MA Film and Media Production
Full-time, Part-time
Location • City Campus
Subject area • Media arts
Related subjects • Stage and screen • Media, PR and journalism
By adding to My Courses you can compare courses and create a personalised prospectus.
We have excellent links with the television industry which helps enable some of our students to gain real experience on major TV productions.
We have excellent links with Sheffield Doc/Fest, one of the worlds leading documentary festivals. Find out how this can benefit you.
One of our graduates, Juris Kursietis, is currently directing his debut feature film Modris. Find out more.
During the fiction workshop you work with professional actors in our purpose built studio. Find out more.
Find out about our media arts subject team.
One of our graduates has won an international scriptwriting competition as part of the international Film Raro challenge. Find out more.
View examples of project work completed by MA Film and Media Production students.
Read why Sheffield is an ideal base for creative media.
At a glance
This production-based course is designed to help create the next generation of outstanding filmmakers. It gives you the technical ability and creative confidence to produce original, challenging and bold projects for independent cinema, television and galleries.
Key points
• Develop your creative and technical ability on this production-based course.
• Train to a professional level in three skill areas using industry standard facilities.
• Play a key role in producing at least four films for your showreel.
• Benefit from our excellent links with the film and TV industry.
During the course you gain experience of the full film-making-process including writing, directing, producing, shooting, editing and sound design. We encourage creativity and experimentation between different technologies and conventions, as you work across fiction, documentary and experimental film genres. You complete projects using an intensive production process.
We focus on independence and creating new cinema, emphasising the distinction between creative, conceptual skills and technical industry training. You discover the common ground between fiction, documentary and experimental genres, and explore innovative approaches to creating work with a bold cinematic vision.
Showreel creation
This course gives you significant practical experience and allows you the space to be innovative and creative. You play a key role in producing at least four films during 18 months, enabling you to create a substantial body of work for your showreel.
Professional skill development
You choose three skill areas to train to a professional level in from • direction • producing • screenwriting • post-production • cinematography • sound.
You develop your ability through workshops which involve exercises based around documentary, fiction and experimental. For example the fiction workshop involves you working with professional actors to deliver a cinematic interpretation of a script.
Projects involve you working with students from other skills areas to form a production team with each member contributing expertise from their skill area. Film projects are chosen via competitive pitching sessions, where students on the directing route pitch their ideas and the projects and crews are chosen. The directing route includes a substantial production budget which enables films to be produced to a high standard.
We also give you media training which allows and encourages you to create your own showreels and DVD's for future employment and to submit to festivals. There is a public screening of the final films to showcase your work to representatives from the media and other companies.
Broadcast standard facilities
All our films are originated on high definition digital video using broadcast standard sound recording equipment. Post production facilities include Final Cut Pro and AVID digital editing, and Pro tools HD surround sound. This enables films to be created and completed to a high professional standard.
Industry placements
We have excellent links with the television industry which helps enable some of our students to gain work experience with major TV productions such as the BBC 1 drama Prisoners Wives.
Sheffield Doc/Fest links
We have a close working relationship with Sheffield Doc/Fest, which is one of the world's leading documentary festivals. This provides our students with many unique benefits from attending master classes and real pitching sessions to meeting internationally renowned film and television experts.
Award winning teaching team
You are taught by a team featuring international award winners and active professional filmmakers in contemporary independent cinema, television, sonic and visual arts.
Staff include
• Steve Sprung – director, editor and cameraman who has won awards including best short fiction film at the Berlin film festival and was a founder member of Faction Films which has produced over 30 documentaries
• Virginia Heath – writer and director who has won awards including Best Short Film at the Berlin film festival and had work screened at Cannes and on Channel 4
• Ron Wright – sound designer who has worked on films that are regularly broadcast on major TV channels and that have won awards at Raindance and Berlin film festivals
Find out more about MA Film and Media Production
Related courses
Full-time – 18 months Part-time – typically three years.
Starts September
To apply for this course, you need to complete an application form www.shu.ac.uk/study/form and an additional information form www.shu.ac.uk/_assets/docs/fmpform.doc
2013/14 academic year
With directing module
Typically £7,490 for the course. This includes a £2,500 film budget.
Without directing module
Typically £4,590 for the course
The course fee may be subject to annual inflationary increase. For further information on fees and funding see www.shu.ac.uk/funding
2013/14 academic year
Typically £13,500 for the course with the directing module (including a £2,500 film budget), £10,980 without the directing module
2014/15 academic year
Typically £13,825 for the course with the directing module (including a £2,500 film budget), £11,250 without the directing module
The course fee may be subject to annual inflationary increase. For further information on fees, scholarships and bursaries see www.shu.ac.uk/international/fees
Continuous assessment for course modules, production portfolio and critical review of production work
Real experience on major TV productions
We have excellent links with the television industry which helps enable some of our students to gain real experience on major TV productions.
