MA Animation (Online)

About the courseThis online MA Animation course will enable you to. develop a professional-level individual approach towards animation direction; choose to study parts of this course online or on campus; develop your digital animation skills and knowledge to a more advanced level; extend your theoretical and contextual understanding of animation, its audiences and media culture; produce a film that reflects your individual style and contemporary animation practices; become more familiar with professional-level enquiry, research, creative, invention, project planning and management practices study within a multi-disciplinary environment which encourages discussion and idea exploration.

Why choose this course?This award enables you to develop creative practical skills for directing animation. You will acquire experience using a range of digital processes, used in Animation and related fields, as means for communicating through visual narrative. Within this course you can choose to focus in a particular area of animation such as 2D animation, 3D animation or combine the areas to create new forms and ideas from the fusion of techniques and styles.

Within 2D animation you can look at traditional animation techniques and blend these skills and approaches with new digital media to form new content and formats. You will explore the rich heritage of 2D animation and the possibilities of experimentation, both in form and content, that traditional animation has actively encouraged.

3D digital animation has become the most popular form of animated imagery over the past decade, used by more experimental practitioners who question the appearance, form and uses it has in present-day media. In this form, you will challenge your preconceptions of what 2D or 3D animation can do, which helps you become an innovator in the field. You will have the opportunity to explore the range of possibilities available to the practitioner, mixing technical knowledge of the subject with the creative freedom that an understanding of the theory and context of new media practices brings.

A degree in a relevant subject (2.2 minimum), plus a portfolio demonstrating recent engagement and creative activities in your intended study area is normally expected. Accreditation of professional experience may be possible for practitioners without a first degree.