What Makes This Course So Special?
If you want to improve your skills, get ahead in the industry, or develop your conceptual approach to filmmaking, our MA/MFA Animation course offers a flexible programme that will meet your needs.
We are interested in ideas, so whether you have never done animation before or you are an experienced animator, we can build your confidence and skill-base in the concept, development, and production of animated film.
Our main aim is to maximise the personal and creative potential of each individual, to identify and develop each student’s working methods, to forge an integration of theory and practice, and to consider the place of your work in the wider world.
Close to the Animation centres of Bristol and Cardiff, and just over an hour’s train journey from London, we have excellent access to local and national studios. Our committed and experienced staff, supported by visiting industry professionals, deliver a programme that is both innovative and industry relevant. Through our membership of the Cartoon Forum European Training for Trainer’s group we foster relations with international studios and schools, which facilitates placements and exchanges. We are in constant dialogue with our industry partners through the Skillset Media Academy Wales, part of a network that recognises us as a centre of excellence ensuring you gain the experience and abilities you need to succeed in the workplace.
Find out more about the subject of Film & Screen Media at Newport.
Course Intro
Animation skills are required in advertising, live-action film, special effects and the ever-growing games sector, as well as traditional and gallery-based animation. This means bright opportunities for our graduates. We are particularly interested in encouraging an approach to animation that both challenges and builds upon existing traditions.
Successful applicants are well-organised, explorative and expressive individuals who can bring passion and drive to the medium of animation. Ideally you will have a degree in some form of time-based medium (including film, multimedia, games or animation) and you wish to further prepare for the media industry by developing and refining your own creative practice. You will need to be prepared to take risks and stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone.
What you study
At Newport the art of storytelling thrives, and Animation at Newport has a global reputation for producing creative professionals who make innovative and highly successful film statements. We have no house style, and we encourage students to follow their own path, depending on their research interests. Students with a degree in Animation can elect to take the MA by proposal, and can select aspects of the workshop programme to suit their needs.
Our programme gives you the opportunity to study life drawing, design and illustration, 2D analogue and digital, CG, motion graphics, 3D stop motion, animation studio production and scriptwriting/storyboarding.
Taught modules include:
• Re-evaluating Practice (Timing for Animation/1min Group Film/Life Drawing)
• Animation Scriptwriting
• Professional Practice (Case Study)
• Animation & Film Theory
• Final Major Project (3 min final film and 5-6,000 word supporting paper)
• MFA module (Tutorial supported internship or extended study)
Visiting lecturers to Newport include such luminaries as Bill Plympton, Michael Dudok de Wit, Priit Pärn, Joanna Quinn and Barry Purves. Please visit our online blog
(http://animationnewport.wordpress.com) for details of masterclasses and workshops, and other initiatives such as our Animator In Residence (AIR) Scheme.
This course is part of the The Skillset Academi+, a partnership of the leading film and media schools in Wales, offering an exceptionally high standard of education that is endorsed by industry and approved by Skillset. MA/MFA Animation students benefit from close contact with the Academy’s Industry Panel, access to professional masterclasses and workshops, jobs and work placements, and the opportunity to promote work through an exclusive online network.
A programme specification for this course is available.
Where Next?
Depending on the direction sought by each student on entering the course, there exists a wide range of opportunities within the art, animation, film, illustration, games, and online digital industries.
Interview Required
Applicants are required to present a portfolio of existing work and informally discuss the practice and research they expect to carry out during the MA/MFA programme.
Assessment
You will be assessed by your coursework including proposals, pitches, films, essays, presentations and case studies.
Technical facilities
Teaching takes place in studios equipped with computer linetesters, Dell workstations with Maya 5, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator, Toon Boom, Combustion and Encore software.
Student Soundbite
“As an animator with 15 years industry experience, the main thing that encourages me is that after meeting with my tutors I always have a new perspective or a challenge to my ideas.”