Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Animation (Year 0)

at Norwich University of the Arts United Kingdom

Taking Year 0 at the beginning of your degree course will get your studies at Norwich University of the Arts off to a flying start. The extra year of study will help you explore creative ideas and begin to develop the practical skills, research techniques and ways of thinking that are essential to undergraduate success.

Develop the creative and technical skills behind the latest Hollywood blockbusters and learn from award-winning studio professionals on our BA (Hons) Animation and Visual Effects degree course.

Our Animation and Visual Effects degree reflects NUA’s success in both disciplines. Our approach to teaching visual effects evolved from advice from professional bodies like ScreenSkills and UK Screen Alliance and the majority of the UK’s VFX industry, including:

• Double Negative (DNEG)
• Framestore
• MPC
• Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)
• The Mill.

We are part of Access:VFX – the industry’s initiative to create the widest possible pool of future talent and host a number of workshops and events with invited industry guests

Connecting your passions and unique perspective to the world of professional photography is at the heart of our BA (Hons) Photography course, recognised by the Association of Photographers. You will develop your own approach at NUA – not a standard house style

You will learn how to apply your creative vision to a range of industry briefs, from fashion to advertising and editorial photography.

Whatever your aspirations, your work will be unmistakable as you emerge as a professional practitioner with a distinctive portfolio.

Thinking beyond the frame

We will encourage you to think about client needs and expectations.

We want to see you produce stand-out work that could wow creative teams in whatever industry drives your interest.

But it will always be your vision.

You’ll also be part of a community of photographers – collaborating with other students and taking part in peer review and cross-year critiques to give and receive feedback

Designed for the future

Studying at NUA will give you access to a wide range of industry-level photographic and lighting equipment.

You will have access to tools to produce imaginative and original images to the highest standards.

There will be opportunities to work at the cutting edge of digital photography; exploring the possibilities of moving image and computer-generated images (CGI).

Taking Year 0 at the beginning of your degree course will get your studies at Norwich University of the Arts off to a flying start. The extra year of study will help you explore creative ideas and begin to develop the practical skills, research techniques and ways of thinking that are essential to undergraduate success.

Our BA (Hons) Animation degree course will encourage your individual creative exploration and development helping you choose which specialism to focus on.

You will master the magic of bringing characters and stories to life through a range of animation techniques at NUA – from 2D, 3D CG to stop motion.

Interactive lectures and practical workshops will help you explore character design and sculpting.

You will learn the fundamentals of animated storytelling through workshops and masterclasses in dynamics, storyboarding and character creation.

What you will learn

• Explore the three major animation techniques: hand drawn and digital 2D, stop motion and digital 3D
• Gain understanding of the principles of animation: dynamics; character design; storyboarding; animatic production; animation production; sound design; skills of observation and life drawing; acting for animators; editing; compositing and show reel design
• Explore theory in character analysis and narrative structures
• Develop an understanding of media roles and practices
• Work collaboratively through a series of projects designed to allow you to establish a good practice, essential for the animation industry
• Explore your chosen areas of specialisation and develop your skills, with the potential to combine techniques
• Develop an understanding of audience, context, film language, and the elements of compelling storytelling
• Bring together all your learning and experiences to create a personal portfolio with a great showreel
• Engage with a collaborative project with either your peers or external collaborators, allowing your creative skills to be tested in an industry-standard practice
• Produce a personal showcase of your specialist skills and an original, animated short film.

Taking Year 0 at the beginning of your degree course will get your studies at Norwich University of the Arts off to a flying start. The extra year of study will help you explore creative ideas and begin to develop the practical skills, research techniques and ways of thinking that are essential to undergraduate success.

Our new BA (Hons) Fashion Marketing and Business degree course will offer you an insight into the commercial fundamentals, marketing strategies and core brand development techniques that are used to run the fashion industry today.

You’ll create dynamic marketing campaigns, retail concepts, buying proposals and business plans that will allow you fully understand and operate within successful fashion businesses.

As you build your knowledge of fashion marketing, you will develop skills that are sought after by employers, including:

• Marketing and Promotional strategies
• International Fashion Branding
• Fashion Retail and Visual Merchandising
• Fashion Buying and Merchandising

And you will follow in the path of graduates from our sister course, Fashion Communication and Promotion, who are set-up for successful careers after work experience and internships at brands such as Vivienne Westwood, Jimmy Choo, Net A Porter and Adidas.

As you grow your expertise in critical aspects of communication design you’ll have the chance to explore areas including graphic design, graphic communication, illustration, information design, interactive communication, multimedia and typography.

