Digital Animation with a Foundation Year - BA (Hons)
Currently viewing course to start in 2024/25 Entry.
This Foundation Year has been specifically designed to allow you to undertake an additional year of study to build stronger creative footings that ensure successful progression through your chosen degree....
- Level Foundation
- Study mode Full Time
- Location City Centre
- Award BA (Hons)
- Start date September 2024
- Fees View course fees
- School School of Games, Film and Animation
- Faculty Faculty of Arts, Design and Media
This course is:
Open to International Students
Overview
The Foundation Year
This Foundation Year has been specifically designed to allow you to undertake an additional year of study to build stronger creative footings that ensure successful progression through your chosen degree.
Working in a friendly, lively and energetic environment, you will be given the freedom to expand your knowledge of practical skills, creative exploration and conceptual thinking, underpinned by broad critical understanding, academic writing and emerging theoretical principles.
Dedicated Foundation tutors will support you throughout the year and BA teaching staff from across all the schools within the Birmingham Institute of Creative Arts (BICA) will work closely with you to prepare you for progression.
There will be a range of opportunities to work on collaborative and individual projects, aimed to build your social skills and identify your role as a developing practitioner.
Throughout the year you will be challenged with projects that question your current creative experiences and explore a breadth of experimentation to broaden your technical and critical understanding.
You will be encouraged to analyse methods and materials appropriate for creative development and to question your position in relation to historical, contemporary, and future world scenarios. Both practical and written research tasks will be supported by one-to-one tutorials and small discussion groups to help you constructively build academic and social confidence.
The two first semester modules will form the building blocks for future work and will explore core principles of creative practice focussing on the development of technical confidence, study skills and productivity.
The two final semester modules will encourage a positive integration between research and practice, challenging decision making and technical competency. This semester is designed to empower you with independent learning skills appropriate for your future BA studies.
On successful completion of the Foundation Year, you will have the flexibility to change direction and switch courses onto a related undergraduate degree programme within Birmingham School of Art, School of Visual Communication or the School of Games, Film and Animation.
In order to progress onto your BA Programme, you must successfully pass all four core modules (totalling 120 credits).
BA (Hons) Digital Animation
This cutting-edge BA programme will develop your skills across the Digital Animation practice conventions. You will be taught by established practitioners, who will provide their knowledge on 2D and 3D animation disciplines.
The course is part of Birmingham City University’s Film suite, designed to develop graduates with knowledge of the theory, practice and industry trends that will enable them to succeed in a rapidly changing industry environment.
What's covered in this course?
The course will help you establish the core art fundamentals, such as anatomy, gesture, pose, weight distribution, perspective, composition and an understanding of how they underpin digital animation practice. You will also learn about the 12 principles of animation required to create engaging animation performance, whether you choose a Film/Television or Games/Interactive pathway. The course will introduce you to industry standard project management and pipelines methodologies that mirror industry production procedures.
Depending upon the route you choose to take on the course (Film/TV or Game/Interactive) you will produce a range of assessed material including but not exclusive to:
- Storyboards & story-reels
- Animation foundation exercises
- Performance animations
- Specialist portfolios and showreels
- Short films, made collaboratively, demonstrating animation principles and pipelines
- Game animation sets, demonstrated within the Unity and Unreal game engines
A key focus of this course is developing performance within character animation. You will develop acting techniques that will promote the development on your inner actor to project performance through your characters. You will also develop an understating of and demonstrate visual storytelling, with ‘show don’t tell’ philosophies.
While theoretical and practice-based considerations of animation techniques and principles remain a central focus to the award, the course also provides shared modules within the School’s film and games courses, offering wider collaborative opportunities which help provide core skills relevant to industry.
This course is designed in response to the growing demand within the UK and International animation industries that require job ready graduates who can demonstrate within their showreels, animation foundation principles and skilled use of industry standard tools
Shaun Magher - Course Director, BA Film Making
Why Choose Us?
- The School of Games, Film and Animation (formerly known as the New Technology Institute) opened in 2005 and is housed within the University’s Faculty of Arts, Design and Media. In this vibrant context, you’ll enjoy the benefits of outstanding resources, at the heart of a thriving creative community in our City Centre campus.
