The Student Room Group

animation and game design undergraduate courses?

hey! i want to pick a good uni, but i dont really know which ones, at the moment i got:
Hertfordshire
Bournemouth
Portsmouth and
Southampton solent

are this ones good? any other unis?
Hey Ximena,

Bournemouth is great for animation and game deisgn, it is the home of the national centre of computer animation in the UK and the only centre of excellence in media practise in the country too! Bournemouth's facilities are industry level and as a student you get the opportunity to do a placement year in industry! Bournemouth is also the home to the BFX festival which celebrates visual and sound effects! Have you been to an open day at Bournemouth, you should come and check out the facilities!?

There's so much more to say but I don't want to bore you! Let me know if you have any other questions!

Thanks

Chris
Reply 2
Hi there

Creative Skillset (the animation, games and vfx industry's advisory body) suggests the following universities for Animation

http://creativeskillset.org/search/3433?tags%5B%5D=Animation+degrees&tags%5B%5D=&tags%5B%5D=

And for Games Art

http://creativeskillset.org/search/3433?tags%5B%5D=Games+and+Interactive+degrees&tags%5B%5D=&tags%5B%5D=

If you have any queries about Hertfordshire you can ask me - I'm one of the lecturers on the Digital Animation Programme.
Original post by CBowditch
Hey Ximena,

Bournemouth is great for animation and game deisgn, it is the home of the national centre of computer animation in the UK and the only centre of excellence in media practise in the country too! Bournemouth's facilities are industry level and as a student you get the opportunity to do a placement year in industry! Bournemouth is also the home to the BFX festival which celebrates visual and sound effects! Have you been to an open day at Bournemouth, you should come and check out the facilities!?

There's so much more to say but I don't want to bore you! Let me know if you have any other questions!

Thanks

Chris


Awesome! I am applying to BU for Computer Visualitation and Animation sep 2016 :biggrin:
I am so exited! are you studying at BU?
Original post by Ximena Roldan
Awesome! I am applying to BU for Computer Visualitation and Animation sep 2016 :biggrin:
I am so exited! are you studying at BU?


Great choice! Yeah I am studying Marketing Communications at BU :biggrin:
Original post by CBowditch
Great choice! Yeah I am studying Marketing Communications at BU :biggrin:


cool!! :biggrin: I may see you there hahaha
Original post by Ximena Roldan
hey! i want to pick a good uni, but i dont really know which ones, at the moment i got:
Hertfordshire
Bournemouth
Portsmouth and
Southampton solent

are this ones good? any other unis?


Hi Ximena!

I’m a first year student at BU studying Computer Animation.

To add onto what Chris said, BU is an amazing place to study animation. So far my experience has been nothing short of outstanding, and I’ve found my course to be like one big family. There are plenty of opportunities given to us on our course, and within the first week all animation students are given a free pass to BFX, an animation festival that attracts studios such as Disney and Framestore. This year there were some excellent talks on how the animation and VFX for films such as Big Hero 6 and Guardians of the Galaxy was created ( it’s a great chance to see never before seen concept art and visuals). It was incredibly inspiring and it really gets you excited for the future to come (it was also great for networking!)

In terms of the course content itself, it’s quite diverse. All that we learn is so that we can best transfer these skills to industry, and the course has been tailored to what employers are looking for. Aside from learning industry standard software, we have lessons where we can practise photography and apply principles that we’ve learnt in lectures. Also, while the course is very practical, we also have some academic elements, where we cover film and art history. We also have weekly film screenings on our course too!

There are also opportunities to do work outside of the course, such as creating short animations and creating character designs, which is always great for adding to your show reel. Our animation society is also great in terms of support and providing opportunities, with extra life drawing classes and acting for animation (which is really fun!)Please do let me know if you want to know anything specific about the course!

Thanks ^_^

Chereen
Reply 7
I recommend Teesside Uni :smile: It's really fun, awesome, and the teaching is great. I'm on computer games animation and in my third year and I'm really reaaally enjoying it.. hoping to do a masters here so i can stay another year haha

In your first year you study alongside all the games art, games animation and games design students, and then choose your pathway in the second year, so you can really explore what you want to do. In second year we do 'Journeyman' which is a large module where all the courses get together and create games together during the second term. It's really fun (although stressful at times) and gets you used to working as a team, but more importantly as a game making team! It's perfect for industry experience! Quite a few people I know went on placement near by as we have a good games industry in the local area and I myself did some summer testing at a games company here! So it's got lots of opportunity!

