Television
Develop your interest in Television
The University of Bedfordshire has one of the most established Television Production undergraduate degree programmes in the UK. Students who have graduated from our television courses have gone on to work on programmes such as The X Factor, Gogglebox, The Apprentice, Dr Who, The Graham Norton Show and many more top TV shows in the UK and the US.
As a student, you will work in our multi-camera TV studios and on location to create entertainment, drama and documentary productions. You will have the opportunity to work for our in-house station, BedsTV and Radio LaB and will benefit from a range of networking events and studio visits during your studies.
The courses have a special focus on employability; we have a strong track record of helping students find paid work and work placements during their studies and we will guide you through the industry application process to help you secure work after your studies.
Courses
- Television Production BA Hons
- Broadcast TV and Radio BA Hons
Television Staff
Without the University of Bedfordshire, I wouldn't be where I am now. They organised my first job after graduation as a runner on a BBC documentary and I’ve gone from job to job ever since. The UoB television production course helped me explore the many different roles that exist in the television industry and discover which ones I was most interested in.
Dan Twine - Freelance Camera Operator
The Television production course really prepared me to step out into the industry. The skills I learned on the course were really valuable and taught me what to expect in a professional TV production environment. The course covered all aspects of TV from Directing to set design. It helped me figure out what I wanted to pursue once leaving university. As soon as I graduated I was offered a full-time job in the industry. Joining the university on the TV production course was where it all began for me.
Jodie Lockwood - Production Manager, ‘Made in Chelsea’
The television production course at UOB was second to none. It taught me so much about the industry and different career paths! I was even lucky enough to be recommended by my lecturers to a production company which landed me my first job as a runner. This then leads me to become a runner at my current company, where I’ve worked my way to being a Nuke Artist. I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for UOB!
Amy Smith – Nuke Artist, Envy Post-Production
Brief description of my job: This role supports the operational and logistical requirements of the Women’s Tennis Association team within BT Sport. As an integral part of the WTA Production Team, the Production Coordinator will assist the Production Manager in ensuring the smooth running of this busy department, including working on gallery only out-put, studio shows and on-site OBs from pre-production through to completion. The role also supports the PM on the documentary arm of BT Sport - BT Sport Films.
The Television Production course helped me a lot because I was able to learn about all different aspects of the TV world from, pre-production right through to production. The course itself gave me confidence and the determination to succeed in such a tough industry. Attending the networking events that were held for us in London gave me the opportunity to speak to people in the industry, hearing their stories really inspired me to never give up! If I can give one person advice it will be to work hard, show your passion/skills and keep on going… even through the setbacks, carry on! You will get there in the end.
Kimberley Blackman – Production Coordinator, BT Sport
You will be working with high-end production hardware and software during your time on the course. Our state-of-the-art HD TV studio has all the features you would expect to find in a modern TV studio and has been used by the likes of the BBC to transmit live broadcasts to BBC 1 while our Media Stores kit-hire facility is equipped with industry standard camera, lighting and sound equipment from the likes of Canon, Blackmagic, Lumix, Rode, Sennhesier, Zoom and many more. We work with Adobe CC in our edit suites and even have an OB (outside broadcast) kit available for students who wish to broadcast live from outside of the University. In total, there is hundreds-of-thousands of pounds worth of kit and facilities at your disposal and we actively encourage students to take full advantage of these resources to practise and develop their production skills.
Outside of your studies, we arrange lots of television and film-related activities and encourage all students to get involved. Recent students on our course have had the chance to…
- Work as programme-makers and station managers for our online station BedsTV
- Visit TV studios such as BBC Broadcasting House and BT Sport
- Attend Royal Television Society careers and masterclass events in London
- Network with TV professionals at our regular on-campus Media Junction events
- Participate in University organised networking events in Soho and at BAFTA
- Visit film festivals such as the IDFA in Amsterdam and British Shorts in Berlin
- Gain work experience: we have found placements and paid work for students on programmes such as EastEnders, The Jonathan Ross Show and X-Factor
While studying television at the School of Culture and Communications you will have lots of opportunities to produce and perform your work, building your confidence and your portfolio.
Our student work is award-winning and has been shown at TV and film festivals across Europe. Here are a few examples:
INTERVIEW WITH KISS FM’S SAM DARLESTON
You can see more of our students’ work at https://www.youtube.com/user/TheTVLaB
You will benefit from regular masterclasses and workshops led by practising professionals giving you a clearer understanding of how the television works, whilst helping you to build connections with people in the industry.
Recent Television masterclasses have included directors, TV sound and technical directors from the BBC, QVC, Eastenders and Emmerdale.
- Stuart Pinfold: BBC, TV sound (University of Bedfordshire graduate)
- Del Brown: QVC, vision mixing, live directing
- Tony Campbell: BBC, technical director
- Ian Hamilton: ITV director, light entertainment
- Cristian Mantio: BBC, studio camera operation
- Rick Platt: BBC Drama director EastEnders
- Terry Iland: BBC Drama director Casualty
- Jeff Naylor: ITV Drama director Emmerdale
BedsTV is the University’s student-run TV station which is officially affiliated with NASTA (National Student Television Association).
Example of BedsTV’s programming includes:
- Inside Beds - a magazine show about news and events on campus
- Chatterbox - a film and TV review show
- Archive - a showcase for student films and documentaries.
- Bulls TV – Sports programming reporting on the University’s Bedfordshire Bulls teams
BedsTV has also worked on a variety of projects with internal and external clients such as the University’s Sustainability Forum, the NHS and The Culture Trust in Luton.