Working in Creative Industries introduces you to the various sub-sectors of the constantly changing and evolving media and creative industries. The module will develop your knowledge and understanding of economic and policy concepts as well as issues within the context of the media and creative industries. The aim is to develop your understanding of contemporary media settings, from industrial to political, scholarly and practical. You will examine the television, film, animation, music, print, performing arts and online digital industries while also developing research skills.

Making It Move: Animation Techniques 1 recognises that animation is fundamentally concerned with the ability to effectively create the illusion of movement using inanimate forms. Through the investigation of a range of animation processes and techniques, this module introduces key animation principles that can be applied across various formats and media. The module is designed to build a strong practical animation foundation from which you can explore and develop essential animation skills and techniques. Examples may include pixilation, rotoscoping, sound production, 3D CGI, stop-motion, model-making and 2D animation production techniques. Workshops will develop an essential practical and contextual foundation from which to establish connections and relationships between various animation processes and motivations, as well as the techniques and procedures that underpin them, such as sound, editing and cinematography.

Performance and Character: Animation Techniques 2 reveals how character and narrative represent the two main drivers for an animated product. The module will introduce strategies and skills for developing and presenting character designs, animating and extracting effective performance to create appeal, emotion and convey narrative. You will establish key aspects of analysing and understanding acting and performance to underpin character development, design and movement. You will also explore aspects of acting for stage and screen, while analysing human movement, gesture, pose, form and anatomy through workshops and practical assignments. The module will examine how to adapt live movement into convincing animated timing, investigate how audio can enhance performance, and identify professional formats and standards for production design and presentation. You will learn to research, plan and articulate your solutions for application across a range of animation concepts.

What is Animation: Animation in Context brings together shared theoretical principles from film theory, media studies and animation analysis to question the meaning of animation as a mode of communication, an art form and a cultural phenomenon. Discussions and topics include montage, anime, animated documentary, gaming and adult sitcoms. At the heart of the module is the recognition that the subject of animation exists within a unique environment surrounded by a rich source of influences which are drawn from aspects of fine art, graphics, illustration, and film and TV production. The module places animation within its historical and contemporary context, while exploring it as a form of communication within today’s creative and interdisciplinary visual environment. You will investigate a broad range of animation styles and approaches in European and International animation texts, developing your understanding and knowledge of animation production as a method to place your own animation production design work within an appropriate contemporary context.

Applying Animation examines animation as a principal mode of communication across a range of media formats within today’s visually dominated culture. Through a series of focused research/animation projects, you will engage with global contexts for animation and apply your findings to generate commercial/experimental animation-based products. Application of animation might include projection-mapping projects, VR simulations, augmented reality or animations for mobile devices. Research, imagination and exploration will drive the ideas within this module. You will be asked to stretch the boundaries around traditional animation production and communication, break the constraints of the rectangular frame, and find experimental solutions for commercial problems. Practical workshops, research tasks and site visits will assist in developing the skills and knowledge required to complete an original animation response.

Global Popular Culture introduces you to a range of popular culture products and processes and encourages you to reflect on the relationship between national and global consumption and reception. As such, the module will examine elements of pop-culture from a variety of nations and facilitate discussions of culture, popular culture and global and national markets and trends. You will be encouraged to explore areas around convergence, the diversity of experience and the reception of popular culture.

Photography covers the basics in digital camera use and post-production, semiotic and photography theory. As practical knowledge of camera equipment and composition are required to fully exploit the creative possibilities of visual media, this module is designed to develop your camera skills, technical competence, and understanding of composition and photography. It concentrates on the principles of stills photography and develops your understanding of the photographic image that will be fundamental in developing knowledge and understanding for all visual communication. You will learn how to use digital photographic cameras and consider composition, framing, colour and post-production. The module also outlines how to ‘read’ photographs and use theoretical models (semiotics) to underpin your understanding. All work will be undertaken using digital technology and basic training in the use of cameras and Adobe Photoshop will be provided. No previous experience is required, and all equipment will be provided by the University.