Prisoners Wives, BBC1 drama series
Our current MA students have each enjoyed short placements on the set of Prisoner’s Wives which was shot in Sheffield.
Three students were offered more formal roles as a result of this experience. Sarah Goodall had two weeks working in the Art Department, Leon Seth was taken on to scout locations and Jafaar Murad was asked to play a small part.
'I enjoyed watching the director shooting the scene because I have seen how he works with the actors and what camera angles he uses. I can say that in those days, I have learned how they work as a group and how the Director deals with his crew.'
Jafaar Murad.
C-Bomb, BBC comedy drama pilot
As a result of her Prisoner’s Wives experience, Sarah Goodall has been taken on for a week placement in the art department for “C-Bomb”.
Feature length documentary on Jarvis Cocker, Pulp and Sheffield
Several current students as well as two graduates worked on this long form documentary destined for theatrical release and major festival exposure.
• Mark Bull worked as a researcher in the production team.
• Scott Dulson on Camera for the EPK.
• Emily Rudd and Miles Barker were production assistants.
• Kirk Didenko was camera assistant.
Sheffield Doc/Fest
The Sheffield Doc/Fest is one of the worlds leading documentary festivals, where commissioning editors from BBC, ITV, Channel 4, filmmakers, distributors and sales agents meet.
The festival features a 'MeetMarket' where projects are pitched and financing packages negotiated. The Oscar winning documentary Searching for Sugarman got its first funding at Doc/Fest.
In 2013 Doc/fest has announced new pitch competitions funded by the British Film Institute and the New York Times. Over 150 decision makers come to Sheffield, including representatives of the Sundance Institute, Ford Foundation, Wellcome Trust, SBS (Australia), Tribeca Film Institute (New York), PBS (USA), NHK (Japan) and all major
European public broadcasters.
Student benefits of our DocFest links
Last year our students were actively involved in the festival and given the responsibility to film many of the sessions and master classes with speakers and panels of internationally renowned experts in film and television documentary production. When they weren’t filming they were watching films and networking. This provides our students with a brilliant opportunity to engage with a film festival and market of major international status.
As well as opportunities to get directly involved, Doc/Fest is offering free passes worth over £300 to our students along with a bespoke ‘Road Map’ so they can make the most of the festival.
One of the key learning experiences for students is attending the many different pitching sessions and learning how to successfully pitch projects to attract funding. There is also the chance to engage with the best international documentary film making talent both through Q&A sessions and more informally.
One of our former students, Tom Gatis, is now employed by the festival to project manage the Crossover Lab.
A student view of Doc/Fest
Current MA International Documentary Production student Miles Barker reflects the opportunity open to our students.
'Feeling that it was essential to immerse myself in the Sheffield film scene prior to starting my course, I took a position as a MeetMarket volunteer at last year's Sheffield Doc/Fest. The MeetMarket is I believe the UK's biggest documentary marketplace, and volunteers in this area of the festival were there to assist in hundreds of scheduled pitching sessions between filmmakers and funding sources. Therefore, it was great first-hand experience that gave me a real sense of the world I was trying to infiltrate with the help of my documentary masters at Sheffield Hallam.
'The MeetMarket organisers contacted me earlier this year, with an offer that I return to the MeetMarket again, but in a position of more responsibility. I was told that this position could potentially lead to paid work with the festival in the future. Whilst I was told by MeetMarket organisers that they had been impressed with my work and attitude last year, I am guessing that my affiliation with the MA International Documentary Production was probably an influencing factor as well. It is my understanding that the Doc/Fest like to try and integrate Sheffield Hallam students with the organisation of the festival, which is obviously very beneficial from a student perspective. It was certainly the links with the Doc/Fest that convinced me to study at Sheffield Hallam.'
Film and media production graduates raise finance for debut feature film
Graduates of this course, director Juris Kursietis (above) and producer Vicky Miha, have raised the finance for a pan European co-production of Juris's debut feature film Modris. The director of photography is the Oscar nominated Bogumil Godfrejow.
Modris is currently being shot in Latvia.
For more graduate success stories, visit our careers section.
Fiction workshop with professional actors
You work together in production teams headed by the directors for a week long workshop with professional actors in our purpose built studio. Last year, directors had the opportunity to work with Junade Khan (above) and Carina Birrell (above), both highly experienced film and television professionals.