- You will be taught by tutors with over 30 years of experience within the UK and International Animation industries.
- The BA Digital Animation course is an employment-led programme, so your knowledge and skills will be up to date and relevant, making you industry ready upon graduation.
- Our teaching philosophy is practice-led and theory applied in the pursuit of excellence.
- We have a partnership with the BFI, which offers students free access to the BFI player.
- Top 5 in the UK for Animation and Games Design (Guardian League Table 2024).
Open Days
Join us for an on-campus Open Day where you'll be able to meet us in person. Booking for the next event isn’t open yet. Register your interest below and we’ll email you as soon as booking goes live.
Next Open Day: 29 June 2024
Entry Requirements
These entry requirements apply for entry in 2024/25.
All required qualifications/grades must have been achieved and evidenced at the earliest opportunity after accepting an offer to help confirm admission and allow for on-time enrolment. This can also include other requirements, like a fee status form and relevant documents. Applicants can track their application and outstanding information requests through their BCU mySRS account.
80 UCAS tariff points
If you have a qualification that is not listed, please contact us.
Fees & How to Apply
UK students
Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.
Award: BA (Hons)
Starting: Sep 2024
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 4 years
- £9,250 in 2024/25
- Apply via UCAS
International students
Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.
Award: BA (Hons)
Starting: Sep 2024
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 4 years
- £16,085 in 2024/25
Guidance for UK students
UK students applying for most undergraduate degree courses in the UK will need to apply through UCAS.
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) is a UK organisation responsible for managing applications to university and college.
Applying through UCAS
- Register with UCAS
- Login to UCAS and complete your details
- Select your course and write a personal statement
- Get a reference
- Pay your application fee and submit your application
You are not required to submit a portfolio for this course.
Course in Depth
Foundation year
Throughout the year you will be challenged with projects that question your current creative experiences and explore a breadth of experimentation to broaden your technical and critical understanding.
You will be encouraged to analyse methods and materials appropriate for creative development and to question your position in relation to historical, contemporary and future world scenarios. Both practical and written research tasks will be supported by one to one tutorials and small discussion groups to help you constructively build academic and social confidence.
The two first semester modules will form the building blocks for future work and will explore core principles of creative practice focussing on, the development of technical confidence, research, study skills and productivity.
The two final semester modules will give you greater autonomy, encourage positive integration between research and practice, challenging decision making and technical competency. This semester is designed to empower you with independent learning skills appropriate for your future BA studies.
In order to progress onto your BA Programme, you must successfully pass all four core modules (totalling 120 credits).
This module explores the term ‘practice’ as the process of making, developing and recording information. We will work with you to explore the development of your work based on a set project, looking at a number of documentation strategies while experimenting with a broad range of materials. You will have the opportunity to meet artists and practitioners through local gallery visits and in studio activities and will learn to analyse your work through tutorials and small group discussions.
Artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world.
Their art is a dynamic combination of materials, methods, concepts, and subjects that challenge traditional boundaries and defy easy definition.
This module will look at experimental approaches to drawing to identify radical new solutions from the perspective of the contemporary world we live in.
During this module you will meet lecturers, researchers and partners from across BCU, the city and further afield to open your understanding of practiced based creative work.
Through lectures and workshops, you will be introduced to the versatility of subject areas in terms of ideas, development, research, materials, techniques and contexts.
Figuring out how the universe works might be a bit more than we need to do each day but paying attention to the future of the world we live in, is worth exploring.
Creative realisation is not just about the practice of producing creative responses, it is about identifying the factors that generate creative thinking and facilitating the process.
For this module you will draw on your own creative strategies to facilitate the development of a project that is appropriate for progression onto your chosen BA (Hons) course.
To identify the focus for your project you must research ‘Future Horizons’ from the rapidly changing world around you - anything that reflects new innovations, e.g. seismic changes, space travel, war, social conflict, internationalisation, environment, technology, architecture, bio-art etc. – whether great or small.