Animation Studio Skills focuses on your ability to understand and apply current animation production processes and techniques. Underpinned by investigative research into up-to-date studio practice, as well as industry masterclasses, studio visits and taught sessions, this module presents you with opportunities to develop specialist skills relating to a range of 2D, 3D CGI and stop-motion animation practice. This may include VFX, rigging techniques, motion-control and sound production techniques. The module will ensure that you are conversant with current animation design, process and technical craft skills and are familiar with sector trends in this competitive market.

Animation Light: Staging and Performance engages you with the complex nature of lighting and cinematography, in both physical and virtual environments, while exploring the equally critical role of performance and its staging. Establishing a specific situation or time within the animated image, while also creating mood and atmosphere, is largely dependent on the artistic performance of the animator, both through their characters and in creative staging using effective cinematographic sensitivity. As such, this module encourages you to engage directly with a range of performance approaches, lighting techniques and situations through studio-based training using the latest lighting equipment. Undertaking a series of dedicated projects, both individually and as part of a group, you will gain expertise in areas of performance and the associated lighting, shadow and colour for use within animation projects. You will explore the synergies between animated performance and the dynamic effects of cinematography, as well as the related design sensitivities required for 3D CGI, stop-motion and 2D animation, across a variety of production contexts.

Fan Cultures and Subcultures requires you to critically evaluate the development of a variety of media audiences into actively engaged consumers and, potentially, producers of content of their own. The module will focus on the rapid growth in the development of fan culture in recent years and situate fan cultures within the context of wider audience behaviour. You will analyse the history of subcultural modes of active fandom, dating back to the cultural revolution of the rock and roll age, Hollywood cinema and the development of television in the aftermath of World War II. You will also be encouraged to engage with research methods appropriate to the study of media audiences and subcultural communities, including quantitative and qualitative methods such as surveys, ethnography or focus groups as means of developing primary data.

A Sense of Place: Animation and Environment is a module based on the principle that the animated frame provides a blank canvas from which to generate, explore and manipulate concepts of space and place. With a focus on environment, the module introduces the methods designed to help you to develop believable and engaging animated spaces. Sessions will cover themes such as spatial narrative, architectural research observation, and construction and soundscapes, all of which can help to establish the location of your animation. You will examine how to construct and develop environments within animation production and discover how, with the advent of 3D CGI environment work, animation production has increasingly moved away from creating 2D backdrops of landscape and cityscape, to include working with geometry in 2.5D.

Animation and the Real World is centred on the principle that the commercial application for an animated product is no longer confined to a single screen, 16:9 format. Animation output today embraces small-screen formats, large-elongated multi-screen side-of-building-advertisements and game-based environments, all of which sit alongside more traditional platforms for TV or film. Through the investigation of real-world contexts, such as festivals, virtual reality, projection for theatre venues and art projects, as well as TV and commercial advertising, this module examines the diverse range of possible screening opportunities for animation outputs today. You will also consider and develop professional approaches to project-management, pitching, concept research, working to client specifications and delivering a final product. Assessment will be via live and simulated creative industries/animation briefs. These will provide you with opportunities to develop the skills, techniques and processes to respond to commercially orientated products in creative, imaginative and exciting ways.

Studio Case Study 1: Disney – Princess or Pariah provides you with the opportunity to research and explore the concept of social and political change, including their effect on animation production content in global audience contexts. Using contemporary Disney production output and its global media company position, you will explore both changing character design and story content guidelines for audiences in the light of social change. The changing landscape of socially responsible content creation, as well as the ever-increasing guidelines and conventions now affecting the design of international production products, will also be assessed. Investigating the drivers and processes of the American studio system and the Disney corporation, you will explore the effect of major players like Disney on modern transglobal media product design.

Animation and the Avant-Garde introduces you to the landscape of experimental forms of animation, from the dawn of cinema right through to the present day. The module will interweave both theory and practice, to allow you to learn about the development of avant-garde forms of filmmaking, with a particular focus on experimental animation, before applying your contextual knowledge to your own practice. You will be introduced to the broad history and theory of avant-garde, with more specialised sessions on groundbreaking artists such as Walter Ruttmann, Len Lye and Jan Svankmajer. You will then apply your knowledge in workshops where you will create your own experimental animation product.

