Course units
Year 1
Unit 1 - Introduction to creative technical theatre
This unit is an introduction to your course, the college and the university and will set out industry basics within the field of creative technical theatre.
Unit 2 - Designing and doing: Part 1
This unit will introduce you to:
- Current working processes and models existing in the entertainment industry
- The vocabulary used to describe industry standard methods and processes
- Creating a blog to a professional standard
- Technical skills used within creative technical theatre practice
You will experience this through:
- Seminars, lectures, talks and tutorials
- Teamwork
- Technical workshops
- Developing a personal reflective journal
- Using your reflective journal to create an online blog
Unit 3 - Designing and doing part 2
This unit will allow you to consider and put into practice the fundamental aspects of transforming space through technical means.
You will further your technical and digital skills to build your competency in using technical equipment. You will encounter how you begin to read, plan and engineer, creative technical systems.
- You will undertake set project work e.g. transforming a space
- Begin to develop ongoing digital capabilities in taught sessions
- Reflect upon and record your experiences in your online blog
- Record newly learnt techniques, notes and skills in your reflective journal
Unit 4 - Exploring ideas
The emphasis in this unit will be to connect the idea of the scenographic process and creative technical practices. Alongside this you will consider creative research techniques and modes of enquiry. You will look at the history and development of scenography and technical design. This will help you to situate the process of creative technical theatre in a current context.
You will also undertake practical tasks in sound, lighting, video projection and other media-based practices like Volumetric video, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR).
- You will experience the whole design and making process involved in practicing technical theatre
- Expand on your technical skills and experiences of relevant equipment
- Undertake given practical tasks in a variety of formats
- Research and analyse contemporary and historical viewpoints, relevant to creative technical theatre practice
- Record your ongoing learning experiences in your reflective journal and update your online blog
Unit 5 - Who are you? Establishing practice
In this unit you will design a creative technical system in an area of interest previously encountered such as sound, lighting, video, media or VR.
You will recap your encounters with the professional means and standards of producing creative technical theatre. These will include key aspects of production management and essential technical capabilities of practice.
The unit will encourage you:
- To creatively research and explore a project in your current area of interest
- To produce a competent outcome that demonstrates your learning and understanding of creative technical theatre to-date
- To refine your experiences in your online blog
Year 2
Unit 6 - Practice as laboratory
This unit will develop your creative technical skills and techniques further by undertaking a ‘scratch’ project which will be drafted and designed to completion. You will demonstrate your current understanding of technical practice and visual communication and work supportively with your peers to develop your project.
You will also undertake trips to major producing houses to expand your knowledge of the current industry and undertake:
- Projects that covers planning research, technical and computer aided drawing to implement a technical project
- To continue to use your reflective journal and online blog
Unit 7 - Collaborative and collective practices
This unit aims to introduce you to different ways in which collaborative working can focus and enhance your own creative strengths. This unit has 3 core purposes:
- To engage with fellow students with different practices and interests in a collaborative project
- To engage with external audiences, participants or institutions to consider new contexts for your work
- To develop your creative attributes to enable you to take on future challenges in a variety of contexts
Unit 8 - Where in the world? Part 1
This unit will ask you to review your experience of collaborating creatively in the previous unit. You will then produce a more complex project that extends your experience.
Developing a technical area of creative practice, you will explore your technical competencies in video mapping, programming, coding or AR experiences.
You will also undertake creative technical research to challenge current conventions of practice and understanding to develop your visual and communication skills.
During the unit you will:
- Reflect on the previous experiences of collaborative working and design a complex, creative technical system
- Develop ongoing technical practice
- Engage with and respond to broader concepts and themes encountered during the unit
- Have lectures and seminars that introduce you to contemporary thought
- Write a 2,500 word essay responding to a concept or theme in the unit
- Apply or undertake work placements or industry-based research project
- Work on your CV and professional portfolio
Unit 9 - Where in the world? Part 2
In this unit will allow you to develop and complete a self-directed project in a particular area of interest in the field. You will:
- Set up, prepare and critique a complex creative technical theatre system that reflects an in-depth understanding of choices made to realise its visual components
- During this unit you can undertake a work placement
- Continue to use your reflective journal
- Edit your online blog to a professional level
- Undertake work placements or industry-based research project
Year 3
Unit 10 - Finding your voice: portfolio design, crafting, research skills, career planning
The work generated for your final year project will be self-directed and involve extended pieces of work. The unit has 3 elements that are a:
- Research portfolio - a visual and reflective project that demonstrates your research voice within your practical work
- Creative Research Project (also known as a dissertation) - which can be written, filmed or presented
- Personal profile - development of a personal profile for potential employment
Unit 11 - Show your work: Independent practice
This final unit enables you bring together all the ideas and learning from the course. You will undertake a major self-determined, independent, complex project to evidence practice and interests in specialist area of graduate for employability.
You may engage with a wide field of practice within the entertainment industry. This could relate to film, live production, event creation, museum exhibition, digital gaming, VR or other environment creation for screen or live performance. You will:
- Continue a self-directed programme of practice and related research
- Experience seminars and talks on working in creative technical theatre
- To plan or mount work, of an exhibition standard, to a professional level, demonstrating professional standards
Optional Diploma between Years 2 and 3
Between Years 2 and 3 of the course, you’ll also have the opportunity to undertake one of the following additional UAL qualifications:
Diploma in Professional Studies (DPS)
This optional diploma can be taken between years 2 and 3. With support from your tutors, you’ll undertake an industry placement for a minimum of 100 days/20 weeks. As well as developing industry skills, you’ll gain an additional qualification upon successful completion.
Diploma in Creative Computing
Between years 2 and 3, you can undertake the year-long Diploma in Creative Computing. This will develop your skills in creative computing alongside your degree. After successfully completing the diploma and your undergraduate course, you’ll graduate with an enhanced degree: BA (Hons) Acting and Performance (with Creative Computing).