The aim of the workshop is to film scenes using lighting, choreography of actors with the camera and sound design to create a cinematic on screen performance. The workshop is run by fiction directing tutor, Virginia Heath, with support from the sound and cinematography tutors.
Esther Johnson
Senior lecturer, film and media
Esther Johnson (MA Royal College of Art, BA Hons University of London) is an artist, filmmaker and photographer who takes a poetic approach to documentary and narrative through moving image, audio, photography and writing. She unearths extraordinary, resonant stories that would otherwise remain hidden or ignored, often focusing on the underdog in contemporary culture. Recurring themes include personal histories, heritage, tradition, folklore, regeneration and precarious futures.
Her films and photography explore architectural vernaculars and the inhabited environment, intimately conveying the often uneasy relationship between her protagonists and their respective surroundings. Her recent works have questioned the parameters of documentary form and its attendant fact/fiction and sound/image boundaries. Minutely composed and paced imagery is juxtaposed with soundscapes that mix voiceovers with field recordings.
Esther has been commissioned to make several acclaimed film and video works, including • Hinterland (2002) • A Street Named Humber (2004) • Lenox (2004) • Playback (2005) • Tune In (2006) • Yalda (2007) • Celestial (2007) • Highway Home (2008) • Elevation (2009) • Mono No Aware (2010) • Analogue (2010) • Form and Function (2010).
Esther's work has been supported by • Arts Council England • BBC • The British Council • Film London • London Artists' Film and Video Awards (LAFVA) • the National Endowment for the Arts • the National Lottery • Skillset • Screen Yorkshire • Sheffield Contemporary Art Forum • Sheffield Children's Festival • Yorkshire Arts.
Esther's award-winning work has also been exhibited internationally in galleries and film festivals including • Tate Modern • Tate Britain • British Film Institute • Institute of Contemporary Arts, London • Science Museum, London • Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (FACT), Liverpool • Cornerhouse, Manchester • Site Gallery, Sheffield • Zoo Art Fair, London • Istanbul Biennial • Sotherby's, New York • NASA, California • the BBC • London Film Festival • MadCat Film Festival, San Francisco • Raindance, London.
She has written for several arts publications and is a member of the advisory board for Filmwaves, is an independent film/video curator, and is former director and curator of Hull Film and the Hull International Short Film Festival. She was nominated for the 2008 Northern Art Prize.
Susannah Gent
Lecturer
I have 20 years experience in film making. My most significant project is the feature film 'Jelly Dolly' which I wrote, directed and co-produced with Barry Ryan (now head of production at Warp Films). The film gained the best film award at the Britspotting Festival, a British Council showcase in Berlin 2004. It is now distributed by Cornerstone Media International and is available on DVD.
I have also directed over 12 short films, many of which are festival award winners. These include 'Thread' (1994 Fuji Film Scholarship) winner of the silver plaque at the Chicago International Film Festival and 'Melvyn's Pencils' (1994 '10x10' series for BBC2) winner of the Silver Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival.
Other credits include 'Bedhead', and 'Planet Arse', both half hour dramas for C4.
Alongside drama work, I have made a number of experimental films including the 'Arts for Everyone' lottery funded short 'Bun', made in collaboration with performance artist Lisa Watts and the Regional Arts Board funded short 'Blue Movie', both of which have enjoyed a festival circuit lifespan of over a decade.
In addition to drama and short film work, I have directed music videos and commercials represented by Red River Films and Picardy.
More recently I have ventured into sculpture and installation work, primarily working in fine art taxidermy.
Mark Parkin
Senior lecturer
I have been a lighting cameraman, and often producer/director, in television, film, commerce, education, arts and music video since 1989. I have over 250 broadcast credits and have worked across all genres but primarily in observational documentary, often with unique access especially in the areas of sport (two series Close Up Sky1, David Beckham Story ITV, Frankie Dettori BBC1) and crime (Hooligans BBC2, Hells Angels C5, The Tzar’s Bones Discovery).
I am experienced in children’s drama (Own Goal BB1, BAFTA nominee for best drama), comedy drama (Comedy Lab C4), arts programming (Jazz in Britain BBC4) together with factual entertainment (Traffic Cops, Car Wars) and presenter-led programmes (Time Team).
I wrote and shot From Fluffy to Bunny, the first short film for the cinema to receive funding from the National Lottery.
My current funded research makes use of original stereo/3D production in performance spaces to construct ‘xenotopias'.
Virginia Heath
Senior lecturer in film directing and screen writing
Virginia is a multi award-winning writer, director and cross platform producer. She has an established academic research profile and specialises in teaching film directing and screen writing across both fiction and documentary.
