Bradford, University of, BA (Hons), Computer Animation

Year 1: Introduction to media analysis 1 and 2; imaging and design 1; foundations of communication skills; scriptwriting and development introduction; multimedia user interface design; conventions of animation; conventions of videography; introduction to 3-dimensional animation. Year 2: soundscapes; image processing and manipulation; 3-dimensional character modelling and animation; sound and visual media; computer generated special effects; image and design 2; how to run an small and medium enterprise (SME); images, media and society. Year 3: optional placement year. Final year: computer animation and special effects; new media landscapes; individual project; broadcast television; computers and music; imaging innovations; digital videography; advanced character animation; media images and social representation; design for industry project.

This course is about the use of computers to produce animation; this means that students learn about the principles and practice of animation and then learn how to use computer based tools to create 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional animation; the skills students learn can be applied to a wide range of media including: web-based animation; music videos; television advertisements; full-length animated movies; participants learn the techniques and practices of computer animation; they learn how to script, storyboard and develop a story, and then subsequently how to realise their vision; they also learn about how sound relates to the images that they produce, and how their own and existing work fits into the wider world of media; there are options during the course to study other related areas that add to students’ skills, such as computers and music or broadcast television; during the final year students have the opportunity to work on substantial individual and group projects which, together with the work they produce during the 1st and 2nd years, gives them a strong portfolio of work to take with them when they graduate; this courses can be studied over 4 years to incorporate an optional placement year in supervised practice taken between stages 2 and 3; taking an extramural year enables students to extend and apply their learning, gain practical experience highly valued by employers, and also gives them the opportunity to acquire the Diploma of Industrial Studies.