Animation on Screen provides a critical and historical approach to the various forms of animation. Being a popular mainstream form in a variety of media including television, film and game, animation provides a rich field for study. Furthermore, the subject of animation exists within a unique environment which draws upon elements of fine art, graphics, illustration, film, and TV production. With a history to rival live action cinema, animated forms have been at the centre of critical debates around their use, from political propaganda to the relationship with art, to the everyday and the real. A range of critical approaches will be evaluated in the light of animation being a form that shares so much with live action cinema, yet formally proclaims its dissimilarity to it. Encompassing movements such as mainstream, political and avant-garde styles, while encouraging a critical appreciation of diverse animations from around the globe, the module will enable you to recognise and evaluate the nature of animation’s unique potential for communication and artistic expression.

Creative Enterprise and Employment Portfolio is focused on the development of individual enterprise and employment strategies, as well as the production of an industry-standard showreel or portfolio of work. The aim is to provide you with the opportunity to present your best work in the most suitable format for potential employers enabling you to demonstrate your production skills in preparation for the highly competitive employment marketplace in the creative industries. You will receive guidance on how to structure a CV and engage with entrepreneurial routes to employment. This will include assistance in working with local and regional initiatives, employer mentoring, networking communities and small business set-up. The module will also cover postgraduate study opportunities.

Animation Project: Pre-Production offers you the opportunity to undertake in-depth personal research and develop the pre-production process for a substantial animation project. The module takes you through three of the five key processes of production (development, pre-production design, production scheduling) and provides you with a professional framework in which to prepare to undertake a large-scale, animation-based production project under supervision. It is essential that the planning and preparation of a large-scale animation project anticipates and addresses potential issues and problems in production before they arise. On this module you will therefore develop advanced skills in pre-production design, process and management, ensuring you gain a specialised focus on the importance of the pre-production process, in preparation for developing a full animation product.

Animation Project: Production offers you the opportunity to work under supervision to develop a substantial animation project and undertake in-depth personal research. Animation production requires a dedicated and focused approach to translating and completing the work undertaken during pre-production. This module will enable you to enhance and apply your animation production skills to a single overarching project in your chosen area of specialism. You will explore areas of interest, investigate topics and examine a range of presentational forms explicitly linked to the project. The module takes you through the key processes of production and post production and provides you with a professional framework in which to undertake a supervised large-scale animation-based production project.

Dissertation/Research Project offers you the opportunity to undertake an in-depth personal research project, under supervision, and explore a range of relevant research methodologies and presentational formats. You will gain a thorough knowledge of your chosen subject area and be expected to shape that knowledge to produce a final submission that demonstrates your ability to locate the material within the wider contexts of your discipline. The project will require the consideration and discussion of methodological and/or epistemological issues, as well as a reflection on the ethical implications of research. The dissertation will allow you to work independently, with a supervisor, to explore areas of contemporary academic interest, consider issues of current or historical industry practice, and critically analyse case studies or products within specific cultural and social contexts.

Studio Case Study 2: Ghibli – Anime and Globalised Subculture traces the unique creative movement of storytelling and visual interpretations exploring the important themes, social disciplines, cultural identity, art, history and sub-culture that has shaped anime and the prolific art and film of Studio Ghibli. The case study will establish the critical role of Studio Ghibli in progressing the anime art form to the level of cultural distinction and legacy that achieve such global popularity. You will analyse the culture underpinning the disciplines of Japanese art and investigate the origins of anime subcultures from comic to screen. The module will look at the media and contemporary art culture and identify artistic and literary traditions, themes and styles of presentation that can be traced to traditional art forms. The overarching aims are to investigate the concepts that drive the storytelling, analyse the narrative structures that communicate globally, identify the cinematography and grammar unique to the art-form, and explore how to apply the design, aesthetics, visual dynamics and production processes unique to anime animation.

Animation and Representation examines what animation as a medium can tell us about our shifting cultures and societies. The module will analyse animation to determine how different forms of the medium have presented ideologies and issues concerning representation. The module will examine a range of animated examples that fully represent the diversity of styles, techniques and technologies that have emerged through the history of animation. The case studies will invite the opportunity to explore broader social, political, historical and aesthetic paradigms in the way they are illustrated, articulated and negotiated across complementary axes of animated style and representation.