MA Documentary and Factual
MetFilm School
Key Information
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Campus location
Berlin, Germany
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
1 year
Pace
Full time
Tuition fees
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Application deadline
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Earliest start date
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* we accept applications and offer places on a rolling basis throughout the year
Introduction
The MA in Documentary and Factual will give you the skills and understanding needed to work as a director and/or producer in today's factual content industries.
Specific topics include finding and developing ideas, research and access to contributors, creating stories, and pitching ideas. You will learn about production roles and develop skills in documentary editing, sound recording, and camerawork. Throughout the course, you will explore funding strategies and potential audiences, and be immersed in productions where you can try out a range of skills.
- Practical: Gain training and experience in producing, directing, camera operation, sound, and editing.
- Comprehensive: For students passionate about the various ways to shoot and document reality in today’s world, and who want to produce content that offers new insights and promotes compassion and awareness about a specific subject
- Industry-facing: Build your understanding of the contemporary industry landscape for documentaries and factual programming, including commissioning, financing, distribution and exhibition.
- Real-life Experience: You will conceive, create, and deliver a project to a client brief. Working within a creative team with other MA pathways, students respond to a professional brief from a commercial or non-commercial business to produce a short project and showcase their creative talent to industry professionals.
- Portfolio: Create a portfolio of work, including two core projects (documentary and/or factual programmes), with accompanying creative development and pitch documents to support you in your future career.
Gallery
Curriculum
The overview below is not a complete list of MA Documentary & Factual modules. For the complete list, please download the full Course Specification on our website.
Documentary and Factual Craft and Industry
During the early weeks of the module you will work with students from other pathways to make a short video using a camera phone, based on something that you want to say. Using the video as a starting point, you will evidence your developing understanding of content, industry, and audiences, to pitch a factual or documentary project to an industry panel.
Authorship and Context
You will gain understanding of the theory of authorship as well as alternative paradigms and be encouraged to analyse and engage in how 'point of view' impacts the structure, form, and genre of non-fiction storytelling. Through practical workshops, students will create two short film pieces demonstrating authorship and context.
Professional Profile
You will develop authentic and detailed career paperwork and supporting materials including a CV and personal profile. As part of the module you will be offered Elective Upskilling sessions – opportunities to develop screen industry skills outside of their chosen discipline or as part of their multi-skilling profile.
Factual Production for Clients
Working with students from other MA courses, you will develop proposals and pitches to present to real world clients for whom you will deliver factual video content. Through the subsequent video production you will develop skills in budgeting and scheduling, and what's required of producers and directors across a variety of platforms.
Practice-based Research
Building on the work of previous and concurrent modules, you will gain a deeper insight into current theories, principles, and discussions relating to issues of diversity, sustainability, and ethics within the screen industries.
Final Project and Career Plan
Your project is an opportunity to deliver work that is distinctive, industry-aware, based in research, and reflects awareness of a diverse and inclusive world.
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
Your success is our priority
From the very first day at Met Film School, we teach our students to network and pitch to the industry. Our team helps our talented and bright graduates to secure creative jobs in leading companies across the globe.
Our graduates work in the industry as VFX Artists, Directors, TV Assistant Producers, Script Editors, On-Air Producers, Campaign Managers and other screen professionals. These are just some of the companies they’ve gone on to work for:
