Diploma in Creative Media, Production & Technology (UAL Level 2)

Department: Art, Design, Media and Music

Faculty: Creative and Leisure Industries

The course has been designed for those with an interest in media and who wish to explore this interest via a full-time and immersive learning experience.

Ideally, you would have already identified a specific career in the creative industries that you wish to progress to (e.g. games designer, app designer, broadcast technician, camera person, director, etc.) and will use this qualification as a starting point.

This course will provide you with the skills, knowledge, and understanding necessary to progress to further study and training in a range of media-related subjects, including games design, website design, film, TV, radio and sound engineering.

The course incorporates a strong element of vocational learning in order to provide you with the understanding, knowledge and skills identified as necessary for future progression and employment. Further, you will practice and demonstrate a broad range of transferable skills: adaptability, self-reliance, collaboration, dependability, resilience, imagination and creativity.

This course is broadly equivalent to four GCSE grades A* - C and by resitting English and Maths it could give you six GCSEs.

What subjects/units/modules* will I study?

The course covers a wide variety of areas to give you the building blocks from which to develop, and will include a range of audio, visual and interactive digital technologies and traditional skills to work in areas such as animation, moving image, photography, graphic design. The year will culminate in an independent personal creative project in Media.

The qualification is delivered in two parts:

1. The Award: delivered through the first two units.

• Introduction to creative media methods and skills.

• Introduction to production techniques in creative media.

2. The Diploma: delivered through a further six units, provide further opportunity to build skills and confidence.

• Understanding an audience in creative media production.

• Contextual research for creative media production.

• Solve Exploring audio production and technology.

• Exploring visual production and technology.

• Exploring interactive media production and Technology.

• Personal project and presentation in creative media Level 2.

All units relate to the creative media sector and all are delivered through vocational learning and focus on the skills, knowledge and understanding that support all creative media, production and technology activity.

Will I need a DBS check for this course?

No

How can I find out more about the course?

If you apply for this course, you will be invited to an Information Sharing Appointment (ISA) when you will be given more detailed information about the course and when you’ll be able to ask any questions you may have.

Will I need any specialist uniform and/or kit?

Starter pack information

It is important that you have the basic media equipment and materials at the beginning of your course to make an immediate start to your work. Suggestion is to clearly mark/label your own equipment with sharpies or nail polish so you don’t lose your kit.

Listed below are the essential requirements for the course in Media. All the items are available in a variety of shops in Douglas or you can buy them on-line.

Suggested local stores are:

WH Smiths (Strand Street), Creative Shop (Strand Street), The Artist (Nelson Street),

Dealz (Strand Street), Bridge Bookshop (Ramsey and Port Erin), Joan’s Wool & Crafts (Onchan), The Stationery Shop (Ramsey).

Online suppliers: www.seawhites.co.ukwww.specialistscrafts.co.ukwww.artistsuppliesdirect.co.ukand www.atlantisart.co.uk

The specialist photography equipment supplier we suggest is ‘Morrison Photos’ located in 3 Tynwald Street, Douglas.

Electronic supplies: Isle of Gadgets (Douglas), Gadget Man (Douglas), PC World.

Basic Media equipment

Essential Equipment

1 Pritt Stick

1 Pencil sharpener

1 Rubber

1 Set of pencils HB-6B

2 Black fineliner pens

2 permanent black markers (Sharpie)

1 A4 logbook /sketchbook (available from College reception)

4 Ilford HP5 135-24 Film

1 Ilford 5” x 7” Multigrade Pearl or Glossy Photographic Paper -100 sheets-DO NOT OPEN IN DAYLIGHT!

1 External Drive of at least 1 TB

4 GB SD digital memory card – for use with College Digital DSLR cameras

1 quality USB card reader (Sandisk imagemate all-in-one is very good)

1 USB pen drive (min 8GB)

Desirable:

Own laptop

Access to adobe creative cloud (student access is fine)

You will also need to bring with you a small box to store your equipment in – preferably with a lock. Lockers are available in College. A small digital camera or camera phone is also very useful for recording.

