Our courses focus on the product and
practices of cultural activity. Students will
engage with current issues in these
exciting fields of study, including global
cinema and television, contemporary
performance, and the impact of digital
technologies.
Characteristic of all the courses is a
critical engagement with the historical
evolution of particular theatrical,
cinematic and televisual genres,
aesthetic traditions and forms, and the
way in which plays and screen texts
organise understandings, meanings and
effects. As part of this engagement,
students work individually and in small
groups to produce their own scripts,
screenplays, photographs, short films
and plays.
Theatre, film and media staff at QMU are
a mix of academic researchers and film,
media and theatre practitioners. Staff
have produced work for a variety of
commercial, cultural, educational and
local government clients, and have
exhibited and performed their work at
festivals in the UK and internationally.
As the home of international film,
television and theatre festivals, Edinburgh
is the ideal place to study these creative
arts. For film it boasts two art house
cinemas (the Cameo and Filmhouse),
three multiplexes and two smaller
cinemas, and the city is frequently used
as a location for film and television
shoots. There are also five purpose-built
theatres showing everything from major
West End hits to innovative, risk-taking
new writing.
Approach to learning and teaching
The courses adopt a blended learning
approach with teaching and learning
activities falling into three broad
categories: seminars and lectures; peer
group activities; and self-directed
learning. You will be encouraged to be
enquiring, critical and innovative.
Emphasis will be placed on analytical,
divergent ways of thinking. The courses
are designed to produce graduates who
are critical thinkers, effective
communicators, investigative learners,
active participants and creative
practitioners.
Each of the courses combines academic
enquiry with opportunities for practical
production. The division has digital
editing suites and post-production
facilities where students have access to
Adobe creative editing software including
Adobe Premiere, After Effects,
Photoshop and Audition. Production
equipment includes Canon 5D Mark 3,
Sony Alpha 7S, Zenmuse x5R and
GoPro cameras with accessories such
as shoulder rigs, sliders, tracks and
external monitors, semi-pro news
gathering cameras (P2 and AVCHD), a
variety of lighting kits (including LED and
tungsten) and digital sound recording
devices (Tascam and Zoom). Students
also have access to a green screen
studio.
For photographic work, students have
access to a range of cameras including
Canon DSLRs with specialist lens and
lighting equipment, and post-production
software including Adobe Lightroom. For
performance work, the University has a
fully equipped and licensed studio
theatre and five rehearsal studios.
Research
Staff research falls within two broad
clusters: the textual analysis of film,
television and performance culture; and
the sense of place in cultural identity
formation. Current work in the first
cluster is in the areas of film adaptation,
film and television genre, and television
aesthetics. Research in the second
cluster includes studies of place, taste
and cultural meaning in print, radio,
popular music and visual media.
In our submission to the Communication,
Cultural and Media Studies, Library and
Information Management panel of the
Research Excellence Framework (REF) in
2014, 77% of QMU’s outputs were
ranked as world leading and
internationally excellent. This places us in
12th position in the UK.
Recent and ongoing scholarship
includes: melodrama and seriality;
representation and adaptation; music
and musicians in comics; underground
music; cultural engagement and
participation; cultural policy; comedy;
gender and sexuality, political economy
of work in cultural industries; production
of culture in its economic context; and
public relations.
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Career prospects
The UK’s creative sector employs one
million people, with graduates
comprising 67% of those employed, a
significantly higher proportion of
graduates than the economy as a whole.
Many are employed in creative
occupations in businesses in other
sectors. Our courses aim to prepare you
for a range of career opportunities by
producing graduates whose specialist
knowledge of their chosen area is
complemented by the key skills of
communication, creativity and teamwork.
We offer modules that focus specifically
on employment, enterprise and
entrepreneurship. A number of our
graduates have gone on to set up their
own creative businesses with the
support of the Business Innovation Zone
at QMU.