Animation and Visual Effects

Ever dreamt of working on the next blockbuster movie, award-winning TV series or immersive game production? Our Animation and Visual Effects course is your gateway to mastering the art of bringing stories to life through inspiring animation and cutting-edge visual effects.

Dive into a learning experience that blends creativity with practical skills. Our course doesn't just teach you – it transforms you into a versatile artist ready for the dynamic world of animation and visual effects. With a curriculum grounded in inclusivity, innovative storytelling and studio practice, you'll emerge as a professional who understands the pulse of the industry.

From day one, you'll be immersed in real-world techniques and workflows. Our course is structured to evolve your skills progressively – starting with foundational know-how, advancing to specialised techniques, and culminating in a final project that showcases your unique artistic voice.

Our experienced academics, alongside industry professionals, will guide you through your educational journey. Engage in workshops and guest speaker lectures that not only enrich your learning but also help establish connections within the industry.

Our campus is your creative playground, equipped with cutting-edge technology and extensive resources. Whether you’re animating frame-by-frame or experimenting with on-set or location production, our facilities are designed to support and amplify your creative exploration.

ON THIS COURSE YOU WILL

• Gain knowledge and understanding of current professional production practices and technologies in the animation and visual effects industry, and a critical perspective that puts you in a position to shape the future of the creative industries.

• Develop nascent interests, technical knowledge and skill set in animation and VFX, to a level that is consistent with a graduate profile of an emerging professional in the creative industries, or that will facilitate postgraduate study.

• Leave with a portfolio of work from your VFX course, demonstrating technical proficiency, specialism, and skill set in computer animation and visual effects.

• Have access to workshop and studio spaces for traditional animation production and physical, on-set and location production that require specific resources such as rostra and lighting.

• Benefit from guest speakers and workshops, which offer added value to your learning experience, where you can share your work with professionals through workshop activities and screenings.

• Gain experience in live brief and external work – engagement with enhanced professional experiences sometimes external to course and module delivery.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
You'll be encouraged to engage and respond to assessment briefs and other tasks, at every step of your academic journey, both critically and creatively.

At Level 4, the focus is on personal development skills, knowledge, and understanding. Level 5 has a focus on professional development skills, building confidence in practice, in line with industry and employer expectations. At Level 6 there is an increasingly tailored and personalised approach to learning, with a focus on employability and enterprise and graduate goals.

The course develops high-level, visual effects artists who have analytical, interpretative, written, and oral communication skills, and will embed project-management, research skills, team-working, leadership, and independent working, into a professional portfolio that you will be proud of.

YEAR ONE

Animation and VFX Pipelines
Gain a fundamental understanding of studio pipeline production (‘pipeline’ describing the various production workflows which will lead to a refined 3D artefact or asset for film).

Digital Narrative and Concept
Develop and enhance the ‘generalist’ skills defined in AVFX4001, and to help you realise some of the fundamental practices to creating dynamic characters and construct interactive, engaging scenarios and on-screen action for your films.

Virtual Stagecraft
Virtual stagecraft describes the process by which digital computer-generated imagery is used to manipulate and augment ‘real world’ footage filmed or photographed with a camera, animation, or CG constructed 3D. The module will look to build on learning in AVFX4102.

Cultural Contexts
Introduction to the cultural, historical and social contexts in which creative work from a range of disciplines will be considered.

Collaborative Practice
Work with other students to explore and practice the skills involved in creative collaboration. You will develop skills such as effective discussion and debate, critical thinking, problem solving, leadership, team-working through working on a creative industry-relevant brief.

YEAR TWO

Script, Storyboard & Previs
A practical module that will introduce you to the concepts and technique in visual storytelling and preproduction for animation design and VFX; idea generation, previsualisation, scriptwriting and storyboarding for a range of screen media.

Experimental Narrative & Concept
Explore and experiment with visual form and break down traditional ways of ‘making’ and conceptualising projects; it will allow you to evaluate approaches in the creation of animation and VFX, while challenging your understanding of industry convention, methodologies, and storytelling practices.

Animation and VFX Cinematography
Prepare for the creative and professional challenges of ‘real-world’ practical effects and animation, and the digital acquisition of assets, props, scene artefact and production continuity recorded for 2D, 3D and CG composited production.

Shot to Screen
An opportunity to work on a self-directed production, adapting a pre-existing story form into animated and digitally recreated scene; you will take pre-existing story narrative and make it anew.

Professional Development

YEAR THREE

Research Brief
Carry out research and preproduction for graduate production; consolidating all the learning from the course in the development of a research portfolio that will contextualise work and specialism.

Production Review
Prepare for the creative and professional challenges of ‘pitching’ an elemental idea or production concept to a professional audience. You will undergo a ‘commissioning’ process, reflecting industry studio practice, where you will present production materials and outline the feasibility of projects.

Professional Studio Project
Consolidate the practical and conceptual skills developed throughout the programme to create a project of your own. Develop a substantial and challenging screen based artefact that reflects contemporary thinking, industry practice and your discrete subject skill set(s).

Festivals & Exhibition
Perfect the skills necessary to identify and successfully engage with the media industries post-graduation. apply the knowledge and experiences you have gained from your programme to entering your projects into festivals, competitions, and explore media related opportunities through exhibition.

A wide range of authentic assessment types are used in order to develop a full range of work-related skills, eg industry led ‘live brief’, project development both individually and part of a team. This variety of methods ensures the practice, and assessment, of key and graduate skills build a comprehensive awareness of the industry and your potential employability post-graduation.

Specific examples of this:

• Module Work Book, bespoke eBooks (electronic handbooks and project record/document), containing information, formative tasks, self-grading exercises, embedded video clips, etc. to assist in specific modules ILO’s but also to enhance a culture of independent learning;
• Presentations/Pitching, where you are able to show work to tutors and peers in advance of assignment submission;
• Seminars & Project Surgeries, a series of developmental seminars run where you review and comment on each other’s work, guided by tutors;
• Review of portfolio/blog/screenings of ‘dailies’, regular feedback tutorial opportunities recorded in process of identifying your understanding of practice, materials and creative processes.

All of these activities promote learning partnerships between you, your peers and the staff. This combination allows you to rapidly upskill and prepare for the exciting prospect of working in the Animation and VFX industry.