Animation - Confusion on Uni course and 6th form subjects

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harrow123
Posts: 299
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2010 10:54 am

Animation - Confusion on Uni course and 6th form subjects

Post by harrow123 »

My DS is in GCSE and he is generally interested in Art/Graphic Design/Animation game characters etc

He recently did work experience where he used Adobe Illustrator and he did a 1 week Summer computing course (3D digital modelling) where he used a Software called 'Blender' . He liked both these experiences and he wanted to do something like that in his career also

I looked through UCAS/Google to find if there is any Uni course which is suitable for my son's interests, unfortunately looks like there are not many courses to suit his interest :) There are some but they are offered by colleges and unpopular Universitities , there is one Uni course from 'University of the Arts London' though. My son does not want to do any of these courses as he is doubt if if takes him to a good career.

I am thinking if there is any Computing (popular) undergraduate course which offers graphic design etc as optional subjects, this way he will be doing a popular course in possibly good Uni

Sorry for long post but please read and suggest me if you have any ideas for my DS's situation
DC17C
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Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:34 pm

Re: Animation - Confusion on Uni course and 6th form subject

Post by DC17C »

I know someone who did this course - she would say it is the place to go if you really want to do 3D animation.

https://www1.bournemouth.ac.uk/study/co ... ation-arts" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.hotcourses.com/uni-college-r ... 8?id=66588" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://ncca.bournemouth.ac.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
marigold
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Re: Animation - Confusion on Uni course and 6th form subject

Post by marigold »

Hi,

I also have a friend whose son is doing animation at Bournmouth, he did a lot of research and thought it was one of the best. He also got a place at Norwich School of Art which apparently has excellent links with the industry for internships, so both are good and well respected options.
harrow123
Posts: 299
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2010 10:54 am

Re: Animation - Confusion on Uni course and 6th form subject

Post by harrow123 »

DC17C and marigold: thanks for your replies, they are really helpful to me and looks like these suit my DS very well

other option I am thinking is doing Bsc Computer Science then MSc in Animation or Graphic Design etc, so that he has good Computer science Uni and also he will be specialised in his own subject

Please share your ideas on this thought
ToadMum
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Location: Essex

Re: Animation - Confusion on Uni course and 6th form subject

Post by ToadMum »

Granted, I'd be unlikely to encourage a child of mine to go to London Met, but in terms of universities, you also have Edinburgh, Dundee, Sheffield Hallam, De Montfort which are slightly less scary, surely? (I have no idea of the relative merits of their particular courses - I just ran a quick search of 'animation' on Unistats). But at the end of the day, it's the course which is important. I would guess that the world of animation is slightly different from, say, investment banking or whatever, whose recruiters apparently only look at you if your university fits their idea of prestige. A university which one would think twice about choosing for Economics or Physics may have the country's most respected department of something more specialised.

On the other hand, a first degree in Computer Science.would give a broader base and of course more choice of universities for undergraduate studies.
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MrsChubbs
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Re: Animation - Confusion on Uni course and 6th form subject

Post by MrsChubbs »

Also search for digital media and digital media design courses eg Winchester, City of Birmingham, Brunel which are slightly broader but allow you to specialise in an area like animation or game animation. Universities tend to ask for ucas points rather than actual grades, but like to see an arts/graphics/creative subject and usually interview to get a feel for the passion for the subject.
Agne
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Re: Animation - Confusion on Uni course and 6th form subject

Post by Agne »

I'm currently in my second year doing Animation BA in De Montfort. I guess I chose it as "a less scary" option lol but honestly so far I'm really satisfied with the course and uni.
I think it's a good idea to take a look at course modules as it differs from one university to other, not sure about other universities, but my course in my opinion provides a really broad range of experiences and knowledge and I'm not sure if doing Computer Science degree, if that's not exactly what you want to do later on, is worth time and effort. Studying animation, I had lectures on 3D modelling, 2D/3D animation, film studies, life drawing, photography, visual effects and other subjects so I think that the first year of your degree is suited to provide that kind of "broader experience" and different disciplines to try out before focusing on the exact area you enjoy and feel passionate about :)
harrow123
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Re: Animation - Confusion on Uni course and 6th form subject

Post by harrow123 »

Agne wrote:I'm currently in my second year doing Animation BA in De Montfort. I guess I chose it as "a less scary" option lol but honestly so far I'm really satisfied with the course and uni.
I think it's a good idea to take a look at course modules as it differs from one university to other, not sure about other universities, but my course in my opinion provides a really broad range of experiences and knowledge and I'm not sure if doing Computer Science degree, if that's not exactly what you want to do later on, is worth time and effort. Studying animation, I had lectures on 3D modelling, 2D/3D animation, film studies, life drawing, photography, visual effects and other subjects so I think that the first year of your degree is suited to provide that kind of "broader experience" and different disciplines to try out before focusing on the exact area you enjoy and feel passionate about :)
Thanks Agne for the input
1 Q: what kind of career prospects do you see once you finish your BA and what is the salary that is approximately expected, is it from 20k or from 30k
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