Her short film Relativity (10’) won ‘Best Short Film’ at the Berlin International Film Festival 2002 and was nominated for the European Film Academy Awards. She then directed Point Annihilation (30’) in her native New Zealand starring Bruce Hopkins (Gamling, ‘Lord of the Rings’) co-produced with Peter Jackson’s company, Weta Digital. Point Annihilation screened at the Cannes Film Festival 2005 in ‘Cinema des Antipodes’ and was selected as one of the first 12 shorts to pilot the i-Tunes film download site.
Virginia won an award from the National Film Board of Canada in 2009 to develop ‘My Dangerous Loverboy’, an innovative cross platform project including a fiction film, music video and online content to inspire a creative and artistic campaign against the sex trafficking of teenagers (http://www.mydangerousloverboy.com/).
Virginia’s experimental documentary about the singer songwriter ‘Little Lost David’ screened on Channel 4 Television and at Sheffield Doc/Fest, 2009.
She currently has two feature film projects in advanced development; Mystery Ride, a contemporary neo noir psychological thriller set in New Zealand, with development funding from the New Zealand Film Commission and Creative Scotland; the noir thriller, Pania, a New Zealand-UK co-production, developed with funding from the NZFC and the MEDIA programme of the European Union. Her first short Deep Freeze (15’) was screened on Channel 4 TV and in festivals including London, The Hamptons, Foyle, and New Zealand.
Virginia began her filmmaking career directing a series of international arts documentaries for Channel Four TV with a strongly authored stamp, including Songs from the Golden City on South African jazz heroes, The Manhattan Brothers. In the course of her career, Virginia has run master classes for Channel 4 Talent using her expertise in working with actors from script readings, to casting sessions, to rehearsals, to performance on screen.
http://www.virginiaheath.com/
Annie Watson
Senior lecturer, scriptwriting
Annie Watson is a BAFTA nominated writer and director who is currently developing her debut feature film. She is signed as a feature film director with London based agency Independent (formerly ICM). After her degree in creative arts, and her postgraduate degree in experimental film, video and audio, Annie worked as an editor, mostly on short fiction films, which included BFI and Film Four funded productions.
Annie began her directing career by making a video for 'Daydream in blue' by Sheffield band 'I Monster', which subsequently became a huge MTV hit, and Annie was nominated for Video of the Year by QAwards. Annie signed up with promo agencies QT and Independent, and directed a number of successful and industry-recognized promos over the following years. She continued to write and direct short fiction films, and one of these, 'Knitting a love song' was nominated for a BAFTA for Best British Short in 2004. Annie was selected as one of the 'people to watch' in the 'Class of 2005' by industry magazine Screen International.
Annie is interested in communicating stories (primarily in the romantic comedy genre) to the broadest audience. She is very interested in finding new visual and aural techniques to convey emotional intensity in its most simple and direct form.
Annie has written four feature film screenplays and enjoys researching characters, stories and locations, as well as new and established writing techniques as part of her professional development. She has taken part in a number of highly regarded training sessions run by professional bodies including the British Film Institute, FilmFour, Channel 4, The Script Factory, and the BBC.
Annie is increasingly inspired by the various ways that we can create and convey ideas for 'stories', other than the traditional format of scriptwriting, such as pictorial, photographic and storyboarding. She is keen, in her role as a lecturer, to explore and develop these possibilities.
Chrissie Stansfield
Joint course leader, film and media production
Chrissie began her career as a professional film and video maker with the all-women production company, Sheffield Film Co-Op, and has since worked in a number of production companies in a variety of roles including producer, director, researcher, production manager and camerawoman. Ten of her documentaries on political and social issues have been shown on Channel 4 or BBC2 and many have been distributed internationally.
Chrissie was a member of the board of Sheffield International Documentary Festival and is active in local organisations which support and promote new film makers in the Yorkshire region. Her main interests lie in using film and video to communicate ideas and points of view which are under-represented in the mainstream media.
Oksana Fedotova
Senior lecturer, critical theory and computer games
Having graduated in media studies from Sheffield Hallam University, Oksana taught as a Russian language assistant at the University of Bradford and a seminar tutor at the University of Sheffield, whilst researching into popular media, culture and ideology in Stalinist Russia.
She returned to Sheffield Hallam University in 2001, leading a number of undergraduate and postgraduate modules in media studies before joining the film and media production teaching team in 2006.
Since 2006, she has been teaching on the contextual studies and research skills modules across film, animation and games areas. During the same time, as part of her continuous professional development she undertook a postgraduate study of cultural policy and management, with a particular interest in the impact of voluntary arts and government policy on urban regeneration and their role in combating social exclusion.