Wear casual clothes, an old shirt or overalls for messy activities.

When will I get a timetable?

Please see below an example of a previous years’ timetable. All students will be given their timetable on the first day of the new academic year.

Useful links

A quick guide to course fees

Student Awards (Grants)

Free School Meals

Buses

International Applications

Student Emergency Fund

What happens once I have applied?

We will send you an email to let you know we have received your application. If you are new to the course area you have applied for, you will be invited to an Information Sharing Appointment (ISA) along with all other applicants to the course.

Please note: applicants are invited to ISAs depending on the date the application was received (there is limited capacity for each ISA so you may not be invited to the same one as other applicants who have applied for the same course). You will receive your invitation via email, to the email address you used when setting up your UCM Learner Portal.

Popular Courses

Sometimes we get a high volume of applications for particular courses. If your first choice course is popular, we’ll let you know and ask if you would like us to process your second choice course as well. This doesn’t mean you won’t be considered for your first choice it just provides you with a back-up plan.

International/UK Applicants

If you are an international/UK applicant someone from UCM will contact you remotely. It is essential that you have uploaded copies of your results/ certificates and relevant translations of grades/ certificates. Please note, if you are an international applicant and your application is received later than the end of May (i.e. three months before the start of the academic year) we will not be able to process it as the immigration processes would exceed the timescale required to start in September.

What do I need to know about Information Sharing Appointments (ISAs)?

Do I have to attend an ISA?

If you are invited to an ISA, you must attend!

What happens if I can’t attend the ISA I’m invited to?

Please let us know and we will make sure you are invited to an ISA on a different date.

What happens if I don’t attend an ISA?

If you fail to attend two ISAs without letting us know why, we will assume you don’t want us to continue with your application.

How long will the ISA take?

The ISA will start at 4:30 p.m.

(If parents/carers bring you to the ISA, they can wait in the College’s refectory; there are vending machines available.)

What can I expect at the ISA?

You will be invited in from 4.30pm till approximately 7pm along with 4 other applicants for your course.

The course tutor will speak to you first and tell you more about the course.

There will be opportunity for a one to one discussion in which we will review your portfolio of work. Please bring in your design technology, textiles, graphic communication or art and design work. In addition we would love to see any of your own personal creative work. The work you bring in could be in the form of 2D physical work, photographs of work you are not able to bring in, digital work downloaded.

We will also be asking you to complete some creative tasks so we can gage your interest, knowledge and skills.

You will have lots of opportunity to ask us questions about the course and your suitability for it.

What should I wear?

Casual Clothing

What will I need to bring?

Prior to your ISA (Information Sharing Appointment) please upload to the learner portal 6 images of completed work (drawing, painting, 3D, textiles, fashion, design or photography) and 6 images from your preparatory work (sketchbooks pages or worksheets). If you have digital work please attach a link to where we can view and ensure you change the settings to public. Please note each upload must be under 10MB in size or they will not upload. In addition to this please bring your portfolio and any sketchbooks to your appointment

Who do I contact if I have mobility or additional educational needs that I would like to discuss before the ISA?

Please email applications@ucm.ac.im

What happens once I’ve attended an ISA?

We will contact you within 5 working days of the ISA to either:

• make you an unconditional offer (i.e. a definite place on the course);

• make you a conditional offer (i.e. a place on the course IF you get the results required in the summer exams);

• suggest you apply for another course because the one you have applied for is not suitable for you (if this is the case it is likely we will have discussed this with you during the ISA).

What happens if I get an unconditional offer?

You will be invited in to enrol, which is when you are given your student card. This may happen in the summer, if not you will be enrolled at the start of your course.

What happens if I get a conditional offer?

If you have applied for an FE course, you will need to upload your results to your UCM Learner Portal, once you get them (e.g. GCSE, BTEC). We will then check to see you have got what is needed for the course and, if you have, we will convert your offer to unconditional, which means you definitely have a place on the course. You will be enrolled at the start of your course (that’s when you get your student card).

If you are unlucky and don’t get what you need for the course you applied for, you will be invited in to find out what else is available to you at UCM.