Digital Animation with a Foundation Year, Undergraduate - BA (Hons) - 2022/23 entry

The course will help you establish the core art fundamentals, such as anatomy, gesture, pose, weight distribution, perspective, composition and an understanding of how they underpin digital animation practice. You will also learn about the 12 principles of animation required to create engaging animation performance, whether you choose a Film/Television or Games/Interactive pathway. The course will introduce you to industry standard project management and pipelines methodologies that mirror industry production procedures.

Depending upon the route you choose to take on the course (Film/TV or Game/Interactive) you will produce a range of assessed material including but not exclusive to:

• Storyboards & story-reels
• Animation foundation exercises
• Performance animations
• Specialist portfolios and showreels
• Short films, made collaboratively, demonstrating animation principles and pipelines
• Game animation sets, demonstrated within the Unity and Unreal game engines

A key focus of this course is developing performance within character animation. You will develop acting techniques that will promote the development on your inner actor to project performance through your characters. You will also develop an understating of and demonstrate visual storytelling, with ‘show dont tell philosophies.

While theoretical and practice-based considerations of animation techniques and principles remain a central focus to the award, the course also provides shared modules within the Schools film and games courses, offering wider collaborative opportunities which help provide core skills relevant to industry.

Certificate of General Secondary Education 60% PLUS Community College Diploma/Associate Degree with minimum grade 60% / 2.5 / C+

Note: Engineering courses require minimum C+ score in Mathematics.

Even though you may have met the stated requirements, if your first language is not English, we may ask you to take an additional English Language Test when you arrive.

Based on the results of the test, you may be required to attend regular English classes to improve your level of competence. English classes are provided free of charge and are available to all non-UK students who wish to attain greater fluency in English.

You will learn of range of skills which will be key to enhancing your future employability.

Specifically, you will learn to:

• Develop your own practice within a professional context that would enable future employment options in the Animation industry.
• Identify the relationship of theory to practice and effectively demonstrating it through your work.
• Produce animation shorts, effective animation pipeline to a professional standard.
• Work independently and collaboratively.
• Be a self-motivated, organised and independent effective learner.
• Be confident in showcasing your work for critique and highly reflective of your processes.

You will also learn skills in a range of workshop practices in relation to individual development, including but not limiting to the use of camera and photography, 3D printing, motion capture, sculpting and life drawing.

Professional practice guidance will teach you a range of skills such as CV writing; portfolio development, editing showreels , use of social media and other platforms for self-promotion, presenting yourself and your work in a professional framework.