MA Film

Semester 1

• Professional practice 1: Development and classification of artistic questions
• Methodology 1: Design Thinking, Co-creation
• Project 1: Brainstorming

The program starts with practical seminars in which tools and workflows from the fields of directing, production, camera, image editing and sound design are taught and tested, which are relevant for co-creative filmmaking. Here, the artistic work process is interlocked between the work areas in order to structure and organise the joint artistic responsibility for a project. In class, the students also deal with design thinking and its possible applications for the development of cinematic works. In exchange with the lecturers, they also define socially relevant topics/subjects that can be worked on in the course of the four-semester program. The joint work on a cinematic prototype in the second half of the first semester offers the opportunity to try out the methods taught in the subject and methods seminars and to review the gained insights.

Semester 2

• Professional practice 2: Visualization, cooperation
• Methodology 2: Systemic Thinking, cooperative project development
• Project 2: Previsualisation

The second semester is the beginning of the development of the two final projects, which are to be realised by the end of the degree program. Initially, 3-5 topics are developed and pre-visualised in small teams during the semester. Appropriate advanced pre-visualisation tools are taught in practical seminars, which are then placed in the middle of the semester. The goal is to make complex artistic ideas and designs from the creative areas of filmmaking an experience for everybody that they can work with. The themes developed in the first third of the semester are reflected on and reviewed in practical seminars so that they can be revised in the project phase. The theory of systemic thinking is presented and discussed in preparation for the project development.

Semester 3

• Professional practice 3: Artistic research and analysis
• Methodology 3: Audience Design, social responsibility
• Project 3: Implementation

The students choose two of the already developed and pre-visualised film topics and dedicate themselves to their realisation in the third and fourth semester. The aim here will be to bring together and implement the theoretical and practical knowledge from the first two semesters in the practical cinematic creative process.

Audience design, marketing strategies and market orientation are taught in order to define specific target groups and to develop one’s own creative approaches to target group definition. Market-relevant narrative forms are analysed and introduced into artistic research.

Semester 4

• Master thesis: project finalization, presentation & reflection

In the last semester, the finalisation of the two degree projects takes place in the cooperative process of assembly. A central aspect here is the reflection on one’s own work, taking into account all previously analysed aspects with regard to creation, production and marketing. In addition, the students jointly develop adequate exploitation and marketing strategies for their film projects. The final stage of the program is the project presentation and the Master’s colloquium, in which the students present their work and justify their collective and individual creative decisions. In a final presentation, the new graduates present their projects to the media industry to receive further feedback and to further expand their professional network.

For a more detailed overview of the curriculum see degree structure. (Only available in German language)

This is what the MA Film at ifs offers:

Hands-on experience and taught core competencies, opening up a wide range of career paths

• Development and realisation of a final project as well as a cinematic prototype and pre-visualisations in co-creative processes.
• Expanding of the expertise within and beyond one’s own field by providing comprehensive knowledge from the disciplines of directing, creative producing, camera, picture editing and sound design in relation to co-creative artistic work.
• Exploration and application of co-creative, iterative methods such as Design Thinking and Systemic Thinking.
  
• Teaching advanced previsualisation techniques.
• Deepening knowledge of exploitation methods for audiovisual productions as well as analysing and testing forward-looking trends in these areas (e.g. audience design).

Industry connection, pitches and networking

• Interweaving in subject studies and projects with the other degree programs and further education programs of the ifs/ internal cross-program pitch and project presentation events / peer teaching as appropriate.
• Participation in selected festivals/networking events up to individual »Matchmaking« between filmmakers and potential employers or creative partners.

Artistic research and social responsibility

• Students learn to identify socially, politically and ecologically relevant topics and to reflect on and discuss them within the framework of the project. At the beginning of the program, each group defines a socially relevant topic together with the subject professor, which serves as a guideline and stimulus for the project work throughout the entire degree program.
• Working on a personal artistic question.

Studying in Germany’s Buzzing Media Hub

• Cologne, a city with a 2000 year heritage, is a buzzing media hub. A third of Germany’s TV programs is produced in Cologne. Key TV and radio stations, numerous renowned film and TV production companies, and more than 70 print and digital publishing companies are based in the city, drawing a creative and artistic crowd. In addition, a large and still growing number of exciting international productions are made in Cologne and NRW.
• The ifs is located in the creative and media quarter Schanzenstraße in Cologne-Mülheim – next door to TV production companies, studio facilities, publishing houses, a radio station and the municipal theater.