Her research interests include participatory media cultures, game narrative and the history of animation. She is currently studying for a Professional Doctorate in Education, focusing on the role of theoretical and contextual studies in media practice education and researching relevant pedagogic innovations and examples of best practice.
John Hayes
Course leader, BA Digital Media Production
John is a senior lecturer and course leader for the BA Digital Media Production at Sheffield Hallam University. His research interests lie in digital media and he has a number of publications exploring games, graphics and web technologies in higher education.
John has worked in industry and education at Desq, Compal, Nortel, as a lecturer at the University of Derby, a senior lecturer at Leeds Metropolitan University and a senior lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire.
John studied software engineering at the University of Sheffield and an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) sponsored MSc in Networked Information Engineering at Sheffield Hallam University. He has a Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Dr Geff Green
Lecturer
Before joining the communication team in 1997, Geff taught English in Indonesia for 2 years and later designed, programmed and maintained professional multimedia applications, eventually joining Epic Media Group PLC in Brighton.
Since joining Sheffield Hallam, Geff has taught professional and technical communication mainly at masters level and supervised PhDs ranging from art and design to technical communication.
Geff has been involved with teaching multimedia and communication design to undergraduate students and teaches modules specialising in • research methods • hypermedia design • online journalism • visual communication. He is currently involved in knowledge transfer and international business development work for the University. His research work (including his PhD) has focused mainly on South East Asian cultural history with a specific focus on visual culture, film and identity.
David Williams
Course leader, BA Photography
David completed his Masters degree in 1990 through a fellowship with Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. David has a fine art background with an international exhibition record. Before relocating to the UK he spent nine years in Paris working with photography in the fashion and advertising industries. At Sheffield Hallam University, he continues to build upon his exhibition record as both an artist and curator.
David heads 'The SI Project' (Shifting Image) which is a global project structuring a database aiming to facilitate autonomous self-representation and horizontal dialogue through the use of digital technologies.
His current personal research interests include an examination of fast-food culture in Britain looking at the power of fast food to cross cultural boundaries in concurrence with the capacity to reinforce colonialist attitudes. He also continues to build upon a longstanding investigation into the photographic sensualisation of unfixed time.
Neil Webb
Senior lecturer, sound design
Neil Webb is a practising artist based in Sheffield, working predominantly with sound. His practice includes sound installation, video, performance, curation, CD releases (under the name 'bocman'), and he is a founder member of Host Artists Group. He is now a senior lecturer in sound at Sheffield Hallam University.
2003 saw performances by bocman at Sheffield Hallam University, The MAXIS Festival, Leeds, the annual Sonic Artists Network Conference in Sheffield and the release of the CD 'Somewhere Nowhere'. He also curated the events 'Sounds Recorded for an Empty Nightclub' as part of Sheffield 03 and Host 4: Cinema in 2004.
In 2004 Neil's work continued to develop through collaboration, including his work with Host Artists Group. He has produced a range of audio and audio-visual installations, including 'Scramble', a collaboration with artist Michael Day.
In 2005 Neil undertook a residency at Hull Time Based Arts creating the installation and CD, 'The Inside Underneath'. He also completed a long-standing project, 'Solaristics' inspired by Stanislaw Lem's book and Andrei Tarkovsky's film Solaris.
He was selected for an artist's residency, Signal-to-Noise Ratio at the Tower Atelier in Neuhausen Germany. During the residency he created two new works, a multi-channel sound installation titled 'Across the Field' and a video installation titled 'Heaven up Here'.
During 2006 Neil created a new sound installation 'Invisible Resonance 2' for the Consortium Gallery in Amsterdam, screened two video works, 'Slow Motion Static' and 'Tide Time' at the Sound Practice conference at Goldsmith's University London. The video work 'Enter the Underworld' has also been screened in Liverpool as part of the 37 Seconds BBC big screen project. The bocman project continued with performances at the Cultural Embassy in Amsterdam and in England. The CD 'Motion Static' was also released.
2007 saw the making of a multi-channel audio visual installation in collaboration with Ron Wright titled 'The Breach' and making the multi-channel sound installation 'The Stars in Us All' for Bloc Space in Sheffield. He was also commissioned to contribute a visual work and tie in sound piece, 'Sheffield's New Steel Dream' for the publication The Sheffield Pavilion which was launched at the Venice Biennale. Other commissions included a podcast titled 'Radio Stars' for the Sound Network and Folly Gallery.
In 2008 Neil was commissioned to create a new audio installation in Sheffield's Winter Gardens. Titled 'Adrift' this was part of the city wide event Sheffield 08 Yes, No Other Options.
Jeremy Lee
Course leader, BA Film and Visual Effects
Jeremy Lee is a senior lecturer and course leader in film and visual effects/animation at Sheffield Hallam University.
