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This course combines hands-on practical filmmaking, creative writing workshops, and theoretical and contextual studies. Students are encouraged to forge links between theory and practice, and to make critically-informed choices in their own creative work through the knowledge they gain of film history, literary classics and writing across a range of genres. At Essex they offer an unusual approach to the practice of writing, combining innovative and traditional methods in order to develop students’ writing skills and abilities to judge their work critically, while expanding their knowledge across different modes and genres. In the Centre for Creative Writing they encourage a culture of experiment and creativity, enabling students to feel part of a community of writers. For the modules in filmmaking and screenwriting, students are taught by film professionals with extensive industry experience. They gain hands-on practical training in all aspects of film production, including camera work, editing, lighting, scriptwriting, and production management. Students produce group films (learning how to work together as a team) as well as personal projects – by the end of their three or four years at Essex they’ll have built up a fully rounded portfolio of work, enabling them to showcase the creative potential for future employers. Students' second-year module on screenwriting forms the keystone of their course, bridging the two parts. They will also have the opportunity to write a script as part of the final-year independent study.
