- This module allows you to develop your practical and production skills in the processes involved in creating a drama for the small screen.
- You will develop the techniques and crafts required to successfully produce a professional fiction piece for a target audience, and you will consider different drama production practices and start to apply these principles to your work.
- In a production team you will carry out preliminary research and then review what you will need to do to develop it to a professional standard. You will examine how types of drama are created, both in studio and on location and how structure and narrative are developed on screen.
- You will consider how scenes are created and how your story content can be enhanced through the choice and construction of shots and the development of the mise-en-scene.
- The module also considers how drama genres on the small screen are constantly evolving, developing, emerging and overlapping. Different case studies will be analysed to consider form, narrative, characterisation, representation, style, performance, and audience reception across genres such as police/crime, soaps, children’s and historical/costume.
- You will also undertake research into the technical and directing skills needed, how to target style and content to an identified audience, scouting locations, and actor contributors.

Assessment 1: Drama Production Project
You will work as part of a production team to plan, produce, and present a short drama for the small screen aimed at a defined target audience. The project will demonstrate your understanding of drama storytelling, genre, narrative structure, and screen performance, alongside effective use of camera, sound, lighting, directing, and mise-en-scène. Your contribution should evidence professional production practices, collaboration, research, and problem-solving across studio and/or location-based production.

Assessment 2: Reflection
You will submit a reflection evaluating your creative, technical, and collaborative development throughout the drama production process. The reflection should consider your role within the production team, research and planning, creative and technical decision-making, audience targeting, and genre considerations. You will identify strengths, challenges, and learning outcomes, and reflect on how the skills developed support future professional practice in screen drama production. A choice of submission is:

Option 1: an 1,800-word written report or
Option 2: 6-8 mins verbal presentation

Formative Assessment:

Midway formative feedback will be embedded within practical sessions, providing structured opportunities for feedback on work-in-progress to support student development and progression.

Mixed mode delivery is promoted across the module to offer an interactive approach bringing ideas around the practical and theoretical areas of producing small screen drama. Workshops will be based around different case studies to discuss the characteristics of a range of drama productions. Technical instruction sessions and creative production crafting will also form the basis for the practical work. Guided independent study around on-going research, teamwork, group meetings, personal development planning, skills development, preparation activities and wider reading will support the workshop sessions.

1. Produce an extended practical project that demonstrates growing independence and professional awareness.

Knowledge & Understanding

2. Apply critical reasoning to address a complex challenge by demonstrating how you have used academic, technical, or professional feedback to enhance your project creative media drama production.

Critical Reasoning & Collaboration

3. Communicate project intentions, process, and outputs using appropriate disciplinary formats.

Communication

4. Reflect on your professional identity and aspirations within creative industries and identify lifelong learning opportunities to support your development within creative media.

Personal Development & Entrepreneurship

- Specialist production spaces
- Media Centre production equipment
- Library facilities
- Blackboard virtual learning environment

Chapman, J. (2020) Contemporary British television drama. London: Bloomsbury.

Dunleavy, T. and Weissmann, E. (eds.) (2024) TV drama in the multiplatform era. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.

Hogg, C. (2021) Adapting television drama. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.

McElroy, R. and Noonan, C. (2019) Producing British television drama. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.

Rooney, B. and Belli, M. (2025) Directors tell the story. London: Routledge.

Where older texts are included, they are retained as foundational texts within the discipline, remaining relevant where no more recent equivalent texts are available.

Do you like drama for the small screen? Media Production: Drama puts you in the director’s chair. You’ll learn how these dramas are made, from the first ideas to the final edit. Get hands-on with cameras, sound, and editing, and work as part of a professional creative team working to bring ideas to the screen. You will explore exciting drama genres including crime and police drama, soaps, children’s TV, and historical drama to inspire your creative work. Build your essential employability skills, boost your confidence, and produce drama that looks and feels professional and ready to have an impact.