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What next for you? > BA (Hons) Animation > BA (Hons) Animation

BA (Hons) Animation

Skillset accredited

From film to television, internet to games and advertising, animated content can be seen in a range of media – and the demand, both commercially and experimentally, is enormous.

As a student on the course, you will explore the medium using state-of-the-art software and produce a portfolio of creative and professional work. As well as this, you will learn the fundamental principles of animation through drawing techniques.

You will also work, whenever possible, on live projects and placements. Our excellent links with industry mean that we will have regular lectures from visiting animators, producers and commissioning editors, representing companies such as Passion Pictures, Dreamworks, and Aardman.

Our links mean that companies such as The Mill, Double Negative, Rushes, Framestore, Molinaire, Tiger Aspect, Blue Zoo and Frontier Games have approached us to provide students for placement.

The course is run by a professional team with a direct involvement from industry partners who together offer a great opportunity to work in an inspiring and realistic environment that is supported by academic study.

What’s more, the Ravensbourne BA (Hons) Animation course has a strong reputation and has been awarded Skillset accreditation – an accreditation that only a select few have achieved.

Level 1

At level 1 you will learn fundamental animation skills in both traditional two-dimensional techniques as well as three-dimensional computer generated techniques. In accordance with Skillset guidelines for animation, life drawing is an integral component of appropriate units across all levels of the course.

At level 1 you will study the following subject areas:
theory and context; opportunities, trends and ideas; professional context; communication and visualisation; animation and sound/visual studies; animation technique/visual studies; and character performance/visual studies.

Level 2

You will identify potential areas of industrial specialisation, and develop more of your own independent and reflective practice. This is coupled with increased contextualisation of the animated media, and associated industries. As you progress, a greater emphasis is placed on your chosen specialism in levels 2 and 3.

From time to time, ‘live’ briefs may be given that are designed in conjunction with industry. There will be guest lectures, and visits to galleries, exhibitions, industry events, and businesses.

At level 2 you will study the following subject areas:
debate and polemic; marketing strategy; advertising and promotions; digital environments and visual studies; post-production and visual effects; industry exercises 1 and 2; and you will also prepare for your dissertation.

Level 3

At level 3 your work will mirror industry practice by encouraging cross-disciplinary work on projects across other pathways. Through a delivery based on collaborative group work, all level 3 pathways share a common structure that will allow you to specialise and engage more deeply in your chosen subject area. A particular emphasis is placed on projects which progressively introduces professional contexts and constraints.

You will be working throughout the course to develop a portfolio of work that demonstrates a diverse range of animation techniques that have been produced through studio practice mirroring industrial workflows. This work is presented in a live broadcast event at the end of level 2 and a final degree show exhibition in level 3.

At level 3 you will study the following subject areas:
enterprise and entrepreneurship – making it happen; a major project report; advanced skills; pre-production; portfolio (major projects); and advanced self promotion.

You will also produce a dissertation.

Programme Specification

Click here for the full programme specification.

Contextual studies and enterprise and entrepreneurship

The adaptability necessary to succeed as a design or media specialist comes not only from deep disciplinary knowledge. Graduates also need a breadth of knowledge and skills which some commentators have referred to as being ‘T-Shaped’. These additional skills include the ability to work with and increasingly work across disciplines, entrepreneurial attitudes and a knowledge of the business contexts in which they will operate. All undergraduate Ravensbourne programmes incorporate curriculum and learning activities designed to develop these skills in our students. Cross-disciplinary collaborative projects offer students the opportunity to work in teams with other disciplines.

The course structure draws on the creative synergies and frictions of the different disciplines at Ravensbourne and provides physical and intellectual opportunities for students to meet, learn and work together with students from different disciplines.

Students study subject specialist units, shared units and core units. Subject specialist units focus on subject specialist methodologies, technologies and processes and offer project-based learning that simulates contemporary professional practice.

Shared units are units which bring together courses in analogous specialist subject areas and allow students to gain skills common across these specialist subject areas, or to develop skills complimentary to those of the other specialisms and to work together on collaborative projects in the kinds of interdisciplinary teams common in industry. They therefore begin to introduce students to the real world context of specialism, a world where inevitably specialists work in inter-disciplinary teams.

Core units provide fundamental knowledge, skills and contexts which we believe are necessary for all the creative professionals who graduate from Ravensbourne and set students up with a model of the types of knowledge they will need continuously to update throughout their careers. Core units equip students with the ideation, visualisation and communication skills required in the creative process characteristic of design and media industries and common across our disciplines. They also provide the conceptual skills, theoretical frameworks and professional contexts necessary for students to position their work and develop their professional identity. Additionally, they ensure that students gain the promotional, marketing and enterprise skills necessary to make success happen in the real world.

Three years full-time

Ravensbourne’s BA (Hons) Animation course is available as a full time three-year course.

Assessment

You will be continually assessed through the presentation of project and written work.

Learning and support

You will study through a mix of practice and theory-based learning. This mix will include lectures, seminars, workshops, individual tutorials, self-directed study and projects. You will be supported by well-qualified staff, sessional staff and visiting professionals who will bring an industry perspective to the course.

Laptops

You are required to own or have access to a laptop from the beginning of your studies. Laptops are an essential tool to support personalised learning and give you access, when and where you want it, to many of the creative tools and educational resources you will encounter during your studies.

Laptops are used extensively in all of our courses. You will need one to access our network, and to research, communicate and collaborate during your studies.

Career prospects

A wide range of careers are open to animation graduates in the following creative industries: film and television, advertising, post-production, web design, and games design.
Each creative industry requires graduates with skills as animators, character designers, 3D modelers concept and storyboard artists, riggers, texture artists, lighting specialists and special effects artists.

You could become a...

View >Games Designer

View >Texture Artist

View >Storyboard Artist

...and many more!

See life as a student

Please note from 2012 this course has been renamed BA (Hons) Animation

“I first found out about Ravensbourne at a careers evening when I was 15, and as soon as I heard about it I knew that it was the place for me. What attracted me to Ravensbourne was the range of courses, the atmosphere and the tutors.

“I’ve always…