Masters Degree Description
MA Animation explores both theory and practice, giving you the tools to express your creative ideas using a range of visual media.
In an era with unparalleled opportunities for skilled visual communicators, and with advancing technologies changing how the moving image is experienced by audiences, we teach animation as an experimental visual practice .
You’ll be encouraged to test boundaries and experiment to find your own creative voice. You’ll explore meaningful themes while learning how to engage with audiences through multi-disciplinary approaches and outlining critical ideas in visual culture, drawing reference to contemporary, personal, social, ethical, cultural, political, religious and environmental issues.
What to expect:
- Develop accomplished skills in animation practice, evidenced in a portfolio of work.
- Test creative ideas within a critical framework.
- Learn skills of team-working, reflecting workflows of professional practices.
- Develop a deeper knowledge of the theory that underpins your practice.
Entry Requirements
An applicant will normally be considered for admission if they have achieved an educational level equivalent to an honours degree in either animation, illustration, visual communication, graphic design or closely related subject, and present a portfolio of moving-image work. However, we do not exclude candidates who have graduated from other less strongly aligned disciplines.
This educational level may be demonstrated by:
- Honours degree (named above);
- Possession of equivalent qualifications;
- Prior experiential learning, the outcome of which can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required;
- Or a combination of formal qualifications and experiential learning which, taken together, can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required.
APEL (Accreditation of Prior Learning)
Applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered in exceptional cases. The course team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by:
- Related academic or work experience
- The quality of the personal statement
- A strong academic or other professional reference
- OR a combination of these factors
Each application will be considered on its own merit but we cannot guarantee an offer in each case.
Fees
For fees and funding information, please see website
Student Destinations
Graduates of MA Animation will be equipped to work in an increasingly technologically informed and interdisciplinary design world, with in-depth skills in the following areas: animation and animation production both 3D and 2D visual communication, narrative and sequential image making, typography, and time-based design as well as having a portfolio of personal work to enable you to seek work as a commercial animation director.
A significant proportion of graduates from this course will want to practice as commercial animators.
Module Details
Autumn, term 1
- Experiment: Creative Practice (20 credits)
In Term 1 you will explore a range of technical and conceptual approaches to animation by producing short-form animation tests. This unit aims to support the development on your individual voice as an animation practitioner. You'll engage in experimental animation process and practice, developing your distinct visual voice. This is underpinned by critical study that significantly expands your understanding of the themes that animation can address in a critical context, and by a technical programme that ensures you are able to experiment widely with various animation techniques.
- Analyse: Informed Practice (20 credits)
In this unit, you will engage in a programme of theoretical seminars that explore the specific cinematic underpinning of animation culture and practice. This forms the technical and conceptual basis for the subsequent units of the course.
Spring, term 2
- Collaborative Unit (20 Credits)
You’ll have the opportunity to engage in a specific collaboration with a related course or an external partner. Collaborative partners may include fellow postgraduate students at LCC or UAL, postgraduate students at other Higher Education Institutions, and external organisations such as companies, cultural institutions, community groups, NGOs and charities.
- Create: Personal Project (60 credits)
In this unit, you'll develop and produce a short animation or a body of experiments that form a coherent project - exploring a range of technical and conceptual approaches to the workflow of professional animation production. Working from concept, research and development to pre-production, production and post-production, you'll outline a critical idea or theme that draws reference to a range of contemporary, personal, social, ethical, cultural, political religious and/or environmental issues.
Summer and Autumn, terms 3 and 4
- Propel: Professional Futures (60 credits)
You’ll bring together the knowledge, skills and experience gained on the course to produce a self-directed, collaborative project and associated critical investigation.
If, during the course of your studies, you are unable to continue and you decide to exit the course, you may get one of these two possible exit awards:
- Postgraduate Certificate will be awarded on successful completion of the first 60 credits.
- Postgraduate Diploma will be awarded on successful completion of the first 120 credits.
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