Crossmedia
Crossmedia combines the areas of media production, storytelling and marketing, offering both theoretical groundworks and exciting practical assignments. Studying crossmedia means learning how to tell a story that unfolds in many directions. For example, a story is introduced as a web series, then expanded on social media, and then further explored as a live performance.
However, studying crossmedia doesn’t only focus on learning different production practices. Successful media practitioners, working independently or for large corporations, need to be able to understand the market. By studying crossmedia, students will learn how to interpret and research data and how to create cross-media marketing campaigns which are able to reach and engage different audiences.
Who are we looking for? Who is this programme relevant for?
The study programme is tailored to students that have an interest in audiovisual production, social media and marketing. The ideal student is the one who wants to work in vibrant audiovisual and creative productions where the single production, being a book or a short film, leaves space for multimedia experiences.
We are looking for students who are passionate about storytelling and, more specifically, about telling stories from different angles while taking into account and understanding the needs of the market and audiences.
Why study with us?
Crossmedia is a unique study programme, that you can study only in a few other universities. Our specific attention to a multimedia approach to storytelling and marketing has given the study programme its own spot on the national and international scenes.
Since its initiation (September 2012) students have participated in a number of national and international festivals, have won both national and international prizes. Their projects have also been given widespread attention in the Estonian media.
Furthermore, the Baltic Film, Media and Arts School (BFM) is a multicultural creative environment, where you, students are surrounded by international peers and are taught by an internationally recognised teaching staff and industry practitioners from many different countries.
Study support facilities
Students of Crossmedia have access to the newly built BFM production facilities including the Film and Television studios, editing rooms, MAC computer lab, sound studio and AV equipment.
Furthermore, a number of field trips give students the opportunity to work on location and in partnership with industry players such as the public service media of Estonia and Finland.
Course outline
The study programme is a well balanced mix of theoretical and practical courses aimed at shaping today’s media professionals. The courses range from practical courses such as Transmedia Project, Sound Recording, Writing for Transmedia and Camera Work to theoretical courses such as Introduction to Digital Marketing Project, Semiotics of Multimedia, Media Research and New Media Economy. While studying crossmedia, students will develop a number of projects aimed at answering market needs and expectations.
Academic Staff
He teaches cross-media, transmedia storytelling and media research methods at BA and MA levels.
Nanì holds a PhD in Media and his research interests revolve around audiences, cross-media and participatory media. As part of his academic contribution, he served as chair of the Audience and Reception studies thematic section of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) until 2022.
From 2014 until 2019 he worked as the project manager of Cross Motion (CM), an Interreg Baltic Sea Region project and EU Policy Area Culture Flagship project.
Currently, he is the principal investigator (Estonian research group) of the Horizon Europe project Mapping Media for Future Democracies (MeDeMap).
Alessandro Nanì's ETIS profile.
Andres Jõesaar is the head of the media and communication field of BFM and the associate professor of media policies. In addition to his academic work he is also the Vice-Rector for Creative Activities and Cooperation. Parallel to that he's been involved with the Estonian Public Broadcasting's media studies department.
Jõesaar has longstanding experience in the media and telecommunication field, mainly in media economy and management. His fields of study include media management and economy, media policies (including public broadcasting policies, media studies, media, crossmedia and teaching crossmedia production). He has a PhD in media and communication from Tartu University.
He was one of the founders of Reklaamitelevisioon and worked later as the Director General of TV3. From 2000 till 2011 he was the Director of Business Clients and Media Services at Tele2 Estonia.
Andres Jõesaar's ETIS profile.
Dr Michael Keerdo-Dawson began working for BFM in 2015. Dr Michael Keerdo-Dawson is an award-winning Lecturer of Audiovisual Storytelling at the Baltic Film, Media and Arts School (Tallinn University) who specialises in experimental approaches to screenwriting, storytelling, and film production. He has a PhD in Audiovisual Arts and Media Studies and two decades of experience in the film and television industry. He has written and directed short and feature films selected for prestigious film festivals.
Michael Keerdo-Dawson on IMDB.
Michael Keerdo-Dawson on Flickr.
Sangam Panta is a professional in the field of sound recording, sound design, and music for cinema. He holds a Master's degree in Ethnomusicology from Kathmandu University, and a Master's degree in Cinema Sound from Tallinn University and Universidade Lusófona.
From 2015 to 2020, he was a lecturer in the Department of Music, Kathmandu University where he taught the Philosophy of Sound and Music in Eastern Classical Music. Since 2022, as a lecturer in BFM, he covers the art of sound recording and sound design for films and documentaries.
In addition to his academic path, he is the founder of Maya Satsang, where he teaches mindfulness and meditation, incorporating the practice of understanding, and accepting sounds and noises of the exterior surrounding and interior mind.
Neveli Niit is a guest lecturer for the BA curriculum in Crossmedia in which she teaches Crossmedia Production courses. Neveli has learned from the best entrepreneurs in Europe and has won many business accelerators in Estonia and Finland. With that and the time studying BA Audiovisual Media at Tallinn University, plus Marketing and Service Management in TalTech, she has gathered unique storytelling knowledge and knows how to create messages that engage the audience. As her everyday job, she creates innovative digital services for different businesses and the public sector, building a bridge between the company's needs and client wishes.
