AUB, BA (Hons), Animation Production

This course aims to develop skills and abilities required for animation production processes, to enhance career opportunities in the animation and related industries. Encouragement of analytical skills and research furthers an appreciation of the relationship between practice and theory and the history of animation.

The course develops your ability to communicate and to use effective presentation skills. Alongside the development of professional management competence, the course aims to enhance visual and literary capabilities and the ability to resolve production problems.

The skills developed on this course are accompanied by general transferable skills which can be used in a range of applications, such as character design, layout and background design, 2D, Stop-Motion and CG animation, and animation for VFX.

The promotion of your self-directed learning and your ability to critically evaluate your own work and that of others is fundamental to this team-based production course.

Level 4

You will be introduced, via a series of workshops, seminars and lectures, to fundamental practical and theoretical concepts. You will progress from an understanding of rudimentary mechanical processes to a more subtle understanding of character performance and cinematic storytelling. The initial exposure to fundamental techniques and essential technology helps develop a visual and technical language necessary for progression through subsequent units at Levels 5 and 6. At this stage, technical and technological processes are complemented by the rigorous development of drawing ability, informed by an analytical and interpretive approach to observational drawing in a variety of media and techniques. Investigation and analysis of visual forms and language help generate a personal visual resource through the use of sketchbooks and related research methods. Animation studio practice is fully integrated with theoretical understanding, with related key themes and issues placed within relevant social, historical and cultural contexts. Study skills using traditional and electronic resources are developed by individual and group research projects, which engage critical theories, concepts and analysis, and directly link to an understanding of historical and contemporary practice within the specialism.

Level 5

At Level 5 you will learn in more detail about the animation process, developing an advanced knowledge of what sequential steps are required to produce animation from conception to post production. You will experience an enhanced independence linked to your role within an animation production team. As part of a production team you will further build upon skills acquired at Level 4 by assisting on an animation production, and thereby develop your own subject specialism. The animation production is the result of the contribution of individuals using their skills and specialism towards this collaborative outcome. The work assessed is the outcome of your individual contribution. You are made aware of the assessment procedure throughout the Level 5 and 6 units through unit briefings and tutorials.

The parameters of study are defined by the use of Learning Agreements, supported by individual tutorials with staff members, and group feedback from peer evaluations. Fields of practical and theoretical knowledge are applied to graduate film work, reflecting industry practice with hands-on learning opportunities. Concurrently, critical and analytical approaches to visualisation are developed by increasingly advanced drawing sessions building upon the knowledge and skills acquired in Level 4 units.

You will also research and develop your own project work in preparation for Level 6. Visualisation skills are developed in relation to pre-production activities for a proposed graduation film. A deeper critical knowledge of specialism forms a link to professional development planning, which also includes the potential for industry experience or overseas study visits. A level of professionalism and organisation is evidenced in the preparation of a ‘pitch’, which is consistent with industry practices. There is also a process of sustained academic writing, reflecting on specialist roles required by a collaborative production method. This prepares you for the Investigative Study unit at level 6, where research topics can be linked to subject specialisms. Your development as a specialist may inform your choice of named award in level 6 (see below).

Level 6

In your final year you will demonstrate your specialist role and your commitment to the collective responsibility of production and post-production of graduation work. Specific guidance on the ethics of the team working collaboration is laid out in the production schedule and also through group and individual tutorials. These topics include communication and team working skills, and mentorship guidance and its importance. The diverse nature of the productions and the variance in the dynamic of each team requires tailored tutor guidance specific to each individual production. Guidance on formation of teams, negotiation skills and team skills will be further enhanced with set sessions throughout the team-based units and within the production schedule.

Your personal planning and increased self-reflection and evaluation are developed in relation to career aspirations and the production of a target portfolio. Critical and theoretical knowledge is developed in the Investigative Study (where you engage with critical understanding via written work). In the Major Project unit you will explore your practical specialism and demonstrate a sustained focus and application of knowledge, technical skills and intellectual abilities developed throughout the course. You will also be expected to demonstrate a grasp of a complex body of knowledge relating to your specialism and practise professional standards in your working environment. Individual Learning Agreements will reflect the scope of your project negotiation with tutors and peers for these group-based graduate productions. The work assessed is the outcome of your individual contribution to the collaborative process.