Please download the Course Specification below for a complete overview of BA Screen Acting modules.
Screen Acting Foundations
This module will introduce you to the underlying concepts of Screen Acting. You will begin to develop a core Screen Acting skillset through an understanding of visual storytelling and the actor’s role within the storytelling apparatus. You will apply this learning to non-verbal performance scenarios that will be filmed and reviewed in class, to help establish reflective strategies for developing awareness of your emerging skillset as a screen performer.
Authentic Voice and Movement
In this module you will be exposed to some fundamental vocal and physical skills and practice that will enable you to develop self-awareness of your body and voice. You will uncover movement and vocal production that is authentic and individual for you and which, additionally, will influence strong performance outcomes.
Through the course of this module, you will learn the relationship between effective breathing, movement and vocal production, how to identify and align with vocal channels and emotional centres. You will discover how different practitioners, such as Laban and Linklater, have influenced these fields of study.
You will also start to develop an awareness and understanding of the impact of Global Majority approaches to voice and body work, including Chinese, Japanese and Indian practice. In addition, you will acquire core skills in warming up for a variety of performance challenges, including an introduction to Intimacy Coordination as an essential component of safe, modern production practice.
Filmmaking Foundations
This module introduces you to the core principles, skills and delivery of filmed content for the large and small screen from a range of contemporary cultural perspectives. Through devising and filming a contained piece of screen content, you will learn about the production cycle, from inception and creation of ideas, story development, established screenwriting conventions, directing, cinematography, sound recording and post production. Your filmmaking training will be supported by core skills training in basic camera, lighting and sound equipment.
Acting Practitioners
Developing the themes and concepts you encountered in Acting Fundamentals, you will now start to look at how Screen Acting techniques have been refined and expanded through the work of specific practitioners. Beginning with Stanislavksi’s System as adapted for the Screen by practitioners such as Adler, Strasberg and Meisner, you will explore each technique and expand your understanding of how Western and Eastern practices both differ and converge, and how the Method of Physical Actions has become a benchmark tool for successive generations of global Screen Practitioners.
Psychological Voice and Movement
This module continues to build on the work established in Authentic Voice and Movement. You will expand your practice into areas of physical and vocal awareness acquired through Pilates, Yoga and Expressive movement. You will also be introduced to techniques designed to expand articulation, resonance and phrasing, working with specific texts that require emotional investment and physical agility, like Shakespeare and other classical works. Alongside this, you will develop an awareness of tools to support the long term vocal and body health for the actor. You will also examine how this kind of work informs the generation and safe management of emotion in the creation of compelling, psycho-physical performance including a further exploration of how these processes can be integrated with Intimacy Coordination.
Production Foundations
This module presents the opportunity to apply knowledge and understanding acquired throughout the entirety of Level 4 by engaging in a consolidated, extended production module in which you will have the opportunity to perform in or work as a key creative crew member on a short film production. You will also be given the opportunity to work with the BA Practical Filmmakers in the first of a series of customised sessions designed to encourage greater collaboration and productive understanding between the disciplines.
Text, Context and Character
You will acquire knowledge and critical understanding of the role that analysis and research play in the development of compelling screen characters. Through the exploration of classical and historical (period) texts you will research and develop a fully articulated historical screen character. In doing so you will identify the limits of research and explore how these skills intersect with imagination and creative licence. You will also have the opportunity to examine the importance of cultural context and progressive concepts such as colour-blind casting, and how this impacts on diversity and inclusion in the Screen industry.
Transformative Voice and Movement
In voice work you will explore and develop an understanding of how an actor develops regional accents, including standard regional and standard UK (RP), standard and regional American in addition to other accents that represent a challenge or departure from your native dialect. Through the acquisition of core understanding of how accents are generated, you will develop and apply a skillset that will enable further exploration of non-native accents and/or dialects.
In body work, you will continue to explore the techniques of Grotowski, including Object Transformation and other routes to enhanced performance, including anatomical and anthropomorphic study.
Filmmaking Intensive
Utilising the reflective outcomes of your Short Form production, you will now engage in a further exploration of filmmaking craft with particular attention to more detailed scene work, focusing on dramatic structure and how to retain authenticity within the pressurised environment of film production. Working with a variety of scripted and unscripted scenarios, you will explore techniques and troubleshooting methods to build believable, authentic and attainable content for the screen.
In addition you will receive enhanced training in camera, lighting, sound and editing, as well as being offered the opportunity to gain experience in production management and assistant directing, as you build out your overall awareness and understanding of the intricacies of inclusive, sustainable and ethical film production.
Casting
This module introduces you to the core knowledge, understanding and skills required to prepare for auditions and casting in today’s screen industry, from self-tapes through to in-person auditions and chemistry reads.