Undergraduate Staff from both Schools will offer guidance on developing a constructive portfolio that affirms your potential for a rewarding creative future.
Year one
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits):
The purpose of this module is to give you the opportunity to learn and then apply fundamental art techniques and methodologies. Students will work individually to produce a sketch book based upon a defined theme.
The work students will be given mirrors animation industry advice about art practice and will require an element of research and skill application.
You will learn how visual languages are applied and how to compose shots which are adaptable to other mediums such as animation. Students You will learn to storyboard professionally and to succinctly convey your ideas and visions to produce a short film.
You will be introduced to key animation principles, processes, and techniques in the creation of 2D digital animated sequences. You will explore the historical context and understanding of contemporary practices in animation, then apply this knowledge in developing ideas for their animated sequences.
The purpose of this module is to give you the opportunity to learn and then apply fundamental 3D modelling techniques and texturing methodologies. Students will work individually to produce a production ready asset.
You will be given an up-to-the-moment introduction to the working methodologies of 3D Animation production. This will allow you to experience the challenges of completing the research, development, and production of a 3D Animated short film.
Year two
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 100 credits):
This module focuses on the development of characters to its final form. You will learn how various modes of storytelling, locations, events and music would influence your design decisions to create compelling concepts and believable characters. You are required to experiment and engage with different approaches to concept designs from sketches to 3 dimensional forms.
This module allows you to experience the challenge of completing the research and development of an animation ready character asset in either a 2D or 3D pathway.
The work you will create will mirror industry practice and require an extensive understanding of not only current technologies and methodologies.
This module introduces the principles of Acting for Animation, where students will learn how to project a performance into an otherwise, inanimate object. Character Animators at their core are Actors and students will be introduced to the practical methods of developing a performance from script through to final character animation, whether in a 2D or 3D pathway.
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete at least 20 credits from the following list of OPTIONAL modules.
The module is an opportunity to learn and critically reflect on the skills of collaboration by enabling you to create an interdisciplinary project with students from complementary disciplines, or with academic staff. Collaboration is a vital employability skill within the Creative Industries and this module allows you to develop these skills, making use of University facilities and with the support of academic staff. Within this module framework, several kinds of collaborative opportunities are available. For example, with the approval of your supervisor, you can determine a project based on your own interests; your supervisor may set you a predetermined project to enable you to work with other students in a way that is appropriate to your subject area; or there may be opportunities for you to collaborate with staff on research projects. In all cases, you must apply your subject skills to an interdisciplinary project which will be agreed in advance with your supervisor.
The purpose of this module is to enable you to develop professional attributes and subject skills through experience in the work place, and to critically reflect upon your learning in that context. You will normally be expected to arrange your own placement, with support from academic staff and ADM Careers+.
This module provides an opportunity for you to apply your knowledge and skills to an external, professional brief. The brief will be set by or in discussion with an external client/agency/community and could be a ‘real life’ problem to be solved, or a simulation. It is an opportunity for you to engage in a responsive, imaginative and professional manner with an aspect of your subject area, which contributes to the development of employability skills within the supportive infrastructure of the University.
Core modules are guaranteed to run. Optional modules will vary from year to year and the published list is indicative only.
Year three
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits):
The purpose of this module is to give students the opportunity to learn and then apply fundamental animation techniques, methodologies and pipeline design for an animation production or development.
The module is an opportunity to learn and critically reflect on the skills of collaboration &/or your own professional practice. The module enables you to create either an interdisciplinary project with students from complementary disciplines or your own self-defined project.
The purpose of the module is to enable you to undertake a sustained, in-depth and theoretically informed research project exploring an area that is of personal interest to you. It is important that we can support you appropriately, so you will be guided towards choosing a research topic which is relevant to your discipline and in which your lecturers have expertise. The outcome may take the form of a written dissertation or a practice-based portfolio.
Download course specification
Download nowYou will learn through a series of lectures, seminars and practice-based workshops, as well as gaining valuable collaborative skills within Animation production.
Year One
In the first year of study, you will develop your skills within core Art and Animation principles.
You will receive intensive training in industry standard 2D and 3D digital Art and Animation tools.