He originally trained and practised as a fine art painter at Cardiff University and then went on to complete a Masters in animation and special effects at the National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA) Bournemouth.
He now is established as a practicing digital artist integrating a fine art practice with freelance and industrial work alongside teaching and lecturing in digital media.
Rose Cooper
Portfolio director, media arts
Rose studied fine art before taking postgraduate degrees in art history and in film studies respectively. She was a founder member of the Design History Society, has taught and examined aspects of visual culture studies at undergraduate and postgraduate level throughout her working life and is now undergraduate portfolio director for media and film production.
Rose's research in visual culture studies addresses the role of the visual in the construction of personal and national cultural memory and identity. The focus of current research is the impact of dominant western visual culture on the 'peripheral', 'non western' cultures of the indigenous peoples of the 'Fourth World'.
Darcy White
Senior lecturer, critical studies and visual culture
Darcy White began her career as a fine artist and after a period running art and craft workshops in NHS hospitals, teaching art history for the Workers Education Association (WEA) and leading community arts projects, she returned to study and gained an MA in Art History at the University of Leeds.
Since January 2001 Darcy has been at Sheffield Hallam teaching the history and theory of visual culture. Her research interests have led to publications and conferences in areas such as
• widening the art and design curriculum to include 'non western' visual culture
• the relationship between design and consumption - focussing on the mobile phone
• public art and regional identity
This last paper considers some of the conclusions drawn from a long period of research on the public sculpture of Sheffield and South Yorkshire. It relates to work done in collaboration with Elizabeth Norman and David Ball for a forthcoming book, edited by Darcy White: 'The Public Sculpture and Monuments of Sheffield and South Yorkshire', to be published by Liverpool University Press as part of the Public Sculpture of Britain series. In 2008 Darcy sat on the panel for the Marsh Award for Public Sculpture and Monuments.
Darcy's recent research interests centre on the role of the aesthetic in contemporary media. When time allows, Darcy continues to practice as a fine artist, with a special interest in landscape art.
Debbie Ballin
Joint course leader, film and media production
I am joint course leader for the BA/MArt Film and Media Production and a senior lecturer in digital filmmaking. I teach professional practice study, documentary production and creative project development. I have a particular interest in embedding work-based learning in the course curriculum, exploring methods of fostering creativity in teaching and developing new approaches to enquiry-based learning.
I am a documentary filmmaker, producer and educator and have worked in the UK independent film sector for more than 15 years. My career has encompassed independent production and film training and education; I developed The Skill at Sheffield Independent Film, a training and production scheme for new entrant filmmakers. I have also delivered film training for a varied client base from engagement projects with young people to CPD for industry professionals with partners such as the Learning Skills Council, Skillset and the UK Film Council's First Light scheme.
I was formerly head of production at Intermedia (Nottingham) where I produced and executive produced a range of new entrant development schemes such as the Digital Shorts scheme for the UK Film Council and First Cut for Carlton Television. I have also worked as independent producer of fiction, documentary and artist film and video and my production credits include the BAFTA nominated short film ‘Knitting A Love Song’ and the critically acclaimed documentary ‘Teenland’ for BBC 4.
In addition to this I have maintained a practice as a documentary filmmaker and made work commissioned by Channel 4, Mersey Film and Video, the Millennium Festival Awards and Screen Yorkshire. My documentary practice is concerned with exploring memory and identity and often look at the significance of personal rituals or ordinary life events and how they reveal wider social and philosophical concerns.
Steve Sprung
Course leader, MA International Documentary Production
Steve graduated from St Martin's School of Art. He was a member of Cinema Action, a leading independent film group, which became one of Channel 4's first 'independent sector' workshops. He was a founder member of Faction Films which has produced over 30 documentaries for Channel4, BBC2, LWT and Arte/La Sept. He also collaborated with Lusia Films on several experimental documentaries/fictions for the BBC and Channel 4.
He has worked as a director, editor and cameraman on films which have grappled with major social/political/cultural/philosophical themes, often crossing the borders of documentary and fiction in order to find their film voice. As a director, 'The Year of the Beaver', an 80min innovative documentary and 'Men's Madness', a 60min experimental documentary for Channel 4, are his best known works.
Amongst his most recent works as an editor are 'The Outrage', awarded the most innovative documentary prize and 'Relativity', awarded best short fiction film at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Reuben Fleming
Senior lecturer in animation
Reuben currently teaches computer animation across the undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. Coming from an art background, his interests lie in character modelling, rigging and animation.
