimated at a maximum of £100 per year. Students may also incur some costs on props or costumes, but these are discouraged as the School will be able to provide these (or similar) in most cases.
All Students
Depending on the programme of study, there may be extra costs which are not covered by tuition fees, which students will need to consider when planning their studies.
Students can borrow books and access online learning resources from any Queen's library. If students wish to purchase recommended texts, rather than borrow them from the University Library, prices per text can range from £30 to £100. Students should also budget between £30 to £75 per year for photocopying, memory sticks and printing charges.
Students undertaking a period of work placement or study abroad, as either a compulsory or optional part of their programme, should be aware that they will have to fund additional travel and living costs.
If a programme includes a major project or dissertation, there may be costs associated with transport, accommodation and/or materials. The amount will depend on the project chosen. There may also be additional costs for printing and binding.
Students may wish to consider purchasing an electronic device; costs will vary depending on the specification of the model chosen.
There are also additional charges for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines.
How do I fund my study?
There are different tuition fee and student financial support arrangements for students from Northern Ireland, those from England, Scotland and Wales (Great Britain), and those from the rest of the European Union.
Application for admission to full-time undergraduate and sandwich courses at the University should normally be made through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Full information can be obtained from the UCAS website at:www.ucas.com/applying.
When to Apply
UCAS will start processing applications for entry in autumn 2026 from early September 2025.
The advisory closing date for the receipt of applications for entry in 2026 is Wednesday 14 January 2026 (18:00). This is the 'equal consideration' deadline for this course.
Applications fromUK and EU (Republic of Ireland)students after this date are, in practice, considered by Queen’s for entry to this course throughout the remainder of the application cycle (30 June 2026) subject to the availability of places. If you apply for 2026 entry after this deadline, you will automatically be entered into Clearing.
Applications fromInternational and EU (Other) studentsare normally considered by Queen's for entry to this course until 30 June 2026. If you apply for 2026 entry after this deadline, you will automatically be entered into Clearing.
Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as is consistent with having made a careful and considered choice of institutions and courses.
The Institution code name for Queen's is QBELF and the institution code is Q75.
Additional Information for International (non-EU) Students
Applying through UCAS Most students make their applications throughUCAS(Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) for full-time undergraduate degree programmes at Queen's. The UCAS application deadline for international students is 30 June 2026.
Applying direct The Direct Entry Application form is to be used by international applicants who wish to apply directly, and only, to Queen's or who have been asked to provide information in advance of submitting a formal UCAS application.Find out more.
Applying through agents and partners The University’s in-country representatives can assist you to submit a UCAS application or a direct application. Please consult theAgent Listto find an agent in your country who will help you with your application to Queen’s University.