Refine your communication design skills
From moving image and sound to questions of brand management and publishing, you’ll stretch your skills and ambition as a postgraduate student at NUA. As you develop your own voice and practice through experimentation, you’ll also have the chance to critically examine key design and communication issues such as sustainability, new technology, new audiences and markets, inclusivity and ethics.

Our BA (Hons) Animation degree course will encourage your individual creative exploration and development helping you choose which specialism to focus on.

You will master the magic of bringing characters and stories to life through a range of animation techniques at NUA – from 2D, 3D CG to stop motion.

Interactive lectures and practical workshops will help you explore character design and sculpting.

You will learn the fundamentals of animated storytelling through workshops and masterclasses in dynamics, storyboarding and character creation.

What you will learn

• Explore the three major animation techniques: hand drawn and digital 2D, stop motion and digital 3D
• Gain understanding of the principles of animation: dynamics; character design; storyboarding; animatic production; animation production; sound design; skills of observation and life drawing; acting for animators; editing; compositing and show reel design
• Explore theory in character analysis and narrative structures
• Develop an understanding of media roles and practices
• Work collaboratively through a series of projects designed to allow you to establish a good practice, essential for the animation industry
• Explore your chosen areas of specialisation and develop your skills, with the potential to combine techniques
• Develop an understanding of audience, context, film language, and the elements of compelling storytelling
• Bring together all your learning and experiences to create a personal portfolio with a great showreel
• Engage with a collaborative project with either your peers or external collaborators, allowing your creative skills to be tested in an industry-standard practice
• Produce a personal showcase of your specialist skills and an original, animated short film.

Combining creativity, craft skills and technological innovation, our MA Textile Design Masters degree course will develop and refine your expert knowledge of textile design.

You’ll work at the forefront of the discipline, embracing the latest digital and technological advancements while developing a clear understanding of the market and the commercial potential of your work.

Hone your textile design skills

You’ll be encouraged to push your imagination and stretch the boundaries of the discipline through creative use of materials, processes and concepts.

Course tutors and workshop technicians teaching on this postgraduate course are also practitioners, with extensive and diverse experience in areas including digital textile production, CAD for repeat design, laser cutting, illustration, dye and weave. The breadth and depth of their knowledge will benefit you as you experiment and develop your practice through exhibitions and national competitions.

You will be making films from week one and set-ready by the time you graduate when you join our BA (Hons) Film and Moving Image Production degree, accredited by ScreenSkills.

We will encourage you to explore a variety of filmmaking mediums and platforms to become an accomplished and creative storyteller.

You’ll learn by doing as you become a flexible, multi-skilled collaborator with technical and craft skills highly-prized by industry.

You’ll explore how the production skills you use and creative choices you make can shape and change the story you are telling.

Taking Year 0 at the beginning of your degree course will get your studies at Norwich University of the Arts off to a flying start. The extra year of study will help you explore creative ideas and begin to develop the practical skills, research techniques and ways of thinking that are essential to undergraduate success.

You will explore the mechanics of playful interaction on our BSc (Hons) Games Development degree as you develop skills in prototyping and user testing.

You are a games designer, developer, or coder who wants to learn the end-to-end process of making games and prepare for a successful career in a dynamic and rapidly-evolving industry.

You will work with different technologies and platforms, including console, web, mobile, PC, augmented and virtual reality.

How you think, make decisions, and develop ideas will evolve as you learn to code games that give users an exceptional experience. And you will be part of the NUA Games community, interacting and collaborating with your peers on our sister course, BA Games Art and Design.

Workshops, technical demonstrations and live briefs will help prepare you for a career in the games industry.

NUA Games is a member of the Sony PlayStation First Academic Partnership Programme, and was ranked as the UK’s best educational institution in 2017. The Rookies, a global panel of games industry experts, ranked NUA in the world’s top 50 in 2020.

Games development – your way

You will be exposed to a variety of industry-standard platforms and technologies – including virtual, augmented, mixed and extended reality – but will always focus on your own personal and professional interest.

Applying computer science, and knowledge of emerging technologies to the creation of prototypes, you’ll create different types of game for different audiences, based on evidence gathered through research, observation and practical experimentation.

You’ll evolve how you think, make decisions, and develop ideas, to ultimately code games that give users an exceptional experience.

BA (Hons) Acting will give you expert training as a performance artist who can represent the human condition through the roles you play.

You are passionate about performance and expressing ideas through your voice, movement, and emotions.

You will develop as a practitioner who can work across a range of artistic disciplines: from stage to sound and camera work to emerging performance practices in digital media.

At NUA you not only get professional training as an actor in preparation for work in a variety of traditional platforms, but you are also trained as a creative practitioner in your own right.