He holds a BA and MA in Computer Animation and has worked in the games industry for several years. As well as teaching he continues to work as a freelance animator in his spare time.
Recent projects include web commercials, in-game animations and 3D designs.
Dean Summers
Senior lecturer, critical theory
Dean's main responsibilities are teaching critical and theoretical modules on the film and media production course, as well as helping develop innovative approaches to the integration of theory and practice in curriculum design this area.
Prior to this, Dean lectured at the University of Central Lancashire, where he also co-organised the international conference on Experimental Film Today in 2003. His main interests include philosophical forms of cinema, and the value of deconstruction in education.
Ron Wright
Senior lecturer, sound design
Ron is a senior lecturer in sound. He has created several specialist modules covering all aspects of sound design for film animation, gaming, visual effects and digital media as well as sound art, which now form specialisms in the undergraduate film and media subject area.
Ron was a founder member of an experimental multimedia band producing eight LPs and ten singles released worldwide, alongside several radio sessions and live broadcasts, TV features (The Tube, The Chart Show, Snub TV) and performances at several prestigious European festivals.
Ron is also an active freelance sound designer and sound artist. His film work is focused on the independent and experimental film sector. His sound design in film work includes 'Jelly Dolly' directed by Susannah Gent which won the Best British Feature award at Berlin Film festival 'Britspotting' event 2004, and was sound designer for 'Exhibit A' directed by Dom Rotheroe which won the Best UK Feature Award at the 15th Raindance Film Festival.
Ron also designed the sound for all of 2008 BAFTA winning cinematographer Rob Hardy’s directorial work including 'You Are My Favourite Chair' which won best experimental film at ION Festival California and Best Short at the Raindance festival, London 2004. Ron’s work has been broadcast on the major terrestrial channels particularly Channel 4 where on two earlier films he sound designed 'Dish' by Meloni Poole and 'Love Over Goldfish' which were both screened over 30 times.
As a sound artist Ron has recently released tracks for CDs and sound installations. He also collaborates with a variety of screen, visual and performance artists such as Charlotte Ginsborg, Ruth Parker, and Lisa Watts/Alice Maud Roxby.
Ron’s most known work is with lens-based artist, Andy Eccleston. Their collaborative work explores the 'Sci-art' and culminated in a mini tour, 'Hylo' which included, 'Requiem', a commission for the centenary of Verdi featuring a French horn being dissolved in a clear tank of nitric acid, 'Acousma' a quasi paranormal opera generated from MRI brain scans and 'Spindrift' which uses borocope technology to journey through the inside of orchestral instruments. These pieces are constantly evolving to respond to different spaces and playback possibilities. Requiem and Spindrift were last performed as a live AV surround sound experience at Consortium gallery in Amsterdam.
Ron is currently researching the nature and implications of physical and psychological landscapes and urban wildscapes in multidimensional media. He is developing further work with fellow sound lecturer Neil Webb following their AV installation 'the Breach' for Consortium Gallery, Amsterdam.
Alan Robinson
Subject group leader, media arts
Alan studied at University College London for a degree in architecture, after which he worked at Cablevision, one of the original local TV channels, where a team of six produced one hour of live TV per day. He then worked for 14 years at Sheffield Independent Film, a Channel 4 funded independent TV/film facility.
Since 2001 he has worked at Sheffield Hallam University, firstly in the Materials and Engineering Research Institute (MERI) and then as a senior lecturer in animation and computer graphics.
His research area is 3D scanning, where he completed his PhD and has a number of patents, and he has a strong record of collaboration with media and industrial partners. Current research topics include 3D face animation for multimedia use in animation and computer games, and on a more theoretical level, the critical analysis of computer games.
Greg Boulton
Course leader, BA Animation
Greg was trained as a traditional classical sculptor before gaining a first class honours degree in three dimensional design.
His introduction to animation in the mid 1980s was initially as a model maker / art director.
Involved with many award winning productions, he went on to set up his own animation studio directing numerous recognisable TV commercials, titles, idents, pop promos and computer games related projects.
He has been guest speaker and lecturer at many colleges, universities and film festivals.
Dr Linda Moss
Course leader, MA Cultural Policy and Management
After an MA in Russian/Latin at Edinburgh University, and a PhD in Cultural Imperialism at Cambridge, Linda worked as a literacy tutor and an artist in hospitals. She held a research fellowship in health care arts, then became arts advisor to the NHS, which led to senior posts in the Arts Council for 10 years. She returned to academia to establish the MA Cultural Policy and Management in 1995.
Linda's main research interests include health care arts, the creative industries, and cultural diversity policy. She has published extensively and internationally in all three fields. Currently she is investigating the impact of Russian cultural policy on the growth of creative industries in Karelia, northern Russia.
