Content and structure

Course content.

This course will hone your basic skills in dramaturgy and filmmaking and enable you to develop a wide range of different visual concepts for films and bring them to life. You will be taught how to develop your own sense of style, improve your understanding of a director's ideas, formulate your own visual concepts, and carry out technical and production processes involved in filmmaking as part of a team. You will address trends within the areas of film aesthetics and society and learn about virtual and digital filmmaking methods.

Course structure.

Academic year 1: Acquiring skills in the areas of staged and documentary filmmaking

You will attend classes and lectures on research, material development, design, and techniques and planning, after which you will shoot a documentary and a fictional project. You will work together with students in the other Major programmes (Directing Fiction, Screenwriting, Documentary Film, Film Editing and Creative Producing) and will receive individual support from mentors and lecturers in our department of Cinematography.

Academic year 2: Building on your knowledge of the theoretical and practical aspects of filmmaking by working on individual film projects.

You will attend seminars on the methodological, technical, and creative aspects of filmmaking and will learn about film studies at the University of Zurich. You will begin working on your master's thesis in the third semester and mentors will support you throughout the concept development, planning, shooting, and post-production stages. 

The Master’s in Film degree programme comprises a total of 120 ECTS credits. You will earn 90 credits from your Major and 30 credits from your Minor, which can be a specialization of your Major or a subject that expands on or supplements your main programme of study. You can find more information about the major-minor study model here. 

As a general rule, the course extends over four semesters (full-time study).
Provided the head of the programme agrees, it is possible to combine the course with work outside of your programme of study. Only the first semester must be completed on a full-time basis. All compulsory session dates are communicated well in advance.

Skills acquired in the course.

Practical work:

Within set production frameworks, responsibility for various artistic elements lies with the D.o.P, whose work primarily involves collaborating with the director and developing a film or project’s visual style. For your artistic master's thesis, you must present two pieces of cinematic work and provide a written reflection on your artistic contribution to these pieces.

Craft: Methods of film-making and film technology
You will receive individual support to help you develop your methodological, technical, and practical filmmaking skills to a professional standard. Support from professors, lecturers and specialists from the film industry will enable you to acquire the skills needed to incorporate dramaturgical, performative, and visual and musical elements into a complete piece of cinematic art. You will put your knowledge and craftsmanship to the test by completing practice-oriented exercises and various projects. 

Theory: 

You will learn how to approach research issues of film studies at the University of Zurich’s Institute of Film Studies, after which you will complete your master's thesis. We focus on “practice-oriented theory”. This means that you will systematically cover conceptual aspects of filmmaking during lectures and while working on your fictional short project and your master's thesis, with the aim of acquiring analytical understanding of your work while using cinematic techniques to achieve intended effects.

Admissions requirements.

You have initial experience working on small projects in the role of D.o.P. and have on-set experience in the film industry. You have worked with film lighting and professional camera systems and have explored your own sense of aesthetics. Additionally, you have:

  • creativity and passion for filmmaking
  • enthusiasm for subtle imagery, dramatic camera movements and arresting lighting
  • a desire to tell stories in a range of different forms and genres and to find out which tones and styles work best for you
  • a pressing need to create images that touch, entertain, and or provoke an audience
  • a knack for dealing with opinions, team intelligence, and criticism in a constructive way

Benefits of studying at ZHdK.

  • Our professors and lecturers play an active role in the film industry and experts from the international film industry are frequently invited as guest lecturers. This means that you benefit from a curriculum that is guided by experience and real-life practice, whilst having the opportunity to build an extensive, professional and international network within the film industry. 
  • The Film subject area is always providing fresh inspiration for artistic research. For in-stance, the Immersive Arts Space, where research into future technologies of the audiovisual industry is conducted, was built next door to our film studio. Findings from this research are also directly incorporated into teaching. New forms of audiovisual storytelling such as motion tracking, pre-visualization techniques and virtual production are developed, tested, and practiced.
  • Numerous festival entries and multiple wins at the prestigious student Oscars are testament to the impressive level of international success achieved by ZHdK students.
  • The shared campus allows all the ZHdK disciplines to be in close proximity with one another and offers a diverse infrastructure of the highest calibre. Students have access to superbly equipped workshops, a museum, concert halls, sound and film studios, rehearsal stages, studios, a library, and exhibition spaces. A rooftop garden, cinema, music club, cafés and a canteen also enable students to meet for recreational purposes.
  • Master’s students benefit from a Major-Minor study model, which is a first in Europe and prepares individuals for a networked, digital and agile world of work.