Media Foundation

The foundation year offers students an introduction to the production and critique of Media, Film and Journalism content. You will be encouraged to develop your creative and technical skills across a number of disciplines relative to the creative sector. These include video and audio production, digital photography, media research and the creation of news packages for conventional broadcast and online environments.

Overview
Structure and assessment
Facilities and features
Opportunities and careers
more about your DMU
Contact us

Overview

Studying Media Foundation will enable you to analyse media and news content in relation to how these products are conceived, how they are formed, and their relevance to key audiences and consumers. This course is designed to prepare you for progression on to a media or media-related undergraduate degree at DMU.

A technical approach to media production is increasingly important, and this course ensures you enter either the workplace or continuing education with essential knowledge and practical skills in producing media content.

Key features

Preparation for degree study
This course can be a stepping stone towards one of our undergraduate media degrees upon successful completion, and is a great place to start if you are returning to study. It is suitable for people from a wide range of backgrounds particularly mature students, as well as people looking for a change of career, or who do not meet the BA (Hons) entry criteria for example

Multi-million pound specialist facilities
Our Creative Technology Studios feature a host of audio recording studios, broadcast-standard radio production studios and management systems, alongside stand-alone film studios equipped with multi-cameras, blue screen and green screen facilities

Academic Expertise
Benefit from teaching informed by industry, with many of our academics having substantial industry experience. Students also benefit from guest lectures from a variety of fields

Award winning student group, Demon Media
Gain valuable, industry-relevant experience by contributing to the Demon Media group, including; The Demon magazine, Demon FM radio station, Demon TV and The Demon website

Close links with local and national media partners
Including BBC Radio Leicester, community media organisations and Leicester’s independent arts and cinema complex, Phoenix Square; providing opportunities for work experience and cultural connections

Enjoy an international experience with #DMUglobal
Previous media trips have included visits to the Korda Film park in Hungary (to see the set of Hellboy 2, and The Martian), the Barrandov Studio in the Czech Republic (Mission Impossible, The Bourne Identity, Casino Royal), and NBC Studios in New York

Media Foundation is designed to provide access to the following programmes:

Journalism (NCTJ accredited) BA (Hons)

Journalism (Joint Honours) BA (Hons)

Media and Communication BA (Hons)

Media Production BSc (Hons)

Film Studies BA (Hons)

Film Studies BA (Joint Honours)

UK
EU/International

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: P301

Duration: One year full-time, two years part-time

Portfolio Required: No

Interview Required: No

Fees and funding:

2021/22 tuition fees for UK students: £9,250

Find out about additional costs and optional extras.

How to apply

Submit a study-related enquiry

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: P301

Duration: One year full-time, two years part-time

Portfolio Required: No

Interview Required: No

Fees and funding:

2021/22 tuition fees for international students: £14,750

2021/22 tuition fees for EU students: £9,250 with our EU undergraduate transitional scholarship (T&Cs apply).

Find out more about available funding for international students.

How to apply

Submit a study-related enquiry

Entry criteria

Five GCSEs at grade C or above, including English and Mathematics, plus one of the following:
Normally 56 UCAS points from at least one A-level or equivalent or
BTEC National Diploma/ Extended Diploma at MPP or
Pass in the QAA Access to HE. English and Mathematics GCSE required as a separate qualification as equivalency is not accepted within the Access qualification. We will normally require students to have had a break from full-time education before undertaking the Access course or
International Baccalaureate: 24+ points

Portfolio Required: No

Interview Required: No

We welcome applications from mature students with non-standard qualifications and recognise all other equivalent and international qualifications

English language – If English is not your first language we require an English language level of IELTS 6.0 with 5.5 in each component or equivalent

English Language tuition, delivered by our British Council accredited Centre for English Language Learning , is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

Structure and assessment

Media Research and Development

This module will introduce you to the foundational elements of journalism and media studies. For journalism, the aim is to explore the daily practices of journalists, the values and principles by which they work and the basic structures of news stories. For media, the emphasis will be to understand how different (new) media platforms and producers generate their content, engage with new technology and impact society. You will learn how to find news-worthy stories, interview newsmakers and find the right narrative framework and structure their stories.

Image Analysis and Production

This module provides you with important visual literacy, helping you to explore the basic elements of images such as colour, foreground/background, angles, framing and representation. Students will learn how to analyse and critique the work of important photographers such as Bresson, Bailey, Adams, Arbus, Leibovitz and Man Ray, and using appropriate language, will relate these ideas to specific practices, and techniques. In practical terms, you will gain hands-on experience of creating, manipulating and distorting images using a range of relevant photographic hardware and editing software.

Film Theory and Practice

This module serves as an introduction to film history and to the tradition of critique in Western cinema. The module examines key figures in European and American film history in relation to concepts such as mise en scène, cinematography, narrative and genre. You will develop appropriate language to discuss important movements in film such as the French New Wave, German Expressionism, Dogme95, and New Queer Cinema. You will also gain an insight into a number of key practices used to develop, pitch, and present your ideas for practical assignments, before working on a short production of your own.