Admission Requirements
General requirements
- Completed Secondary Education or the equivalent
- Proof of English Proficiency
Please see the complete overview of admission and application requirements for Bachelor's level applicants.
Entrance exams in 2024
The Crossmedia admission competition is made of three different elements:
- Audiovisual CV* (30%)
- Creative assignment (20%)
- Interview (50%)
*Audiovisual CV is an audiovisual introduction of the candidate. It should convey the candidate’s motivation to study crossmedia. Preferably, it includes candidate’s previous creative work made using new technologies, for instance videos, electronic cards, webpages, animations, 3D design, etc.
The introduction must be in English. It should be made available for the examination committee via web page or via web platform, like YouTube. If the audiovisual introduction is made in video format, the length should not exceed 3 minutes.
Creative assignment* (20%)
(1) Create a story with at least two characters and a clear beginning, middle, and end. The beginning should establish the world of the story, the central characters and their goals; the middle should develop the story and deepen the conflict and the characters; the end should resolve the conflict and possibly provide a moment of emotional decompression.
(2) Use ONE of the themes for your creative assignment given loneliness or confusion .
(3) Present the story using a combination of at least two different media such as: text, still photos, paintings/drawings, audio (e.g. podcast), animation, or video material. In other words, your story should somehow encompass more than one medium (e.g. be presented as a short story in combination with an animation, or as a podcast in combination with a series of still photographs).
(4) Combine your two media into one ‘document’. This can be offline (e.g. a PDF with text, images, and links), or online (e.g. a social media page, audiovisual solutions).
Main assessment criteria
1. Audiovisual CV - Crossmediality of Audiovisual CV, Storytelling of the Audiovisual CV, Quality of Sound and Photography in the Audiovisual CV;
2. Creative Assignment - Coherence of the storytelling, Development of the dramaturgical arch;
3. Interview - Ability to understand and answer questions in an articulated, informed and coherent manner.
Audiovisual CV and creative assignment must be sent to us as a Drive link (make the link public, must be accessible to everyone without registration). Upload a PDF file with the Drive link to DreamApply/SAIS.
NB! International applicants who cannot travel to Estonia will be offered a chance to take the entrance exams over the Internet. It is not possible to change the interview time.
For the purposes of identity verification at the admission procedure the Admission Committee has the right to take a screenshot during the oral part of the admission exam carried out via video bridge.
The committee evaluates the candidate on the basis of pre-agreed evaluation criteria. The grade is formed as a result of the grades of all members of the committee.
Sample questions
The questions are specific to what is presented, however, a question could be: What were the reasons behind choosing a certain tool rather than another in your audiovisual CV? (for instance, why did you choose to add animation to your CV? What is the relation between the protagonist and the antagonist in your story?).
Interviews take place via Zoom (in English), 20 minutes for each candidate.
Post-graduate destinations
Media industry is awaiting professionals who are aware of the innovative solutions and can take audiovisual content and stories to new media platforms and this is what the crossmedia study programme focuses on.
Graduates with a bachelor degree in crossmedia most commonly find employment in the creative and media industries. The natural outcome of studies can be summarized by positions such as:
- Media Strategist and Producer;
- Social media manager;
- Creative Director for media, marketing and advertising companies;
- Interactive Media Commissioner (TV industry);
- Audience analyst
Furthermore, students can continue their studies at Master level and specialize in a variety of creative and communication areas. Within Tallinn University students could choose among curricula such as: Screen Media, Digital Learning Games, Audiovisual Media: Television/Documentary Film; Film Arts (Joint Master Degree) and Interaction Design (Joint Master Degree). Students could also continue their studies in Estonia or abroad, in fields such as marketing, journalism, communication, sociology, semiotics, information technologies and design.
Why BFM?
- Baltic Film, Media and Arts School (BFM) has more than 20 years of teaching experience.
- Graduates leave with an extensive portfolio of films and audio-visual content for further career, plus an internationally validated university degree.
- BFM believes in hands-on approach.
- Internship possibilities in different media enterprises and also in the Estonian Public Broadcasting.
- Lectures at BFM are given by well-known filmmakers and media professionals in Estonia such as Arvo Iho, Renita Lintrop, Marianna Kaat, Dirk Hoyer, Jüri Pihel and Indrek Treufeldt.
- The university provides students with a state of the art facilities and equipment. BFM building houses Estonia’s first 4K cinema hall, film and sound studios, and editing rooms.
- BFM has over 30 partner universities in Europe and China, which offers a truly exciting mix of cultures that creates an invaluable professional network for your later career.
- Scholarships available
Contact us
Crisely Apri
Study councellor and specialist
Specific questions regarding the programme should be directed to the Baltic Film, Media and Arts School’s Crossmedia Department
addressNarva mnt 27, 10120 Tallinn
E-mailcrossmedia@tlu.ee
For additional guidelines regarding admission procedure please contact the international admission specialist:
E-mailadmissions@tlu.ee