About MA Documentary Filmmaking: Landscape And Ecology in Aberystwyth University

This unique Masters draws on Aberystwyth’s location between the mountains and the sea, allowing you to develop a documentary filmmaking practice informed by nature, landscape and environmental politics.

Surrounded by nature and in close proximity to a number of key environmental organisations (Centre for Alternative Technology, Dyfi Biosphere, Cambrian Wildwood), as well as the National Screen and Sound Archive, Aberystwyth is the perfect location for an immersion in documentary filmmaking.

Why study MA Documentary Filmmaking: Landscape and Ecology at Aberystwyth University?

The MA in Documentary Film at Aberystwyth provides you with a unique opportunity to develop your practical skills as a documentary filmmaker in a research-led context and with access to both film and digital technologies.

You will have the opportunity to explore a range of techniques, experiment with new approaches and take risks as you develop your own creative voice through a period of sustained reflection that leads to a final practical project. The scheme is designed to equip you with technical expertise, supported by a grounding in the key critical debates in documentary film. You will be encouraged to experiment with different media and methods, and to think about documentary as a form of both personal expression and political intervention, stimulating new ways of seeing and engaging with the world. You will benefit from departmental interests in documentary history and theory, space, place and landscape, activism, ecocriticism and site-specific performance. 

Specialist opportunities at Aberystwyth for Documentary Film students include:

• benefitting first-hand from the Department's strengths in site-specific practice
• use of facilities to work across digital, 8mm and 16mm film, including a digital research lab and darkrooms for analogue film and photography
• access to the National Screen and Sound Archive at the National Library of Wales
• taking part in workshops and masterclasses with visiting artists
• field work and trips.

You will be equipped with the creative and critical skills required to pursue a career as independent filmmakers, artists or collaborators within professional organisations. You will gain advanced technical knowledge in your chosen specialisms, including camerawork, sound and editing. 

Academic qualification equivalents:

• We normally accept a minimum of 55% or GCPA 6.0 in a relevant Bachelors degree from a recognised institution. Non-graduates with at least 2 years of relevant full-time work experience are welcome to apply. In this case your application will be assessed on an individual basis.

English language requirements (one of the below):

• IELTS          :         6.5 with minimum 5.5 in each component 
• TOEFL         :         93 with minimum component scores:Reading 18, Listening 17, Speaking 20, Writing 17.
• PTE             :          62 with minimum scores of 51 in each component 

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