Audio News and Audiences

This module examines contemporary patterns of news consumption in radio, and the practical techniques used to research, gather, interview, and produce audio news packages. You will learn about the different radio audiences, their preferred platform for news consumption, the common trending topics they follow and their perceptions of politics and societal issues.

Content Creation and Management Online

This module will provide you with the skills to create content for various online platforms. You will learn where to source ideas for their content, how to write a blog and/or narrative, as well as the selection of visual materials (photographs, graphics and videos). You will explore copyright issues and ways to verify sources and learn how to manage your online content and how to communicate with potential users such as followers, journalists, and advertisers. Students will also be expected to engage with specific analytical tools to monitor, review, and direct content to maximize the potential reach and advertising revenue of these media.

Creative Portfolio

This module will guide you through the process of developing a portfolio of evidence as the final product of the programme. The Creative portfolio will represent the best of your work during the course, featuring a collection of outputs, which may include written pieces, posters, audio clips and short videos on a topic you will choose. Students will demonstrate their understanding of how sight and sound can be used to create emotional and intellectual value for their viewers, and develop this portfolio as part of the prospective entry requirements of continuing education or employment.

Our creative culture encourages you to achieve your full potential. You will be taught through practical sessions, with access to subject specialists and pastoral tuition. Practical classes will provide you with hands-on experience of creating rich media content, which is supported with underpinning theories of media production, audiences, and research techniques.

Assessments will include regular pitches and presentations of your work for peer and tutor review. You will produce your own showreel of professional standard work, ready for progression onto an undergraduate degree or entry to the industry.

The course will be studied in modules, and is based on continual assessment with no exams. There are 6 modules on this course which will be delivered one at a time by the academic team to develop your skills as you progress. The course culminates with the creation of a professional portfolio which can be used as part of the entry criteria for continuing education or in employment.

Facilities and features

Creative Technology Studios

Our multi-million pound Creative Technology Studios feature a host of industry standard video, audio and radio production suites and two fully equipped recording studios featuring analogue and digital recording systems and surround sound monitoring.

The studios provide facilities for the acquisition, editing and distribution of video, audio and computer-generated materials and files can be shared throughout the studios via a fast computer network, enabling a seamless mixed-media workflow.

Specifically, the facilities include:

Industry-standard video, audio and radio production suites
A suite of over 20 video workstations, using the very latest industry-standard HD editing software
Television studios with high-definition video cameras, green-screen and virtual-studio capabilities
Two fully-equipped recording studios, featuring analogue and digital recording systems and surround sound monitoring
Broadcast-standard radio production studios with professional playout and management systems
Audio and video laboratories with high specification test equipment for signal analysis
Fused-media and motion-capture studios for the teaching and research of 3D image capture, modelling and display
A high-speed, high-definition, data backbone, enabling the integration of audio, video and computer-generated media projects Hybrid technologies, using the best of current analogue and digital media.

The film studios located in the Queens building makes available multi-camera, blue screen and green screen studios for all students on our media courses. The green screen and blue screen facilities enable students to create videos that take advantage of colour keying to merge video with computer graphics, stock video and still images.

The multi-camera studio replicates the most common setup for TV studios and enables students to practice techniques covering all of the areas of studio work including presenting, camera work, direction, lighting and sound. The film studios also includes a full lighting setup and a viewing gallery so that cameras and presenters can receive direction from the students taking the role of a producer. Using live graphic overlays students can successfully replicate news, shopping channel and chat show environments.

Campus Centre

The home of  De Montfort Students' Union, (DSU) our Campus Centre offers a welcoming and lively hub for student life. Conveniently located at the heart of campus, it includes a convenience store, a Subway and a Starbucks. Here you can find the DSU-owned charitable accommodation service Sulets and DSU’s shop, SUpplies, selling art supplies, stationery and clothing, and printing and binding services. The building is also home to the DSU officer team.

Library and learning zones

On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available.

As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our Library website, e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose.

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including Blackboard, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub.

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live LibChat, online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our Learning Services, and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.

Opportunities and careers

Graduate Careers

DMU media graduates are working in a wide range of careers such as: camera operators, producers, photographers, technical operators, broadcast engineers, journalists, graphic designers, video editors and producers, independent video company directors, television presenters and web designers. The companies they work for include Endemol, Ideal World TV, Lime Pictures, The Guardian, The Telegraph, BBC Films, BBC Sport, FilmFour and Odeon Entertainment.

#DMUglobal

Our innovative international experience programme DMU Global aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons, helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world.

Through DMU Global, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK-based activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges.

While overseas DMU Global opportunities are not currently possible, DMU will continue to review government advice and if travel is permitted, we hope to offer a small number of extra-curricular opportunities in the summer of 2021.

Placements

Work-based placements are one of the best ways to boost your skills and experience, and can often lead to your first graduate role.

They are the perfect means of discovering how your studies relate to the real world, and provide an opportunity to improve your confidence and make contacts to help you get ahead in the job market.

DMU’s dedicated Placements Teams can help you by providing access to hundreds of opportunities, giving one-to-one CV advice and interview preparation, and offering training sessions and support from a dedicated tutor.