Focus:
Cooperative, co-creative filmmaking // Socially relevant projects.

Duration:
2 years (4 semestesr)

Degree:
Master of Arts (M.A.), 120 ECTS

Residency:
The first three semesters each consist of a total of six weeks of attendance time and approx. 11-12 weeks of project time (usually self-study).

Target Group:
Directors, producers, DOPs, editors (image & sound) with a strong team spirit, interest in innovative co-creative working methods, artistic research and experimentation and at least one year of relevant professional experience.

Group Size:
max. 12 students

Workload:
The MA Film is a four-semester full-time Master’s program with 120 ECTS. In the first three semesters, students must be present for 6 weeks per semester (with lectures usually taking place five days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 5 p.m.), as well as approx. 11-12 weeks of project time (usually self-study or teamwork plus project counselling). During the attendance time, the students take part in seminars, workshops and individual subject-specific and methodological advice with the supervising professors and external lecturers. Attendance is compulsory for the courses in these phases. The project time/own study time serves to deepen and expand the students’ own subject knowledge and the conception, implementation and reflection of the co-creative approach to the joint project. During these phases, it is up to the students to organise their working and learning processes independently. The students agree on the goals for the project work together with their supervisors. During the fourth semester, which is dedicated to the Master’s project, attendance is compulsory for about 2 weeks, plus oral examinations and a project presentation.

The students are mainly mentored by the newly established professorship for »Filmic Storytelling in a Social Context« (name and info about the person will be published in the next weeks).

The MA FILM was conceived, among others, by the ifs professors Prof. André Bendocchi Alves (Editing Picture & Sound), Prof. Peter Herrmann (Creative Producing) and Prof. Hajo Schomerus ( Director of Photography), who will also teach, mainly in the specialized practical seminars.

In addition to the permanent lecturers, the ifs plans to use renowned lecturers from the national and international media industry as well as from academia and research in the MA FILM, who on the one hand will impart their own experience and expertise, but on the other hand also guarantee the possibility of early individual networking for the students.

Innovation comes through research. Cooperative applied research means an exponential number of possibilities. In our MA Film, we want to discover and promote new ways of filmmaking through these opportunities. In this way, we can enrich the industry and move it forward – through new ways and new perspectives.
Su Nicholls-Gärtner, ifs Head of Studies

The development of innovative materials and narrative forms only becomes possible through bundled creativity; the full, resourceful potential unfolds through co-creative work in the group, which is the focus of this master’s program. Students are given the opportunity to deepen their skills by exploring and shaping the evolution of materials and narrative forms in the co-creative process.
Prof. André Bendocchi-Alves, Editing Picture & Sound

We are in the midst of an epochal change in the film industry. Triggered by the digitalization of distribution channels, accelerated by the corona pandemic, new models of cooperative working in the development and realization of films are coming to the fore. The ifs places these new forms at the centre of the MA Film. In this way, the change in the industry becomes an opportunity, because the aim is to mobilise more creative energies for film.
Prof. Peter Herrmann, Creative Producing

In recent years, the creative processes in film production (both in the fictional forms and in the increasingly diverse hybrid and non-fictional forms) have changed, and with them the way we are involved, for example as cameramen / camerawomen and cinematographers: Digital possibilities, significantly changed technical conditions, different, more complex dramaturgies and the self-evident expectation to work creatively in different group constellations. The stories are not formed in a linear process, the cinematographer is challenged in the development of the material, in the production thinking, in the post-production – just like the other participants. Comprehensive previsualizations that are comprehensible to all are expected.
These changes have long since arrived in the industry, but they are often met with trial and error in the ongoing production process. The Master’s program FILM at the ifs will provide a structured and well-founded framework for making relevant films in the future. Our society, all of us, need careful and reflected meaningful narration more than ever.
Prof. Hajo Schomerus, fictional and non-fictional camera

Academic Requirements
A Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) of at least 180 ECTS credits or a higher degree (e.g. a German Magister or Diplom degree) from a recognised higher education institution is required for admission to a Master’s program.
In justified exceptional cases, applicants with exceptional artistic talent who lack one or more of these formal requirements may apply to participate in this program as participants in continuing education.

Work Experience
Applicants must have gained relevant practical experience in the field of film and media for at least one year.

