Since 2014 an experiment in the delivery of ‘intensive’ mode and ‘blended’ learning and teaching in screen production has been conducted at an Australian university. It was designed to investigate if a teaching situation that more closely approximates the intensity and urgency of ‘real-world’ screen-production was achievable and/or desirable in a university context more accustomed to a weekly tutorial and workshop model. Implications of this restructured ‘intensive’ teaching model on the student experience, and staff research-time are discussed in this paper. Five years after first being implemented, the project recently won a national teaching award and has been considered a pedagogical success. This paper also considers some limits to this success within the university context.