Features : Animation: What's on offer

Written by Rachel Shepherd, Editor, Graduate Prospects, November 2012

From Cars to Wallace and Gromit, animators are at the heart of some of our best-loved film and television experiences. Postgraduate study can help you to morph into an industry expert and create the next blockbuster

As well as opening doors to a new career, taking a postgraduate animation course gives you access to industry standard equipment and resources, the opportunity to engage in discussions with expert practitioners, and mentoring from industry experienced staff.

Embracing technology

Just having artistic ability is no longer enough to make you a great animator. This skill needs to be combined with knowledge of technical computer packages such as 3D Studio Max, Adobe After Effects, Apple Final Cut Pro and Apple Motion.

To help meet this demand, postgraduate courses are placing extra emphasis on the role of technology in animation. One such programme is the MSc Digital Visual Effects course at Leeds Metropolitan University, which gives students access to state-of-the-art motion capture and chroma-key suites.

Students take modules including visual effects, motion graphics and digital video and audio. It is the combination of these topics that ensures that students are equipped with the skills to succeed in the competitive world of animation.

'Our MSc Digital Visual Effects allows students to create a professional portfolio of animation and visual effects work that will be a great stepping stone to gaining employment in the industry,' says Brian Larkman, principal lecturer and course leader.

New ways of thinking

The creative arts thrive on new manners of thinking and this is encouraged on postgraduate courses by letting students choose their own ways of working. It is this hybrid approach that sees students on the MA Animation course at the University of Edinburgh work on anything from traditional stop frame to generative computer animation based upon live and dynamic data sets, before settling on one method for their final project.

'The course doesn't prescribe to a production method and the department has extensive facilities for both traditional and digital animation. This includes a full stop frame production studio and we are currently developing a render farm to allow parallel processing of complex shots,' says Jared Taylor, programme director at the Edinburgh College of Art.

As with most postgraduate programmes, animation courses do not suit students who are looking for a teaching-intensive subject where they can acquire a brand new set of skills. Therefore, students usually have an undergraduate degree in a creative discipline such as animation or graphic design.

'Applicants for these courses should know that above all else, animation is hard work - 25 frames a second of hard work. It's not enough to simply love animation and the act of consuming it; you have to be prepared to produce it too. We will help you to do this, but we can only help those who know what they're taking on, and those who are willing to learn, rather than wait to be taught,' explains Jared.

How to get ahead

You have the imagination, the artistic ability, the technical knowledge and the postgraduate qualification, but to get ahead you will need:

• A showreel or portfolio to act as your calling card
• To be proactive in selling your ideas to prospective clients
• Good networking skills to help get your name known
• Engagement with the industry by entering festivals
• Flexibility to switch between projects