Drawing on your experience producing screen content on the course, you will now learn how to produce competent, high quality self-tapes and experience, through workshops and seminars, advice on preparation and execution of a variety of casting scenarios from industry professionals, including commercials casting. In addition, you will be encouraged to start thinking about your casting range and researching what materials you should be preparing for your show reel.
Collaborative Anthology Film or Web Series Production
This module is the culmination of your Level 5 studies and represents an opportunity to apply rich layers of knowledge and understanding, whilst also demonstrating a capacity for detailed research and critical thinking, both in front of and behind the camera. You will focus this learning towards the creation of a substantial, collaborative production.
In your Screen Acting groups you will devise, develop, shoot and deliver an edited, multi-episode Web Series comprised of four ten minute episodes per show. You will have the opportunity to explore performance opportunities alongside production roles and you will be expected to contribute at least one major performance or crew role to the productions. You will also be offered further opportunities to collaborate with the BA Filmmaking students to continue to enrich your working relationships and understanding of each other’s craft.
In addition, you will build on your technical skills training with further specialist refresher and enhanced sessions focused on cinematography and sound. The module will finish with an all-cohort screening of the edited episodes. Alongside this you will be given additional exposure and foundation training in approaching questions of ethics, inclusivity and sustainability through specialist sessions.
Advanced Acting
In this module you will combine your accumulated knowledge of practitioner techniques with the development of personal practice and the evolution of your own methodology as a screen actor. Through reflective solo practice and working in small teams you will engage in a variety of rehearsal and performance scenarios, including improvisation, comedy and complex text work based on Stanislavski’s Active Analysis.
Throughout the module you will be encouraged to find ways of drawing upon and integrating practitioner techniques with organised experimentation and critical evaluation of the effectiveness of such approaches. You will also be invited to engage in a series of reflective personal explorations, or Artist’s Dates, which will allow you the opportunity to challenge yourself as a practitioner within the wider context of an increasingly inclusive and environmentally conscious world.
Performance Capture and Screen Combat
You will have the opportunity to acquire knowledge, understanding and foundation skills in the specialised areas of Performance Capture (or Mo-Cap) and Screen Combat. While there are aspects of these skills that require separate qualifications, a foundational knowledge is extremely important.
You will also learn how both Mo-Cap and Combat practices will draw upon the core work you have been engaged with in Voice and Movement modules to date and develop an understanding that this kind of work is a continuation of that practice, which will stand you in good stead should you wish to pursue further training opportunities.
Industry Portfolio
In this module you will expand and develop your knowledge of industry practices and conventions, with a specific emphasis on employability, sustaining yourself as a freelance practitioner and continuing to develop your core skills as an independent creative within the Screen industries.
You will be encouraged to look at the specific challenges that face screen actors and film professionals as they emerge into the market. You will attend workshops and tutorials with screen practitioners and career counsellors which will enable to structure a specific approach to your own pathway after your training.
In addition, you will be offered creative and practical support as you start to plan your online profile, including Graduate Spotlight page, show reel, agent approach and CV.
Graduation Production
The culmination of your practical training, Graduation Production offers you the opportunity to focus on a specific role and or multiple roles within a sustainable production framework. This is your opportunity to make an artistic statement that foregrounds your strengths as a storyteller.
Once again, in collaboration with your Screen Acting peers and, should you wish to, the BA Practical filmmakers, you will create a piece of screen content designed to foreground the skill and/or skills you have acquired both in front of and behind the camera on the course.
With the support of a specialist Project Advisor, you will be guided through the greenlight process, with increased emphasis on assessing the viability of your production from an ethical and sustainable viewpoint. Though primarily self-directed, the project advisor can offer bespoke support depending on the specific requirements of the skills you are foregrounding in the production(s).
Show Reel
The final module of your degree is specifically designed to enable you to draw together all of the performance and filmmaking elements you have assembled over Levels 4, 5 and 6 and build them into an effective, industry-aware show reel.
A show reel is a living artefact and this will be a snapshot of the work you have completed, in and outside of formal module learning. You will receive specialist tutor support and industry guidance where necessary, but the onus will be on you to utilise the knowledge, skills and understanding acquired over two years to create a piece of work that feels representative of your skills as a performer, filmmaker and general practitioner within this field.
In addition, you will have the opportunity to record a 3-5 minute voice reel comprised of a short prose extract and a mock commercial reading. These are designed to expand your employability as a professional screen actor and can be uploaded to your Graduate Spotlight profile.
We include a diverse range of teaching methods which include:
- Productions
- Seminar-style Group Teaching
- Tutorials
- Practical Group Work
- Formative Feedback through Critiques, Pitches, Screenings, and Reflective Sessions
- Work-integrated Learning
- Authentic Assessment
We use a wide range of assessment which include portfolios, performances, research, presentations, and reflective work. Please download the Course Specification below for more information.