You will experience working collaboratively to make short films and establish practical and theoretical skills within Digital Animation production.
Year Two
In the second year of study, you will develop your practical skills and knowledge within Character development. From Concept, through to animation ready character creation.
You will begin to explore your chosen specialisms, in 2D or 3D Animation production, either within a Film/TV or Games pathway.
You will have the option to collaborate with wider GFA and BICA courses, to make short films or to participate in Game jams.
You will develop your skills within acting for animation, where you will learn to capture and project performance within your animation.
Year Three
Our Professional Practice modules will help you develop and consolidate your theory and practice within Animation, enabling you to create a body of work that demonstrates the quality of work required to enter the Animation industry and start your future career.
Employability
You will learn of range of skills which will be key to enhancing your future employability.
Specifically, you will learn to:
- Develop your own practice within a professional context that would enable future employment options in the Animation industry.
- Identify the relationship of theory to practice and effectively demonstrating it through your work.
- Produce animation shorts, effective animation pipeline to a professional standard.
- Work independently and collaboratively.
- Be a self-motivated, organised and independent effective learner.
- Be confident in showcasing your work for critique and highly reflective of your processes.
You will also learn skills in a range of workshop practices in relation to individual development, including but not limiting to the use of camera and photography, 3D printing, motion capture, sculpting and life drawing.
Professional practice guidance will teach you a range of skills such as CV writing; portfolio development, editing showreels , use of social media and other platforms for self-promotion, presenting yourself and your work in a professional framework.
Placements
You will have the option of an international exchange, and the opportunity to get involved in a range of live projects. Placements are not part of the curriculum but are encouraged and supported by staff should an opportunity arise.
In such an example, our students have worked closely with Flatpack Festival in programming some of the events, organised and ran animation workshops and volunteering throughout the festival.
Graduates and students were also involved in the production of a Rube Goldberg animation for Second Home Studios which subsequently won the RTS Best Production Craft Skills award.
Students have also participated in Animation Festival submissions such as Annecy, Encounters, New Designers, and the prestigious Royal Television Society Awards amongst others.
Students have been wining RTS Awards dating back to 1997 with more than a dozen winners and nominees.
The Jury Distinction was also awarded to one of our graduates for his outstanding Animation at Annecy Animation Festival which was of the highest accolade.
International
Birmingham City University is a vibrant and multicultural university in the heart of a modern and diverse city. We welcome many international students every year – there are currently students from more than 80 countries among our student community.
The University is conveniently placed, with Birmingham International Airport nearby and first-rate transport connections to London and the rest of the UK.
Our international pages contain a wealth of information for international students who are considering applying to study here, including:
- Explore some of the good reasons why you should study here.
- Find out how to improve your language skills before starting your studies.
- Find all the information relevant to applicants from your country.
- Learn where to find financial support for your studies.
Within the Birmingham Institute of Creative Arts, the School of Games Film & Animation has historical links and strong working relationship with our International partners and institutions in China, Hong Kong, Bangkok, India, Singapore and Malaysia for over 20 years. The Animation discipline in the courses remained popular and have grown over the years.
We had collaboration and exchanges between home students and international partners, resulting in a rich cross-cultural experience. Students have participated in final degree shows, projects, festivals and screenings in different countries, thus furthering their global reach to diverse audiences whilst understanding different cultural appeal. These exchanges encourage students to expand their knowledge not only as an Animator but also as a creative practitioner.
Many of our successful home and international alumni are now working in various animation studios, gaming industry and education.
Facilities & Staff
You will have access to first class studio facilities such as the Green Screen Studio, BOLT JR+ high-speed camera robot, Motion Capture Suit and VR systems. The studios are set up in a conducive working environment with support from technicians and operators.
To support your learning, PCs and Macs are available across the campuses. Wacom tablets and Cintiqs are supplied to facilitate digital drawing and sculpting. Computers are equipped with the latest Adobe Suite and Autodesk software. Specialist animation software(s) are usually installed in dedicated computers for Digital Animators.
Professional digital cameras, lighting and recording equipment are also available in the Hires and Loans store.
