Documentary stories are being told in cinemas, on TV, in galleries, on tablets and on mobile phones. Whether you want to make a non-fiction feature film, podcast, or 360° project, there are boundless ways to bring your documentary idea to life. Creative technologies are constantly evolving, exposing new content to fresh audiences. At Royal Holloway we nurture a talented new generation of creative and innovative non-fiction directors, producers, cinematographers, editors and commissioners.

Whether your aim is to make a high-end feature documentary or a no budget short, this is your opportunity to receive expert advice from industry leaders who will help you shape your story and find your audience and platform. Key Skills you will learn:

• How to develop documentary stories which are truly multi genre and multi platform.
• How to innovate and experiment
• Edit technique and shaping your story
• Strategies for finding your vision and audience
• Advanced technical skills in camera and editing for film and 360
• Sound recording for podcasts
• An introduction to VR
• New contacts and ideas for raising finance
• Pitching your idea to commissioning editors
• Different funding routes, from traditional broadcast to DIY options
• Advice on distribution, marketing and networking
• Knowledge and understanding of a new world of exciting non-fiction content.

This programme is primarily run from our newly refurbished central London campus in the heart of Bloomsbury. 

The MA programme is taught by:

• Professor Victoria Mapplebeck  , BAFTA award winning writer, artist and director. Victoria has been experimenting with the frontiers of documentary and creative technology for the last two decades. Her smartphone short  Missed Call was the first commissioned film to be shot on the iPhone X and has won numerous awards including a BAFTA. Her latest VR piece The Waiting Room won The IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling and was selected for Forbe's Top 50 XR experiences of 2019
• Marc Isaacs, who has been making shorts and feature docs since 2001. Marc has won RTS and BAFTA awards for his work and recently a collection of his films has been released by Second Run and featured in Sight and Sound.
• Helen Littleboy, a Grierson and BAFTA nominated director and executive producer whose recent work includes the acclaimed and impactful BBC documentary Hospital which in 2018 won the Royal Television Society award for Best Documentary Series.