Language Skills
Very good knowledge of German and good knowledge of English required: For applicants who did not obtain their university entrance qualification at a German-speaking institution, proof of very good German language skills at the level of the “Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang” (level: DSH-2) is required; the DSH-2 exam can alternatively be replaced by equivalent certificates or proof.

Tuition Fees

EU Citizens:
Tuition Fees per Semester: 2,500 euros (including the Student Education Funds)
Optional semester Fee TH Köln: approx. 280 euros (including VRS semester ticket)
One-time registration fee: 400 euros

Non-EU Citizens:
Tuition Fees per Semester: 3,500 euros (including the Student Education Funds)
Semester Fee TH Köln: approx. 280 euros (including VRS semester ticket)
One-time registration fee: 400 euros

Student Loans

For financial support to cover tuition fees and/or living expenses, students can apply for an interest-free loan from the Friends of the ifs Society from the first semester onwards. The approval of the interest-free loan depends on the financial situation of the applicant and the amount of funds available. Repayment of the loan begins six months after completion of the studies.

Students are generally entitled to BAföG if they are studying for the first time. The responsible Federal Office for Education and Training Support decides on applications for a state student loan or scholarship. A prerequisite for submitting an application is enrolment at the TH Köln, the ifs’ cooperation partner (tuition fees for the winter semester 2020/2021: 280.50 euros). This scholarship includes all services provided by the TH Köln and the semester fee. Both German and foreign students are eligible to apply. International students can find out about the BAföG regulations relevant to them here.

Another way of financing your studies is to apply for a repayable loan. The following collection of links makes no claim to completeness and is only alphabetically ordered.

Education and Student Loans:

• Bildungsfonds
• Bildungskreditprogramm der Bundesregierung
• Career Concept AG
• CHE – Centrum für Hochschulentwicklung
• DAKA – Darlehenskasse der Studentenwerke im Land NRW
• Deutsche Bildung
• Deutsche Kreditbank
• Erasmus+ Master degree loans
• KfW Bank

Scholarships

The Friends of the ifs Society awards scholarships to Master’s students with outstanding academic achievements. Beginning in the summer semester of 2022, for the MA Film one tuition fee scholarship may be awarded for a period of three semesters.

In addition to the ifs, numerous German and international study foundations offer scholarships to support tuition fees and living costs during the course of studies.

An overview of the scholarship programs of external foundations can be found at: Fees & Financing

In order to make sure that degree certificates obtained abroad meet the admission requirements of the ifs (university entrance qualification), applicants can consult the following database: http://anabin.kmk.org
If your degree does not meet the ifs admission requirements, applicants with particular artistic talent may be invited to take part in a separate admission procedure and complete the program as a continuing education participant.

In order to obtain a residence permit, international students must prove that they have sufficient means of subsistence. The required amount corresponds to the BaföG maximum of 861 € per month.

Citizens of member states of the European Union, the European Economic Area (EEA) – that is Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein – as well as Switzerland have the same access to the labor market as German students and are allowed to work in Germany without prior approval from the German authorities. Students are advised, however, not to work more than 20 hours per week, otherwise social security contributions may have to be paid and, in addition, examination credits relevant to their studies may suffer.

International students from countries which are NOT member states of the EU, the EEA or Switzerland are normally permitted to work 120 full or 240 half days per year if they are in possession of a valid residence permit for Germany. The immigration office will record these provisions in your residence permit. Should you wish to work more days per year, you will need to obtain approval from your immigration office and the German Federal Employment Agency.

What is the regular tuition fee per semester?

EU Citizens:
Tuition Fees per Semester: 2,500 euros (including the Student Education Funds)
Optional semester Fee TH Köln: approx. 280 euros (including VRS semester ticket)
One-time registration fee: 400 euros

Non-EU Citizens:
Tuition Fees per Semester: 3,500 euros (including the Student Education Funds)
Semester Fee TH Köln: approx. 280 euros (including VRS semester ticket)
One-time registration fee: 400 euros

Are there any funding opportunities for the program?
To finance tuition fees and to support living expenses, students may apply to the »Friends of the ifs Society« for interest-free loans and scholarships. Application for student loans is possible after acceptance to the program. The granting of loans is dependent on the economic situation of the applicant and the resources available. Repayment of the loans begins six months after graduation.
In addition, MA students may apply for scholarships honoring outstanding academic achievement. The regulations for these scholarships are currently being updated. You will find more information here soon.

