MA Animation and Special Effects

Attendance

Full-time, Part-time

Full-time – one year
Part-time – three years minimum

At a glance

About this course

This course aims to provide you with a range of creative, conceptual and technical skills and equip you with the knowledge and ability to work professionally in animation and special effects.

You take a lead in exploiting existing and emerging media technologies, and we encourage you to develop innovative creative approaches.

The practical and conceptual skills in animation production you develop are gained by using real world scenarios.

This course involves you experiencing a broad range of techniques. It allows you to specialise and develop your skills and knowledge in your chosen area.

We support standard and super 16mm origination on film as well as digital formats. We also have state of- the-art animation digital compositing software and facilities. This enables you to make and complete animations and effects to a high professional standard, which you can showcase to employers.

You gain the skills and knowledge to be a multitalented animation and special effects artist.

Associated careers

Many filmmaking professions from set designing to cinematography now involve or are entirely completed by computer-generated images, motion capture and digital compositing.

Continuing expansion of this area offers exciting and challenging career opportunities in
• film and television production
• games development
• educational programming
• web content creation

Course content

Postgraduate certificate modules

Observational drawing
Observational drawing is one of the fundamentals in developing high quality content for communicating creative concepts. In this module you build on your existing artistic skills to form a strong foundation, enabling you to produce high quality digital creative solutions.

3D animation
This module enables you to become proficient in animation software such as 3D Studio Max and Maya, so you can produce 3D graphical models. You also develop your conceptual skills surrounding animation, allowing you to make informed decisions about the design of animated objects and environments.

Digital compositing
This module develops your operational skills and application techniques in the appropriate digital compositing software. You also develop your conceptual visual effects skills, enabling you to make judgements and decisions about the design of visual effects environments against project brief criteria and workflows.

Cinematography production workshops
You develop knowledge about cinematography, including practical theory and the theories and debates surrounding the history of cinematic practice. We introduce you to a range of genres and styles of cinematographic practice, and encourage you to experiment and innovate to develop a personalised approach.

Postgraduate diploma core modules

Realistic animation
The ability to develop realistic game environments is crucial in modern games. This module provides you with the knowledge and skills to model and animate a range of real world items, using graphical tools to simulate and present them to a high standard. Topics covered may include modelling gravity, powered flight, vehicle dynamics, architecture and buildings, planetary motion, collisions, cloth and soft body dynamics.

Integrated development project
This module improves your critical skills by applying the advanced concepts and techniques you have gained so far. You typically work in a group to research, design and implement a significant, original and tangible product, aimed at a specific area of the games industry. This may take various forms including a working game, a tool, a prototype demonstrating a novel or interesting technique or a set of assets.

Postgraduate diploma options

Choose one from

Concept art
To develop visually stunning games and interactive software, it is essential that you have the skills to express your creative talents and ideas. In this module, you develop a series of visual products that portray concepts given in a design brief. For example, a series of still images or story boards that show ideas, themes and initial designs for characters, environments, sequences, animations or other artefacts.

Sound design
Multilayered sound production is an integral part of new media production. It is used to stimulate, provide credence and support the visual representation a user interacts with. This module provides you with the technical skills to create sound for film using sound recording (including principally, location recording, re-recording, foley and adr) postproduction sound and musical and non-musical composition.

Masters modules

Research methods
In the final stage of your masters, you complete a substantial piece of research and develop a product based on this. This module gives you experience of the research tools, techniques and methods used, and builds your communication and planning skills to prepare you for your research project.

Research-based product development
You carry out an independent research and development project, and apply the methods and skills developed in other modules. This represents the culmination of the course, and enables you to demonstrate your skills and abilities by completing a substantial piece of work. It provides a significant contribution to your portfolio of work, which you can then use to show prospective employers.

Seminar programme
In this module you present your research project to your peer group and teaching staff. It plays a key role in developing masters level cognitive skills. You have to evaluate and synthesise complex information and concepts from a range of specialist topics, and prepare and deliver a professional quality presentation.

Assessment

• coursework • dissertation

Entry requirements

Typically you need a second class honours degree or above in a • traditional art • digital art • digital media • games design • multimedia or a related subject.

We expect you to be artistic and motivated to produce high quality game assets. You must also demonstrate that you have an appropriate level of skill in art or animation by presenting previous work, show-reels or portfolios.

Overseas applicants from countries whose first language is not English must normally produce evidence of competence in English. An IELTS score of 6.0 with 5.5 in all skills (or equivalent) is the standard for non-native speakers of English. If your English language skill is currently below an IELTS score of 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in all skills we recommend you consider a Sheffield Hallam University Pre-sessional English course which will enable you to achieve an equivalent English level.

Fees

Home and EU students

2013/14 academic year

Typically £4,590 for the course
Part-time study should be calculated pro rata.

International students

2013/14 academic year

Typically £10,980 for the course

2014/15 academic year

Typically £11,250 for the course

How to apply

Complete the application form available at www.shu.ac.uk/study/form

Contact details

For further information please contact the Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Sciences, Sheffield Hallam University, City Campus, Sheffield S1 1WB. Phone +44 (0)114 225 6777 or email aces-helpdesk@shu.ac.uk