It's got good connections and runs and hosts the Animex Convention :smile: This year a rumoured speaker is the lead environment designer from Fallout 4 :biggrin:

The campus has recently had a massive development and new building as well which never hurts :wink: A new gym complex is opening in January as well as we have a lot of sports teams here.. and a lot of variety of clubs and societies!

Also, i'm from Brighton and it's been awesome getting to know the northern lingo xD Everyone is so friendly! Don't be afraid to move far for a course!
Original post by reenmachine
Hi Ximena!

I’m a first year student at BU studying Computer Animation.

To add onto what Chris said, BU is an amazing place to study animation. So far my experience has been nothing short of outstanding, and I’ve found my course to be like one big family. There are plenty of opportunities given to us on our course, and within the first week all animation students are given a free pass to BFX, an animation festival that attracts studios such as Disney and Framestore. This year there were some excellent talks on how the animation and VFX for films such as Big Hero 6 and Guardians of the Galaxy was created ( it’s a great chance to see never before seen concept art and visuals). It was incredibly inspiring and it really gets you excited for the future to come (it was also great for networking!)

In terms of the course content itself, it’s quite diverse. All that we learn is so that we can best transfer these skills to industry, and the course has been tailored to what employers are looking for. Aside from learning industry standard software, we have lessons where we can practise photography and apply principles that we’ve learnt in lectures. Also, while the course is very practical, we also have some academic elements, where we cover film and art history. We also have weekly film screenings on our course too!

There are also opportunities to do work outside of the course, such as creating short animations and creating character designs, which is always great for adding to your show reel. Our animation society is also great in terms of support and providing opportunities, with extra life drawing classes and acting for animation (which is really fun!)Please do let me know if you want to know anything specific about the course!

Thanks ^_^

Chereen


Its sounds awesome!! Do you have any programming lessons? and did you have an exam for your interview? Are you joining any sports? do you like the accomodation?

sorry for so many questions hahahha

thanks a lot! Xime :biggrin:
Original post by Ximena Roldan
Awesome! I am applying to BU for Computer Visualitation and Animation sep 2016 :biggrin:I am so exited! are you studying at BU?



I'm applying for the CAA course! :biggrin: Have you got a date for an interview yet?



Original post by Ximena Roldan
hey! i want to pick a good uni, but i dont really know which ones, at the moment i got:
Hertfordshire
Bournemouth
Portsmouth and
Southampton solent

are this ones good? any other unis?


I would definitely recommend Hertz! Although its not the NCCA, last year at Bournemouth's BFX festival they won most of the awards, which must say something if they can beat BU in its own place!
I've been to both hertz and BU multiple times for open days and everytime I felt the lecturers were kinda rude and condescending at BU where as I really enjoyed being at hertz. The work of the lecturers at Hertz is also great as they have worked on Hunger Games, Harry Potter, John Carter to name a few :biggrin:

Of course I am not a student, these are just my observations, but Hertz is definitely my top choice! :biggrin:
Original post by cutieloopie
I'm applying for the CAA course! :biggrin: Have you got a date for an interview yet?





I would definitely recommend Hertz! Although its not the NCCA, last year at Bournemouth's BFX festival they won most of the awards, which must say something if they can beat BU in its own place!
I've been to both hertz and BU multiple times for open days and everytime I felt the lecturers were kinda rude and condescending at BU where as I really enjoyed being at hertz. The work of the lecturers at Hertz is also great as they have worked on Hunger Games, Harry Potter, John Carter to name a few :biggrin:

Of course I am not a student, these are just my observations, but Hertz is definitely my top choice! :biggrin:


no yet! hahaha my school has to send my application (still) I will let you know if I get one :biggrin:
Original post by Ximena Roldan
hey! i want to pick a good uni, but i dont really know which ones, at the moment i got:
Hertfordshire
Bournemouth
Portsmouth and
Southampton solent

are this ones good? any other unis?


Hi Ximena Roldan :smile:

Its great to build up a collection of unis you are interested in.
Each course is different at every school so it is important you ask yourself what type of animation you may be interested in and look into the breakdown of the course and see if you like how it sounds, this is because some unis can be more theory based learning, whereas some are more practical.

I am currently a third year animation student at Ravensbourne College and I've found they have a nice balance between theory based learning through seminars and lectures to practical workshops every week. We are more 3D based, however still open to 2D and Stop-motion animation. I was completely new to animation before coming here and found I have established skills across a broad range of different platforms, we also have oppurtunities to work on games in our final year. We are industry run and focus a lot into collaborations across different pathways such as sound and music to prepare you for the work you may experience later in industry.

If it sounds interesting to you, can take a look into our course and showreel down below. :smile:
Click Me

Hope this helps gives you an idea of what this course is like here, but most importantly ensure you are happy and the course suits your liking where ever you may go!