Do I need to take an English proficiency test (TOEFL, IELTS etc.)?
no.

Do I need to speak German?
For applicants who did not obtain their university entrance qualification at a German-speaking institution, proof of very good German language skills at the level of the “Deutsche Sprachprüfung für den Hochschulzugang” (level: DSH-2) is required; the DSH-2 exam can alternatively be replaced by equivalent certificates or proof.

Can I submit the application documents in my native language?
The application documents must be submitted in German language.

Can non-EU students apply?
Yes. Non-EU students are welcome to apply for the MA Film.

Can I submit further documents (e.g. completed scripts or films) in addition to the required application documents?
Yes, additional material can also be submitted (no download-links). However, depending on the volume of material received, we cannot guarantee that the jurors will be able to read the additional material comprehensively.

Can I apply if I hold a German »Magister« degree?
Yes, you can apply with an undergraduate degree equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree with 180 ECTS, which includes the Magister.

Is it possible to apply without a bachelor’s degree?
To earn the Master’s degree, you are required to hold a bachelor’s or equivalent degree. Applicants with outstanding artistic qualification may be allowed to enroll in this program without previous academic experience as participants in continuing education. In this case, no Master’s title is awarded on completion of the program.

Do I have to come to Cologne for the entrance examination? When do the entrance exams take place?
After the pre-selection, candidates who make it to the second round will be invited to an entrance exam, which is expected to take place on-site at ifs at the end of May/beginning of June (in case of pandemic travel and contact restrictions it will take place online). This part of the exam consists of a course-related interview with the admissions committee. In addition, candidates may be sent an assignment to work on with the invitation to the entrance examination, which will also be the subject of the interview.

Do I have to have my BA certificates certified? Do I have to submit a translation of my BA certificates?
Yes, you must submit a certified copy of your undergraduate degree certificates. If your certificates were issued in a language other than German or English, they must be translated into German or English, and the translation must also be certified.

How can I have my diplomas certified?
You can find information on certification on the page of our cooperation partner TH Köln:
https://www.th-koeln.de/mam/downloads/englisch/studies/info_beglaubigung_en.pdf

How much theoretical and practical film experience do I need?
Knowledge of basic dramaturgical models, dramatic storytelling and cinematic forms as well as experience of practical work in a responsible position, on various film projects (these can also be student short film projects) are mandatory for this degree. This will be assessed during the selection process.

Do I need to have work experience?
Yes. Applicants must have gained relevant practical experience in the field of media for at least one year. If you do not have a full year of practical professional experience yet, but expect to have completed a year of experience by September 2021 (i.e. before the beginning of the study program), please indicate this in your application. If you are unsure whether or not the type of experience you have might be deemed relevant, please check with the MA Film dept. (j.jansen(at)filmschule.de).

Will I be able to work during my studies?
This decision is up to you, but please be aware of the fact that the MA Film is a full-time 120 credits Master’s program.
During the first three semesters, attendance of approximately 6 weeks per semester is required (with lectures usually taking place five days per week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 5 p.m.), as well as approx. 11-12 weeks of project time (usually self-study or teamwork plus project consulting). During the attendance period, students participate in seminars, workshops, and individual professional and methodological consultation with the supervising professors and external lecturers. Attendance is compulsory for the courses in these phases. The project time/own study time serves to deepen and expand the students’ own professional knowledge and to design, implement and reflect on the co-creative approach to the joint project. During these phases, it is up to the students to organize their work and learning processes independently. However, advising sessions and/or team meetings may take place. During the fourth semester, which is dedicated to the Master’s project, there is a compulsory attendance of about 2 weeks, plus oral exams and a project presentation.

How do I find accommodation in Cologne?
Students who are accepted to the program will be provided with a list of useful links.

What’s the cost of living in Cologne?
For an estimation of the average costs of living in Cologne please see here.

If you have any questions about the MA Film, please contact us:

Sunedria Nicholls-Gärtner
Head of Studies
T +49 (0)221.920188-220
s.nicholls-gaertner(at)filmschule.de

Janina Jansen
Coordination MA Film / Office of Student Affairs
T +49 (0)221.920188-226
j.jansen(at)filmschule.de

Viola Wittmann
Assistance Head of Studies / MA Film
T +49 (0)221.920188-222
v.wittmann(at)filmschule.de