Computer Visualisation and Animation BA (Hons)

Course overview

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This course is delivered by the National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA).

What will I study?

• This course is one of the most established computer animation courses in the UK and was developed after extensive consultation with many of the leading companies in the computer animation, digital special effects and computer game sectors
• The course has a focus on the creative use of computer graphics and animation technology
• The course content combines elements of traditional art disciplines, such as life drawing and cinematography, with elements taken from the computing and engineering disciplines, such as programming and applied maths
• Students divide their time equally among computing and moving image studies
• View the detailed course content.

Who should do this course?

• Students who demonstrate both intellectual and creative abilities
• Students that show an understanding of the animation industry
• Applicants that have a mathematical and creative background
• Students who can produce a strong portfolio of art work from still life to photography
• Applicants who demonstrate good written and oral communication skills.

What can I do next?

• NCCA graduates can be found working for the industry's best-known players, including Industrial Light and Magic (founded by George Lucas) and Dreamwork (partnered by Stephen Spielberg)
• Graduates have worked on hit films such as Avatar, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Alice in Wonder Land
• Student animated shorts are reguarly screened at SIGGRAPH, the world's leading computer animation festival
• Many of our graduates go on to study a postgraduate course at BU.

Tell me more

View an article by The Independent as to why you should study Animation.

Computer Animation is one of the most rapidly expanding areas of creative endeavour and technical development. It is an exciting, fast-changing and rewarding area to be involved with.

Both the technology and the creative application of this technology have reached such a level of maturity and sophistication that we begin to see a number of quite distinct and specialised application areas emerging which graduates of this course can enter. Such areas are 3D computer animation production, 2D and 3D digital special effects, and computer games.

In particular, the last decade has seen a truly amazing growth in computer animation and its applications. This is manifested in the production of fully synthetic feature films such as Shrek, photorealistic digital special effects such as Star Wars and The Matrix, and a wide range of computer games.

View some of our student's work

If you are interested in this course, why not also take a look at some of our other courses on offer:

• BA (Hons) Computer Animation Arts
• BSc (Hons) Software Development for Animation, Games and Effects

In the news

• BU awarded The Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education
• BU animation graduate achieves global success at Pixar