Jay :biggrin:
Original post by Ravensbourne
Hi Ximena Roldan :smile:

Its great to build up a collection of unis you are interested in.
Each course is different at every school so it is important you ask yourself what type of animation you may be interested in and look into the breakdown of the course and see if you like how it sounds, this is because some unis can be more theory based learning, whereas some are more practical.

I am currently a third year animation student at Ravensbourne College and I've found they have a nice balance between theory based learning through seminars and lectures to practical workshops every week. We are more 3D based, however still open to 2D and Stop-motion animation. I was completely new to animation before coming here and found I have established skills across a broad range of different platforms, we also have oppurtunities to work on games in our final year. We are industry run and focus a lot into collaborations across different pathways such as sound and music to prepare you for the work you may experience later in industry.

If it sounds interesting to you, can take a look into our course and showreel down below. :smile:
Click Me

Hope this helps gives you an idea of what this course is like here, but most importantly ensure you are happy and the course suits your liking where ever you may go!

Jay :biggrin:


Thanks! I will check it :biggrin: its nice meet people interesed in the same area for uni :wink:
Original post by Ximena Roldan
Its sounds awesome!! Do you have any programming lessons? and did you have an exam for your interview? Are you joining any sports? do you like the accomodation?

sorry for so many questions hahahha

thanks a lot! Xime :biggrin:


Hi Ximena! I’m sorry for taking so long to reply, it’s been a hectic few weeks.

Yes we do have programming :-) For CVA you guys have python programming during first year and then in second year I think you move onto C and C++.

There are three tests for getting onto the course, a maths, logic and life drawing test, which surprisingly aren’t are scary as they sound, both the maths and logic tests are multiple choice and the life drawing test was fun! For CVA and CAA the logic test is the same, but the maths tests are different, so if you wanted some info regarding that I wouldn’t be able to help. I think brian.insua (a first year CVA and a good friend of mine) might be able to help you there :-)

I’ve joined the Kung Fu society here which is absolutely brilliant if you’re up for a challenge and something completely different ( although I must admit that it’s not for the faint hearted :-P) There’s a lot to choose from here, so just try things out! I never thought when I came here that I’d end up learning traditional Shaolin Kung Fu.

Living in halls has been absolutely amazing, I stay at Dorchester house and oddly enough, it seems that almost everyone in animation seems to be at Dorchester XD. It’s been the best, it’s like a little animation family :’-D Aside from the convenience being so close to everyone, I would say that of all the halls I’ve been to, Dorchester is the nicest in that there’s quite a fair amount of space and storage in rooms, the kitchen and living area is pretty big and it’s in a really convenient location (opposite the train station and a big Asda). And as for the beach of course, it's only a 17 minute walk from Dorchester :-D

I hope this answers your questions!

As always, let me know if there’s anything else that you would like to know :-)

Chereen ^_^ (Student Ambassador)
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by reenmachine
Hi Ximena! I’m sorry for taking so long to reply, it’s been a hectic few weeks.

Yes we do have programming :-) For CVA you guys have python programming during first year and then in second year I think you move onto C and C++.

There are three tests for getting onto the course, a maths, logic and life drawing test, which surprisingly aren’t are scary as they sound, both the maths and logic tests are multiple choice and the life drawing test was fun! For CVA and CAA the logic test is the same, but the maths tests are different, so if you wanted some info regarding that I wouldn’t be able to help. I think brian.insua (a first year CVA and a good friend of mine) might be able to help you there :-)

I’ve joined the Kung Fu society here which is absolutely brilliant if you’re up for a challenge and something completely different ( although I must admit that it’s not for the faint hearted :-P) There’s a lot to choose from here, so just try things out! I never thought when I came here that I’d end up learning traditional Shaolin Kung Fu.

Living in halls has been absolutely amazing, I stay at Dorchester house and oddly enough, it seems that almost everyone in animation seems to be at Dorchester XD. It’s been the best, it’s like a little animation family :’-D Aside from the convenience being so close to everyone, I would say that of all the halls I’ve been to, Dorchester is the nicest in that there’s quite a fair amount of space and storage in rooms, the kitchen and living area is pretty big and it’s in a really convenient location (opposite the train station and a big Asda). And as for the beach of course, it's only a 17 minute walk from Dorchester :-D

I hope this answers your questions!

As always, let me know if there’s anything else that you would like to know :-)

Chereen ^_^ (Student Ambassador)


Thank you so much! I have an interview for CVA the 27th of Jan 😃 I am so exited, I am thinking about BU for my first option, but I am not sure yet haha 😊 any advice about portfolios?

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