Linda also runs her own small creative business, Art-felt.
Christopher Hall
Senior lecturer, film/TV editing
An award-winning editor, filmmaker and artist, Chris has over 100 broadcast television credits and has worked on many award winning features and shorts.
His television credits include Time Team, British Film Forever, York Minster, Turner Prize, Destination D-Day, Shipwrecked, Madonna: Naked Ambition, Lonely Planet, The South Bank Show, The Mrs Merton Show, Everyman and The Heart Of The Matter.
He is also an associate artist with theatre company Third Angel ('Consistently innovative and challenging', The Times) whose theatre and film work has toured internationally.
He is half of the artistic partnership Christopher Hall and Alexander Kelly (‘installations that are simple but hugely effective at provoking an emotional response from the viewer’, Metro) whose work have been shown at screenings in Europe and America, and who also create installation work for galleries and museums. The partnerships are currently involved in the post-production of a documentary feature.
At Sheffield Hallam University, Chris lectures mainly in post-production. He also runs the FMP Intern Scheme and has developed collaborative relationships with many outside organisations. He has a wide range of interests including the social impact of digital media, transmedia narratives, convergent media, experimental documentary, contemporary dance and radical education theory and praxis.
He also likes watching and making films.
Profiles
Esther Johnson
Senior lecturer, film and media
Susannah Gent
Lecturer
Mark Parkin
Senior lecturer
Virginia Heath
Senior lecturer in film directing and screen writing
Annie Watson
Senior lecturer, scriptwriting
Chrissie Stansfield
Joint course leader, film and media production
Oksana Fedotova
Senior lecturer, critical theory and computer games
John Hayes
Course leader, BA Digital Media Production
Dr Geff Green
Lecturer
David Williams
Course leader, BA Photography
Neil Webb
Senior lecturer, sound design
Jeremy Lee
Course leader, BA Film and Visual Effects
Rose Cooper
Portfolio director, media arts
Darcy White
Senior lecturer, critical studies and visual culture
Debbie Ballin
Joint course leader, film and media production
Steve Sprung
Course leader, MA International Documentary Production
Reuben Fleming
Senior lecturer in animation
Dean Summers
Senior lecturer, critical theory
Ron Wright
Senior lecturer, sound design
Alan Robinson
Subject group leader, media arts
Greg Boulton
Course leader, BA Animation
Dr Linda Moss
Course leader, MA Cultural Policy and Management
Christopher Hall
Senior lecturer, film/TV editing
British council back UK team to film paradise challenge
Film and media production graduate, Tajinder Hayer, wrote a script for the Film Raro International Film Festival competition. His script Islands was one of six selected worldwide (and the only one from all of Europe). Backed by the British Council, a crew of four Sheffield Hallam Alumni will travel to Rarotonga and shoot the film in seven days, before the world premiere at the Cook islands International Film Festival.
The Film Raro challenge brings teams of filmmakers from all over the globe to take part in a social and economic development project set in the tropical south pacific destination of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. Its aims are to build the capacity of local filmmakers by proving an opportunity to work along side professional filmmakers such as Tajinder Hayer and his colleagues.
For more information visit www.filmraro.com or www.indiegogo.com/projects/islands
Chance 2 (3:12)
Monica Rubio's project work, filmed in Columbia
Crossing 2 (2:14)
Suyash Vadhaker's coursework, filmed in India
Nomads Land (3:42)
Alex Gabby's coursework, filmed in the UK
Sauade (2.20)
Directed by Chen Po-Pu, filmed in Taiwan
Shangrila (3:29)
Directed by Yasong Wang, filmed in China
Sharing (2:18)
Directed by Salah Ghwedr, filmed in Libya
Creative media in Sheffield
We believe that Sheffield forms an ideal base for our activities and for your future work in film and television, whether you work with a traditional provider or independently.
Sheffield's Cultural Industries Quarter was one of the UK's first serious developments which was implemented to help the growth and support of the cultural industries sector. It draws together the wealth of creative talent and experience that exists in and around the city.
The city also has both BBC and independent local radio stations and a community radio station, Sheffield Live. Its central location means that we are within easy access of London, the BBC centres in Manchester and Leeds, Yorkshire Television and major independent companies including Chameleon Television (Leeds) and Zenith North (Newcastle).
We have strong links with the world renowned Sheffield Doc/Fest. Every year you can go to the screenings and join the seminars and debates between documentary makers, television commissioning editors and independents. You can also attend the cutting edge Lovebytes Digital Arts Festival, offering a variety of screenings, events and visiting filmmakers/artists at the five screen Showroom Workstation.
